After a disappointing defeat early in the tournament, the Lady Tuskers secured a revitalizing win against Singapore in their second group stage game that finished 17-5 at full time.
It was a win that the Lady Tuskers needed after their 1st match but the spirited Singaporeans were the first to break the deadlock to score in the third minute off Alvina Ow Yong.
Fighting back, Ayesha Perera brought in the equalizer with an inside move in the 5th minute of play. Just before the call for lemons, the ladies stepped up as big forward Randika Kumudumali stormed through the Singapore defense to give the Lady Tuskers the lead. (10-5)
With Sri Lanka retaining most of the possession in the second half, the third try came off an overthrown lineout collected by the experienced Thanuja Weerakkody, who beat her counterpart to the white patch with her pace. After missing the first two conversions, Ayesha Kaluarachchi got the angled kick to finish the game 17-5.
Full time score: Sri Lanka 17 (3T 1C) – Singapore 5 (1T)
Breakdown:
Tries for Sri Lanka by Ayesha Perera, Thanuja Weerakkody, Randika Kumudumali
Conversion by Ayesha Kaluarachchi
Try for Singapore by Alvina Ow Yong
The Sri Lanka Women will play China tomorrow at 7.00 a.m. local time which will be their third and final game in the group stage. The top two teams from each group will progress to the Cup semifinals while the bottom two will play the Plate semifinals.
Sri Lanka vs Kazakhstan
Sri Lanka Rugby’s lack of match experience reflected on their performance in the Asia Sevens Series Women’s 1st leg opener as Kazakhstan steamrolled the Lady Tuskers 36-0.
The 1st leg of the Asia Sevens Series came alive at the Hong Kong Football Club with the women’s games taking center stage early in the day.
Sri Lanka looked scrambled in defense paving way for the heavily built Kazakhs to make inroads to the white line as Lyumila Korotikikh drew first blood early in the 1st half.
The Tuskers tried to be compact in defense but their counter attacking seemed to let them down as tries kept coming towards the dying stages of the 1st half. 3 tries came in the last few minutes for Kazakhstan as the 1st half ended 19-0.
The second half was no different but Sri Lanka showed intent to progress beyond the gain line. Efforts from Randika Kumudumali and Sandanika Hemakumari went in vain as the ladies failed to hold on to the ball at the breakdown.
Similar to the first half, Lyumila Korotikikh opened the scoring for Kazakhstan and two tries later, they finished at 36-0 in the opening game.
The Lady Tuskers, who last played a professional game in March, looked unsettled throughout the game and were not playing to their strengths. Dulani Pallekondage’s relentless efforts to run around failed with the opponents giving no space.
Full time score: Kazakhstan 36 (6T 3C) – Sri Lanka 0
Breakdown
Lyumila Korotikikh (2T), Svetlana Kluychnikova, Nigora Nurmatova (3C), Balzhan Koishybayeva, Balzhan Koishybayeva, Olessya Teryayeva
