Upcountry Lions tame down Sri Lanka Air Force to secure a hard earned victory at 36 – 26.
Taking on the game in their home grounds Air Force was in a comfortable seating, however their playing was equally tight. Also being the first to score they were off to a mighty start with a drop goal. At number 10 Gayantha Iddamagoda added these points to the score of Air Force. Taking on the ball form that point Upcountry lions made it halfway to the try line and it miss passes turned the game round. Another converted try pushed the Air Force score up to 10 while Upcountry Lions were yet to get off the score. Prasanna Soyza followed by Asanka Perera the kicker was responsible for the points.
Coming in favor of Upcountry lions a penalty earned the most crucial starting points by the 12th minute of the game. Next hungry for a try, the Upcountry Lions were picking on the weak points of the line. The next few passes were tactful, pushing the line forward and passing the ball in the last minute when Air Force was piling up at the tackle, lions scored their first try. Rajith Abeykoon was man who reached the line. Since then the first half slowed down settling only for a couple of substitution which didn’t make any changes to the score.
In a great effort to change the game, Lions were taking the moves seriously. Yet they missed a couple of crucial passes in the front line. Nigel Ratwatte was the one to save the first try of the second half allowing Upcountry Lions pass Air Force for the first time in the game. With the conversion of this try, Lions were on fire. Following it was another try y Desmond Wilson. The conversion was taken over by Nigle Ratwatte as usual. The score was up to 22 while Air Force remained at 10.
The second half recovery came in late for Air Force. Charith Senevirathne’s try was followed by a penalty from Asanka Perera. At 18 to 22 the supporters of the Air Force were rising up with hope. However, the next converted try didn’t do much favors to Air Force. At number 20 Pineushi was able to score putting the game out of reach for Sri Lanka Airforce. Following the already saved game was the last try by Lions. Coming in as a substitution in the second half, Arun Kamar was able to add these points to the Lions’ score pushing it to 36.
Not giving up on the game Air force was trying to push the ball forward. Kicking off the ball and aiming solely on a try they finally reached their goal. It was tricky however. Just at the corner Air Force was able to go for a penalty, however they decided kick it sideways. Letting the ball touch the ground first, Lahiru Weerasinghe jumped on to the ball scoring the try at the last minute. Unfortunately it remained unconverted knocking off the pole. The Air Force – Upcountry spell wrapped up at 26 – 36 making the Upcountry the champs.
