Kandy managed to secure yet another victory after defeating Navy SC 33 points to 19 up at Nittawala.
The most anticipated match of the first round, between the top two teams Kandy SC and Navy SC took place up at Nittawala yesterday. Kandy, who are yet to be beaten this season, showed their dominance in the league after drowning the mighty sailors 33 points to 19. Both teams came into this week carrying victories off the previous weekends.
The game started off in perfect clear conditions as Navy collected quick points after winning a penalty in the 3rd minute which Thlina Wijesinghe made no mistake of. Kandy conceded a penalty in the 7th minute which surprisingly turned out to their favour after Thilina’s kick at goal landed in the hands of Richard Dharmapala who counter attacked the unorganized defense of the Sailors and created great momentum for the Kandy lads which lead them to score the first try of the game. After four phases of quality running rugby, Fazil Marija went onto score in the right corner created after a back of the hand pass by skipper Gayan Weerarathne. Nigel Ratwatte added the extras and put Kandy in the lead early on. (07- 03)
Seven minutes later, Kandy managed to score their second try after the forwards gained good yards sucking in the Navy defenders which opened space on the outside giving Anurudda Wilwara enough space to slice through and score for Kandy. Nigel Ratwatte bisected the post adding the extra two points. The Sailors made some unforced errors inside Kandy SC’s red-zone which lost them few scoring opportunities. (14 – 03)
Scrappy play by both teams was seen till the 26th minute, when Yaqoub Ali barged his way over the line scoring Kandy SC’s third try. A well-executed lineout ploy put Ali over the line after a good strong maul. Nigel Ratwatte made no mistake with his kick. (21-03)
The Sailors managed to narrow down their deficit from 18 points to 11, after Mohammed Absal scored Navy’s first try in remarkable style beating three Kandy defenders, five minutes before half-time. Thilina Wijesinghe made no mistake in adding the extra points which boosted the Sailors just before half-time. (HT 21-10)
The second-half action began as Navy won a scrum in their own 22’ meter line and ran over the 50 meter line after playing some good phases which forced Kandy to concede a penalty. Thilina Wijesinghe successfully converted it to points and narrowed the gap by three points. Tharindu Chathuranga was sent off to the sin-bin giving the Sailors a numerical advantage too. (13-21)
Navy created great momentum but could not capitalize or convert it into points as they lacked in support play and ball handling. In the 53rd minute, Kandy SC went down to fourteen men again when number eight Buwaneka Udangamuwa was yellow carded for a high tackle. Thilina Wijesinghe made no mistake yet again as he converted it to points narrowing Kandy’s lead to just 5 points. But in the 63rd minute Richard Dharmapala dove across the try line in the right corner extending Kandy’s lead by another five points as Thilina Weerasinghe failed to add the extra two points. (16-26)
Kandy went down to 14 men yet again in the 68th minute when Jason Dissanayake was sent off to the sin-bin after punching Navy prop Stephen Gregory. Thilina converted the penalty into points and narrowed the gap by another three points which were their last points of the game. Kandy SC on the other hand, with 5 minutes remaining till full-time managed to steal the ball from Navy SC inside their own 5 meter line and ran end to end scoring their fifth try in the form of Thilina Weerasinghe who made a scintillating run. Nigel Ratwatte made no mistake in adding the extra two points.
A knock on by Navy winger Buddhima Piyarathne after the restart sealed the game for Kandy as referee blew the final whistle to see the Kandy players and fans celebrate their victory and the unbeaten run of Kandy SC.
Full time: Kandy SC 33 (5T, 4C) – Navy SC 19 (1T, 4P, 1C)
ThePapare.com’s Player of the Match: Gayan Weerarathne (Kandy SC)
Points breakdown
Navy SC
Tries: Mohammed Absal (1)
Conversions: Thilina Weerasinghe(1)
Penalties: Thilina Weerasinghe (4)Kandy SC
Tries: Fazil Marija (10, Anurudda Wilwara (1), Yaqoub Ali (1), Richard Dharmapala (1), Thilina Weerasinghe (1)
Conversions: Nigel Ratwatte (4)
Bookings: Tharindu Chathuranga, Jason Dissanayake, Buwaneka Udangamuwa
