Sports
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Woodians
crowned as the Kings of Kandy Kingswood 16,
Two highly skilled teams faced off in a tough but rousing battle that was worth a wait of about a hundred years. At the end of it, it was Kingswood who came out unscathed, and in the process preserved their invincibility, with a16 points (1 goal, 1 penalty, 2 drop goals) to 10 (2 tries) win over a fighting Trinity outfit. The Lions started off in belligerent fashion and after about ten minutes they struck gold. Kingswood’s scrum half’s pass was intercepted and Maddumapatabendi came round to collect and set the threes in motion. Kosala Tissera rounded off the move with a sizzling run. Kirinde failed to add the extra points.
Kingswood retaliated by forcing a number of five yard penalties – off one of these, the ball was swung down the line and left winger Rajitha Samaranayake was unstoppable as he sped to the line. Anand converted for Kingswood to lead 7-5 at the break. An effortless drop goal by the fly half Dev Anand, who contributed eleven of their 16 points, early in the second half put some distance between the teams. Centre Gayan Weeraratne who was quite brilliant went on to score but his effort was disallowed as he had stepped out. Anand put over a simple penalty to make it 13-5 in Kingswood’s favour. With time running out Anand delivered once more with a superb drop when he found himself well positioned. The Trinitians seemed to have had a better first half, but with seconds to go, they attacked furiously and inspirational skipper Imalka Maddumapatabendi touched down. Kirinde once gain failed with the kick. The kicking of Dev Anand made all the difference. His accuracy and presence of mind made all the difference. Trinity’s kicker by contrast was very poor and may have cost his team dearly. It was a battle well fought and Trinity, though disappointed, can take comfort from the fact that they almost gave as good as they got. Referee – Dilroy Fernando. |
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