Lankans bemoan the longest eight
At last Sri Lanka seemed to have egress from the disappointment of an abysmal Asian Five Nations campaign. The fans were smiling, the players were energised and victory was within kissing distance. Then with a deft sweep of Harry Morris’ foot, the Philippines lunged to a 26 (3 goals, 1 try)-25 (2 goals, 1 try and 2 penalties) victory, which shut the door on the celebrations at the Race Course Grounds yesterday and turned it into a heartbreak hotel.
Sri Lanka hooker Namal Rajapaksa slides over to score a try against Philippines in yesterday’s A5N game - Pic by Amila Gamage
On paper, the result did not matter, with both teams already relegated from Asian rugby’s top tier, but a win, however meaningless, would have doubtlessly provided the morale boost the Lankans so desperately craved. They almost had it too, leading 25-19 deep into injury time.
But outside half Oliver Saunders cut through Sri Lanka’s defence to plant a try, which reserve Morris converted on his second attempt after he was awarded a re-kick by the referee. The accuracy of the decision will be debated over for quite a while, but what is absolutely certain is that it was a cruel conclusion to what was a veritable barnburner.
The tries came thick and heavy with outside half Fazil Marija, centre Danushka Ranjan and hooker Namal Rajapaksa crashing over the line for the home team. The Filipinos though always seemed able to answer when their backs were against the ropes, counterpunching rapidly through their own scoring parade comprising centre Matthew Saunders, lock David Feeney and outside half Oliver Saunders.
Sri Lanka got on the scoreboard in the 1st minute of the game through a successful penalty from fullback Nuwan Hettiarachchi, which released a collective sigh of relief for the home crowd, which only a few weeks ago had seen Sri Lanka picked apart by Hong Kong at the same ground.
It took exactly 22 minutes for that optimism to evaporate, with Matthew Saunders piling over the try line for outside half Oliver Saunders to convert and help the Filipinos grab the lead. However, Lankan talisman Marija burst through the Philippines’ defensive line with his typical flamboyance to once again have Sri Lanka on the ascendancy. This time the lead was not cut down but bolstered by Ranjan, who had another stunner in national colours.
But just when the occasion looked like growing too big for the Philippines, Feeney barreled through for a converted try to narrow things to 17-14, before repeating the feat six minutes later to have the Filipinos leading 19-17 heading into the break.
The second half once again saw a momentum shift, with Namal Rajapaksa running through for an unconverted try a minute after the restart and Hettiarachchi sniping a last-minute penalty to position the Sri Lankans on the precipice of a face-saving win. Unfortunately for them the eight minutes of added time were too many for them to withstand the sustained pressure of the relentless Filipinos.