Sri Lanka (Commonwealth) _The national rugby team won the Asia Rugby Division 1 Championship in Colombo against Kazakhstan, and as a reward, Sri Lanka Cricket gave them a US$30,000 prize.
The Executive Committee and President of Sri Lanka Cricket, Shammi Silva, decided to acknowledge the players and coaches who contributed to this incredible victory in keeping with the organization’s continuous mission to reward national athletic success. This accomplishment brings the national rugby squad to the highest level of the Asian Rugby Circle, which is good news for the nation’s sports scene, according to Sri Lanka Cricket.
India and Sri Lanka, the hosts, faced off in the second semifinal of the Asia Rugby Men’s Division 1 Championship 2024 at the Racecourse grounds. This match, which was played under lights, was essentially one-sided, with the hosts crushing their neighbors, India, 45–10.
Yesterday at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo, the Asia Rugby Men’s Division 1 Championship final between Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka took place. The hosts, Sri Lanka, defeated the visitors, Kazakhstan, with a resounding 45–07 score.
Both teams started the game carefully, waiting for the other team to make a mistake. In the first ten minutes, Kazakhstan had a few opportunities within the Lankan half, but the strong defensive play repelled them from the hosts. When the forwards in front of the guy attempting the clearance kick pushed forward, the Kazakhstani players made a catastrophic mistake within their own half, which resulted in the game’s opening goal.
Heshan Jansen abruptly tapped the ball, startling the visitors. Tarinda Ratwatte then attempted a small grubber kick, aiming for the left corner of the field. Mursheed Doray, anticipating Ratwatte’s next move, charged forward, easily evading the final Kazakhstani defenders before touching down. Despite Ratwatte’s regrettable failure to convert, Sri Lanka led early in the game.
After seven minutes, Sri Lanka was given a penalty for a high tackle, and they were able to regain possession in the opposition half with a well-executed distance-gaining kick. The Tuskers attempted to exploit the field’s breadth from the line-out, passing from right to left, and Dinal Ekanayake was able to get some nice forward yards with some exquisite stepping.
Adeesha Weeratunga had just enough room to slip over the try line thanks to a well-placed last throw from Doray, and Sri Lanka rapidly pushed the ball back to the right side of the field. Once more, the conversion attempt was unsuccessful, and inside the first 20 minutes, Sri Lanka had a double-digit advantage.
When Kazakhstan lost the ball forward within their own half for the second time, most of the opposition players were positioned on the left side of the field, giving Sri Lanka a commanding lead in the second half. Ratwatte sold a beautiful dummy to trick the other defenders into thinking he was passing to Ekanayake on his right, but instead he passed to Jansen, who ran straight towards the try line and showboated by jumping over the try line under the post, giving Sri Lanka plenty of space in front and to the right of the field. Ratwatte was given the simplest conversion of the day this time, and he completed it flawlessly.
The referee signaled for the end of the game as the fans exploded and the celebrations started at the racecourse. Sri Lanka attempted to make one more attempt to achieve the half-century milestone, but Kazakhstan turned the ball over on the final play and booted it out. The Sri Lankan boys outperformed the Kazakhstani team in every area, putting up a masterful performance overall.
Many observers had anticipated that the Kazakhstan forwards would give the hosts a great deal of problems, but the Nomads’ forwards were unable to muster much of an offensive attack because to the formidable presence of players like Karunathilaka and Chathuranga. The defending was of a very high caliber. The Lankan backs have always had the advantage, but it was very amazing to see such strength on the field in a major match like this for a team lacking international experience.
Seeing what Sri Lanka can accomplish in the fifteen-a-side format in the future will be intriguing. The squad performed admirably, but they will need to play and practice together much more if they want to develop better and perform better against teams with higher rankings. Suhiru Anthony and the guys will likely be seen hoisting trophies in the future if it keeps up.
