Havelocks through in second half burst
After a close battle in the initial half Havelocks broke free in the second to score four unanswered tries and register an easy 42 points (6 Tries, 3 Conversions, 2 Penalties) to 15 points (2 Tries, 1 conversion, 1 Penalty) win in one of their Second round League rugby encounter which concluded at the Havelock Park yesterday.
Havies playmaker Nissan on the move against Upcountry Lions. - Pic by Ranjith Perera
At the short breather it was the Havies who lead 16-15.
The first half saw some fast open rugby with both sides engaged in a ding dong battle. Havies through their burly forwards led by skipper Terence Henry and Kavinda Jayasena led the way. They were ably supported by their speedy three quarters who were thick on things. In the loose as usual Shiran Muthuthanthri was outstanding. With Scrum Half Amjad Buksh feeding the three quarters at every turn and Sheriff joining the line most of the time when on attack. Sheriff who had a grand game, was superior in attack with some excellent runs which kept the Up Country line on check. His constant breaks was a major headache for the visiting team.
Meanwhile for the Up Country Lions their scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara along with Winger Vishvamithra jayasinghe, Sharo Fernando and Radika Hettiarachchi stood out. But in the second half their fitness turned out to be a big question when most of their three quarters were seen passing the ball whilst walking. Havelocks kept their lead in the current League Table for yet another week with two more games coming up with Kandy (Home) and Navy (away).
Up Country Lions drew first blood through a threequarter move which saw their nippy scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara touching down for their first try. Four minutes later Havies equalised through a winger Mithun Hapugoda try. Next Mohamed Sheriff was late tackled and Willian Hakalo added the three points. Up Country Lions missed a golden opportunity to go ahead when Radika Hettiarachchi was off target with a penalty kick. Up Country next scored though their centre Taifui Tavita with full back Nigel Ratwatte adding the extra 2 points to take a 12-8 lead for Up Country.
But the lead was short lived as Havies centre William Hakalo brushed aside a few defenders to touch down to take a 1 point lead for the Park Club. Five minutes later Nigel Ratwatte took the visitors through another penalty (15-13). With game being played at a hectic pace both sides received one yellow card each. On stroke of half time William Hakalo put Havies in to a 16-15 lead.
The second half was a one way traffic as Havies scored four unanswered tries to take an easy 42-15 lead. Havies try scorers were Lee Keegale, Mohamed Sheriff (2) and Niva Tauso.
Referee Priyantha Gunaratne
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