Kandy's Danushka Ranjana added another try to make it 8 tries under his name
Kandy Sports Club managed to record yet another win against the young CR & FC outfit, beating them 50 points to 15 up at Nittawala earlier this evening.
Chanaka Chandimal kick started the game under perfect conditions for running rugby as both teams showed a sense of urgency in the first ten minutes of the game which created an intense atmosphere all around Nittawala.
Opportunities opened up for Kandy in the next few minutes but they could not capitalize on any until the 14th minute when Tharindu Chathuranga touched down very unexpectedly after CR number eight Omalka Gunarathna broke off at the back of the scrum inside their own try line. Nigel Ratwatte made no mistake in adding the extra two. (7-0)
The next five minutes was all about Kandy as they scored back to back tries extending their lead by another 14 points. Richard Dharmapala scored the second try for Kandy in the 21st minute as he dived over the try line after picking the ball from a ruck in the far corner. Nigel Ratwatte was spot on with his kick as he bisected the post. Reeza Raffaideen managed to convert a penalty to points when he bisected the uprights drawing first blood for the reds. (14-3)
Collecting the ball from the restart it was the Kandy skipper Gayan Weerarathna who created the momentum for Kandy’s third try. Weerarathna made the initial breakthrough beating three defenders and did the basics by passing the ball to his inside man Danushka Ranjan who went on to score under the post. Ratwatte added the extra two as the boys from the hill-capital went onto half time with three converted tries.
Half time: Kandy SC 21 – CR & FC 3
The second half action began as Kandy continued their dominant performance attacking the park boys right from the start – as a result scoring five tries in fourty minutes. Uchitha Jayasooriya was the first to go over the line for Kandy in the second half after Kandy barged forward through a maul putting him through. Nigel added the extras. (28-3)
With the skills of the former skipper Fazil Marija, who sliced through the defensive line on three occasions and gained excellent yards for the upcountry boys, Kandy was able to score three tries in quick succession. It was Jason Dissanayake who scored next, in the 51st minute by finishing an attacking move which the three quarter’s started. Nigel failed to add the extras. (33-03)
CR was put under immense pressure as the Kandyans kept coming at them which resulted in Kandy scoring another try just four minutes later. This time it was Sooriyabandara, the halfback, who accelerated his way showing sprinting to score on the far left. Nigel added the extras. (38-03)
As the game kept slipping away from CR, Nigel Ratwatte sealed the deal for Kandy when he went on to score in the 58th minute but he failed to add the extras. However in the 67th minute CR scored their first try as a result of quick thinking by Sashan Mohommed, who took a quick tap and passed it out wide to the speedster Reeza Raffaideen allowing him to touch down in the left flank. He failed to convert his own try. (45-08)
CR made an effort to fight back in the dying minutes of the game, but still could not stop Kandy from scoring. Richard Dharmapala scored his second try of the day in the 70th minute after an excellent execution of team effort. Ratwatte’s kick drifted to the right as he failed to add the extra two points. (50-08)
As the final minute of the game approached, the Longdon place boys were not ready to leave the field without any consolation. Showing great upper body strength bumping off two defenders, it was Charana Chamikara who scored the consolation try for CR in the final minute. The referee blew his final whistle as Tarinda Ratwatte’s kick bisected the posts which saw the Kandyan fans run storming onto the field as Kandy recorded yet another win. (FT 50-15)
Full Time : Kandy SC 50 (8T, 5C) – 15 (2T, 1C,1P) CR & FC
ThePapare.com’s Player of the Match: Tarindu Chathuranga
Points Breakdown – CR & FC
Tries : Reaza Raffaideen, Charana Chamikara
Conversions : Tarinda Ratwatte (1) Penalties : Reeza Raffaideen(1)Points Breakdown – Kandy SC
Tries : Richard Dharmapala(2), Tharindu Chathuranga, Dhanushka Ranjan, Uchitha Jayasekara, Srinath Sooriyabandara,Nigel Ratwatte & Jason Dissanayake
Conversions : Nigel Ratwatte (5)
