Sizzling Kandy sink Sailors
Kandy Sports Club produced another sizzling performance after weathering an early storm to defeat Navy Sports Club comprehensively 39-28 in a fiercely contested Dialog Club Rugby League Championship second round clash at Welisara yesterday.
Navy who were edged out 16-14 in Kandy stunned the visiting team by taking a 10-0 lead but the defending champions hit back with two tries to wrest back the initiative 12-10 in a frenetic first quarter played at a scorching pace, forcing the referee to call a timeout.
Kandy never looked back thereafter taking a 19-16 and took the wind out of Navy’s sails in the second half to earn a bonus point as well, getting their points from five tries, four conversions and two penalties.
Navy closed the gap to 23-29 in the third quarter but ran out of steam, benching even their most outstanding player fly half Isuru Kongahawatte as Kandy scored even after they were down to 13 men. The sailors got a consolation try at the end scoring three tries, two conversions and three penalties.
Navy set the pace with their backs Musheen Faleel and Chathura Senevirathne combining effectively with Kongahawatte playing a pivotal role with his line kicking as they worked the line at every given turn. Kongahawatte twice hit the wood work first with an attempted drop goal and a conversion of a try but made no mistake with a penalty in the fifth minute to give Navy a 3-0 lead. Seneviratne burst through from inside the Navy 22 followed by a kick and chase as Kandy stumbled under pressure. A quick penalty tap taken by the Fijian saw Kongahawatte slicing inside to score near the post and convert his try to give them a 10-0 lead.
Kandy’s riposte was swift thanks to a magical run by Srinath Sooriybandara immediately after the restart with the forwards ripping the ball out to get the turn over. Tharinda Ratwatte added the extra points. After a powerful foray by the forwards, Jason Dissanayake crashed over for an unconverted try as Kandy surged ahead 12-10 in the 18th minute.
Konghawatte hit the left upright with a long range penalty but Kandy were penalized after the fumbling with the ball resulting in an easier penalty for Navy to regain the lead 13-12.
Their joy was shortlived as another brilliant break by Sooriyabandara inspired left winger Buddhima Piyaratne to breeze round and score under the posts with Ratwatte adding the extra points.
Chathura Senevirathne was wide with a long range penalty kick but Kongahawatte was on target with a 42-metre effort just before the interval.
Dansha Dayan produced a 70-metre burst after an interception in the 47th minute with Ratwatte adding the extra points and a penalty earlier to give Kandy a 29-16 lead.
Navy flattered to deceived again when Radeesha Seneviratne was successful in his second attempt at scoring from a scrum with Kongahawatte converting in the 55th minute to close the gap 23-29.
Ratwatte converted a penalty ten minutes later after having missed one earlier to extend Kandy’s lead to 32-23 before right winger Diluksha Dange touched down in the corner after another break by Sooriyabandara from midfield and from a quickly taken penalty by Shabbir Mohamed at a time when they were without Ashan Darling and Dissanayake. Ratwatte added the extra points as Kandy enjoyed a 39-23 cushion with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Navy got a consolation try through Charith Ekanayake in the dying minutes of the game but Kandy once again emerged unscathed.
Referee: Priyantha Gunarathne