Kandy SC cruise past Air Force despite late rally
Kandy SC made a mockery of the Airmen from the outset as they carried the momentum throughout the first half to gain a commanding lead of 29-0, after bracing five tries and rake in bonus points early in the game. Eventually they finished with a tally of six tries and three conversions, while Air Force turned the table midway of the second half to retaliate and post three unconverted tries in addition to a penalty try awarded in the closing minute of the game for their points.
Centre Danushka Ranjan breaks through to find a passage to score for Kandy SC - Pic by Eshan Fernando
After a slow and cautious start, Kandy SC contained the hosts with extensive defence and forcing Air Force to commit errors, eventually conceding into pressure. Prop Dilshan Fareed finished a forwards move by breaking off a rolling maul and posting Kandy’s first try in the ninth minute to take a 5-0 lead following a failed conversion attempt by flyhalf Asiri Seneviratne.
Three minutes later winger Dilan Ekanayake, known for his canny breakthrough moves, stunned the Airmen with a peach of a try, which also failed to see the extra points being added as Kandy SC extended the lead to 10-0. Scrumhalf Heshan Jansen, who navigated Kandy SC right throughout until he was replaced midway during the second half, joined the party by adding the team’s third try after a fine three-quarter move in the 15th minute to make it 15-0.
It was veteran centre Danushka Ranjan who stole the limelight with a sole move that flummoxed almost the entire of the Air Force defence to brace Kandy SC’s fourth and bonus point try in the 24th minute. With Seneviratne finally finding his rhythm with the kicking boot, Kandy SC extended the lead further to 22-0 as the Airmen were left with no option other than to make futile attempts.
In-form No.8 Dahan Wickramaarachchi barged through to evade and run over the Air Force defence in the 32nd minute to give Kandy SC’s fifth try, as Seneviratne added the extra points to have the visiting team in a commanding lead of 29-0 by the halftime. At the brink of the short whistle, a try posted by Air Force was disallowed after being confirmed by the TMO to have knocked off the hands of the player before grounding.
Winger Kavindu Perera sprang into action after the resumption when he completed a neat three-quarter move to hand Kandy SC’s sixth try in the 49th minute. Seneviratne made no mistake with the conversion as Kandy expanded the lead to 36-0 and looked comfortable in bringing in substitutions on to the field.
It proved to be a crucial decision taken by Kandy SC eventually, as Air Force capitalised on the fresh legs to regain the momentum as well as the control of the game in the phase that followed. First it was lock Isuru Jayaratne, who collected a long throw off a lineout by Air Force on the 22, to clear the Kandy defence and post their first try in the 52nd minute. Then joined in hooker Chamika Kaushan, who made two identical breakthrough moves off rolling mauls in the 65th and 68th minutes to have Kandy SC in the guessing. The only solace Kandy SC had was the failure of Air Force skipper and flyhalf Gayantha Iddamalgoda, who failed with the conversions in all three attempts, a factor that could have made a difference.
The Airmen desperately attempted to breach Kandy SC’s territory in the remainder of the game to add more points, and a last minute shove by their forwards was rewarded with a penalty try after Kandy SC lock Thilina Bandara was found guilty for multiple infringements in the final minute of the game.