Kandy SC who are deemed favourites to win the title this year too ran riot against a vulnerable CH & FC defence scoring 14 tries. Kandy weren’t at full strength today due to injuries and resting of players in the calibre of Jason Dissanayake and Buwaneka Udangamuwa. The match ended with a massive victory of 96 (14T 13C ) – 00 to the home side kandy.
Kandy did everything right today. The three quarters got their act together while their forwards set it up for them to work around the defences. The two kickers Arshad Jamaldeen and Thilina Wijesinhe did not get a single penalty but converted 13 of the 14 conversions which were given to them at angles. The single miss was by Arshad when he missed a straight forward one.
The game kicked off at Nittawela amidst gloomy weather conditions through the CH and FC kicker Janith Chandimal. The referee for the game was Irshad Cader. With only 4 minutes into the game the first try was scored. Thilina Wijesinghe sent a lovely long cut out pass to Roshan Weerathne who went under the posts to score. Arshad Jamaldeen added the extras with ease. (07-00) A minute later Kandy scored again through Richard Dharmapala who touched down at the right corner of the field. He too was given a lovely pass by Thilina Wijesinghe. Jamaldeen added the extras. (14-00)
Photos: Kandy SC v CH&FC – Dialog Rugby League 2016/17 | #Match 3
Kandy SC 96 : 00 CH&FC – Dialog Rugby League 2016/17 – #Match 3
Then came Danushka Ranjan, who scored a hat trick within a span of 20 minutes. All tries were of the similar style where he stepped and finished in the left corner of the field. The only conversion that was missed came when converting the second of Ranjan’s tries, where Jamaldeen was given the kick at an angle with a distance of about 25m from the posts. (33-00) Arshad Jamaldeen himself scored a try which he eventually converted as well. (40-00)This gave him a tally of 25 points to his name from this game only.
After a short while the CH & FC players began to read the pattern of the Kandy three quarter line about the time when Suyuru Anthony scored a try right under the posts. (47-00). Most of the hard work was done by the forwards who finally rolled on for about 25m into the opposition’s territory when Anthony received the ball. He decided to go all by himself and succeeded in doing so giving Kandy the 7th try of the first half. The last try of the first half was scored by Shashika Jayawardana who sprinted for a good 30m to score his try. Thilina Wijesinghe added the extras which gave them a score of 54 – 00.
Half Time: 54 (8T 7C) – 00 (0T 0C) CH&FC
The second half was no different to the first half. Kandy was able to accumulate a further 42 points. There was no stopping the big speedster Danuksha Ranjan today as he stepped past 3 defenders leaving them stranded, before scoring his fourth try of the match. Then there was a period where Kandy scored two tries through Richard Dharmapala but both were disallowed due to the touch judge calling that the player stepped out. Tharindu Chathuranga was next in the score sheet after he picked the ball and mauled his way over the line from the ruck setup just a few meters away. Richard Dharmapala got his second try of the game cutting inside of the defender to go over the line. A penalty try was then awarded to Kandy.
After withstanding immense pressure by CH & FC, Kandy finally broke away through Vishwamithra Jayasinghe who handed the ball to Thilina who kicked and chased the ball handed to him until he was pulled back by CH’s winger without the ball being in his hand. Kanchana Ramanayaka showed his class next as he ran circles past the defenders having collecting the ball all by himself from the restart after the try had been scored previously. He scored his try in the right corner of the field which Jamaldeen converted with ease. Yakoob Ali was the last man who went to the score sheet when the Kandy forwards worked their way and scored under the posts. The extras were added rather easily by Thilina Wijesinghe.
Kandy got their tries through Danushka Ranjan (4), Richard Dharmapala(2), Arshad Jamaldeen, Roshan Weerarathne, Suyuru Anthony, Shashika Jayawardana, Tharindu Chathuranga, Kanchana Ramanayaka and Yakoob Ali. The Kandy outfit looks fresh and sharp this season right from the word go. Last season we saw them start the season slowly and then work themselves up but this time it looks as if they will be a hard unit to stop. Kandy will be facing Police next week at Police Park.
Full Time: Kandy SC 96 (14T 13C ) – 00 (0T 0C) CH&FC
Tries : Danushka Ranjan 4, Richard Dharmapala 2, Roshan weerarathne , Suhiru Anthony, Sashika Jayawardena, Tharindu Chathuranga, Kanchana Ramanayake, Penalty try, Yakoob Ali, Arshad Jamaldeen
Conversions : Arshad Jamaldeen 10, Thilina Wijesinghe 3
WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS : Kandy SC v CH & FC – Dialog Rugby League 2016/17
