It was a try fest for the big guns of Asia, Japan, as they ran riot against a rather hapless Sri Lankan outfit, scoring 7 tries and converting 4, in their group stage match in the first leg of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2019 in South Korea.
The game started off with Japan scoring three tries in quick succession as Sri Lanka looked disorganized and scattered right from the get-go. Piling on to the three tries in the first five minutes, Japan went onto score another, at the brink of half-time as the scores remained 26 points to 0 at lemons.
The transitioning from attack to defence and defence to attack was very disappointing from the local lads as they almost played the entire first seven minutes in the opposition half. Japan did the right thing by starving Sri Lanka of possession and made them hit the extra gas.
HT: SL 00 – 26 JPN (4T 3C)
The second half started off well for Sri Lanka as the boys slowly showed a sense of urgency and ball retention. However, that didn’t last for long. All it took was one drop ball and Japan were once again scoring tries jollily making Sri Lanka pay.
Senior player Srinath Sooriyabandara, came on only in the second half of the game, but managed to make an impact after he created the opportunity for Sri Lanka’s first try.
After taking a quick penalty, Soori dashed 50 meters down the line and set up a nice ruck 5 meters away from the touchline leaving ample space for one player to sneak through the blind side. That’s exactly what Nishon Perera did as he picked up the ball and ran straight through the blind side, taking the defender off guard and saving Sri Lanka from utter embarrassment.
It was a little too late though since Japan had already scored another three tries in the second half and extended their lead to 43 points. The poor performance of the Tuskers on Day 1 would definitely raise a few questions in many minds in the Sri Lanka Rugby fraternity and also the fans.
However, Sri Lanka is set to meet UAE in their final group stage match up tomorrow at 8.42 a.m.
FT: SL LOST 5 – 43 JPN in
