Police Sports Club overcame the spirited Havelock Sports Club outfit 34 points to 28 in their second round game of the 2019/20 Dialog Rugby League worked off at Police Park. Police, after trailing by one point at half time, went on to finish the game with a bonus point.
Havies kickstarted the proceeding but the home team dominated the early exchanges as they managed to open their account with a team try. The forwards played a few phases as they disrupted the Havelock defense, while scrum half Primesh Danushka distributed the ball to the wider channel, and a silky back of the hand pass from Suranga Kasun sent the winger Shan Akila over the whitewash. (POLICE 05 – 00 HAVELOCKS)
Police continued to play attacking Rugby as Emosi Vunivosa went hammering through Theekshana Dassanayake and made a sweet pass to Yohan Peiris, who stormed his way over the try line. Peiris managed to add the extras from an easy angle to make it a perfect seven for him. (POLICE 12 – 00 HAVELOCKS)
CR smoke Air Force consolidating Second Place
Havies had to reply soon as they were losing the plot, but the ever dependable flanker Shawket Lahir managed to power himself over from a low angle from rolling maul to open the scoreboard for the park club, as Sandesh Jayawickrama slotted in the conversion. A few minutes later the Havelocks managed to cut the deficit to two point when youngster Santhush Algama slotted over a penalty as the game heated up. (POLICE 12 – 10 HAVELOCKS)
Havies had to suffer a huge blow when the winger Naveen Henakankanamage was shown a straight Red card for his reckless spear tackle on Emosi Vunivosa, as the Fijian landed on his head and referee Gunarathne had no option but to send the winger out. The Havies had to play the remaining 50 minutes with fourteen, while Yohan Peiris added an easy three-pointer to increase the lead for the cops. (POLICE 15 – 10 HAVELOCKS)
Schools Rugby League 2020: FIXTURES OUT!
Police were loose at times during the last five minutes and the Havies were able to take advantage of the cops’ mistakes when they lost Mohan Wimalarathne for an offside infringement. Santhush Algama landed another two penalties before lemons as the park club went to break with a slender lead of one point.
Half Time – POLICE SC 15 (2T,1C,1P) – HAVELOCK SC 16 (1T,1C,3P)
Police got off to the best possible start as they hit the ground running with an early try from a lineout move. Vageesha Weerasinghe collected the ball from the jumper and straightened the attacking line as he opened up a huge gap for the Police Hooker Rasith Silva to dive over from two meters out. Replacement fly half Janith Chandimal made no mistake from the touch line kick. (POLICE 22 – 16 HAVELOCKS)
Police continued to use the one-man advantage as they used the pick and drives effectively. The nippy scrum half Primesh Danushka was vigilant to spot a loose ball out from a ruck, as he collected the ball and dived over for the bonus point try for the cops. (POLICE 27 – 16 HAVELOCKS)
Police arrest Havies in high scoring thriller
The try kept on coming in this game as Shawket Lahir yet again went over from a rolling maul to keep the pink shirts in the game, but a try from Suranga Kasun from a counter-attacking move ensured the cops had the control of game. (POLICE 32 – 21 HAVELOCKS)
The cops’ task was made harder in the last five minutes when Lahiru Pavithra was sent to the bin for collapsing the maul. The Havies immediately took advantage when Lahir powered over for his hat-trick after a patient build-up, with Jayawickrama converting it quickly to ensure that the park club was still in the hunt for the win. However, the Police defense held firm on their own line despite repeated Havies charges to clinch the game, securing third place of the league.
Full Time – POLICE SC 34 (5T,3C,1P) – HAVELOCK SC 28 (3T,2C,3P)
- Dialog Viu Player of the Match – Vageesha Weerasinghe (POLICE SC)
- Match Referee – Priyantha Gunarathne
Breakdown
POLICE SC: Tries from Shan Akila, Yohan Peiris, Rasith Silva, Primesh Danushka, Suranga Kasun and conversion by Yohan Peiris, Janith Chandimal (2) and penalty by Yohan Peiris
HAVELOCKS SC: Tries from Shawket Lahir (3), conversion (2) by Sandesh Jayawickrama and penalties (3) by Santhush Algama
Cautions & Send offs:
POLICE SC: Lahiru Pavithra and Mohan Wimalarathne (Yellow Card)
HAVELOCKS SC: Naveen Henakankanamage (Red Card)
