Kandy SC continued to display their dominance in the Dialog Rugby League 2019/20 as they managed to secure a bonus point victory over CH & FC by 33 points to 10, after the two teams locked horns down at Racecourse Grounds today evening.
Samuel Maduwantha of CH & FC kick-started the proceedings, as the hosts made their intentions clear by continuously pressurizing the Kandy defense through their big forwards. The visitors seemed to be bewildered by the aggression shown by the hosts during the early stages of the game. Kandy’s worries in the first half escalated with Ganuka Dissanayake being sent over to the sin-bin in the 8th minute by referee Hasantha Weranga due to continuous infringements.
CH continued to hold possession inside the Kandy half and finally managed to find glory with Sajith Saranga crossing over the whitewash for the hosts in the 13th minute. Samuel Maduwantha failed to add the extras off a tight angle. (CH 05 – 00 Kandy)
Kandy continued to find it difficult to hold onto to the ball and maintain possession in the CH half, as Samuel Maduwantha managed to extend the lead for CH through a successful penalty conversion in the 23rd minute. (CH 08 – 00 Kandy)
Kandy finally managed to break the shackles with Jason Dissanayake managing to gain five points for the visitors. Tarinda Ratwatte, who initiated the breakthrough for Kandy, managed to bisect the posts, as the defending champions managed to reduce the host’s lead down to one point by the 27th minute. (CH 08 – 07 Kandy)
From that moment onwards, it did not take long for Kandy to score their second try of the game with Buddhima Piyarathne managing to go under the post, thanks to a lovely long cut-out pass by skipper Nigel Ratwatte. Tarinda was yet again spot on with the conversion. (CH 08 – 14 Kandy)
Kandy seemed to be finally getting back in their groove, as they managed to gain five more points after a beautifully executed set play off a scrum just behind the 50-metre line saw Tarinda Ratwatte diving over the try-line in the 35th minute. Tarinda was off target with the conversion. (CH 08 – 19 Kandy)
CH had an opportunity to reduce the deficit in the dying minutes of the first half, but Maduwantha’s penalty failed to find its way between the posts.
Half Time – CH & FC 08 (1T, 1P) – 19 (3T, 2C) Kandy SC
Five minutes into the second half, Tarinda Ratwatte was once again in action as he secured seven points for Kandy SC after converting his own try this time around. (CH 08 – 26 Kandy)
Skipper Rohitha Rajapaksha managed to put an end to the Kandy onslaught in the 50th minute of the day’s play, as he managed to secure 5 points for the hosts off a breakdown near the Kandy whitewash. Maduwantha failed to gain the additional 2 points. (CH 13 – 26 Kandy)
Kandy managed to regain their 18 point lead in the 66th minute, as Buwaneka Udangamuwa rolled over the ball after the strong Kandy forwards managed to push their opponents and advance over try line from a 22-metre scrum. Tarinda failed to bisect the posts. (CH 13 – 31 Kandy)
The big Kandy SC Number 08 had another opportunity to gain a few more points for his team, but was pushed over the deadline by 3 CH defenders. Both teams failed to trouble the scores from there on till Referee Weranga blew the final whistle of the game.
Their win today means that Kandy SC will continue to be the team to beat in the Dialog Rugby League 2019/20, and will face Havelocks SC in their final first round fixture next weekend.
Full Time – CH & FC 13 (2T, 1P) – 31 (5T, 3C) Kandy SC
- Dialog Viu Player of the Match – Nigel Ratwatte (Kandy SC)
- Match Referee – Hasantha Weranga
Breakdown
CH & FC: Tries from Sajith Saranga(1), and Rohitha Rajapaksha(1)
Penalties (1) by Samuel Maduwantha
Kandy SC: Tries from Jason Dissanayake(1), Buddhima Piyarathne(1), Tarinda Ratwatte(2), and Buwaneka Udangamuwa (1)
Conversions (3) by Tarinda Ratwatte
Cautions & Sendoffs:
Yellow card: Ganuka Dissanayake (Kandy SC)
