Police SC and Navy SC collided in their first game of the Nippon Club Rugby League 2023/24 at the Police Park today, and the Cops walked out with a resounding 41-22 win over the Sailors.
The game began with a phenomenal run from the debutant half back for Navy SC, Imanka Ishara, which unfortunately could not produce a try. However, the early momentum swung completely from Navy to Police as the Cops received an early penalty advantage. Navy conceded a yellow card shortly after, and from the next penalty, Police opted to go for a scrum from the middle of the field and they worked the ball to the right as Sujan Kodithuwakku went over from the right corner for the first try of the game. Prince Chamara converted the try with a fabulous kick. (Police SC 07 – 00 Navy SC)
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Five minutes after the first try, Chamod Nimsara for Navy knocked the ball forward in their own half, and some quick passing to the right of the field gave space to Hirantha Perera to go over. However, this time Chamara missed the conversion with a hard angle. (Police SC 12 – 00 Navy SC)
Navy hit back straight away after the second try from the Cops as they got close to the try line after a mishap from Police during the restart kick. An offside advantage which followed gave them the chance to take the quick tap, and Flanker Denuwan Wickramarachchi scored the first try of the season for the Sailors. The conversion unfortunately did not go through. (Police SC 12 – 05 Navy SC)
However, the momentum which Navy found from that first try did not last long as Skipper Weerasinghe knocked the ball forward in their own 5m territory as he was unable to make a clean collection after letting the ball bounce from a Shane Hopwood kick. The Police forwards made maximum use of the scrum from the 5m line as Lahiru Tillakaratne went over for the 3rd try. Chamara added the two extra points with ease. (Police SC 19 – 05 Navy SC)
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From the restart kick, Navy got advantage from kickable distance after a not rolling away penalty and skipper Weerasinghe added the 3 points (Police SC 19 – 08 Navy SC)
Police were awarded with another scrum this time close to the 22m territory and Police used their number 8 to get the ball out of the scrum who gave it out to the half back and a perfectly timed pass from Primesh Danushka to Matheesha Perera gave him enough space to breach the defence of Navy as Police registered their bonus point try inside the first 30 minutes. (Police SC 24 – 08 Navy SC)
Just before half time Danushka,Chamara and Hirantha combined to pull off a phenomenal move as the Navy defence was caught completely off guard. Hirantha scored his 2nd try and Chamara added the two extra points to give them a 23 point buffer going into Half Time. (Police SC 31 – 08 Navy SC)
Half Time:- Police SC 31 – 08 Navy SC
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Six minutes into the second half, Navy made the mistake of committing too many players to the ruck as Matheesha found space from the short side and went all the way for their 5th try. Chamara converted the try, making things more ominous for the Sailors. (Police SC 38 – 08 Navy SC)
Against the run of play, Dimuth Perera produced a scintillating run, breaking away from a couple of tackles and evading numerous defenders and gave the offload out of Anushka Ramesh, who went for the try underneath the post giving a much needed breather for the Sailors. Skipper converted the try, but the deficit was still over 20 points. (Police SC 38 – 15 Navy SC)
After the longest period without a try in the game, Navy got the numerical advantage after a Police player received a yellow card. They made full use of it as Lahiru Herath scored their 3rd try. Weerasinghe converted it, and with 12 minutes to go, a comeback was not entirely impossible for the Sailors. (Police SC 38 – 22 Navy SC)
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The Sailors tried hard after the third try, but the job at hand was too much. Just before the final whistle, Police received a penalty due to a scrum infringement and Chamara added the three points as they breached the 40 point barrier. (Police SC 41 – 22 Navy SC)
It was a brilliant start to the season for the Cops as they head into week 2 with a solid victory. However, for the Sailors, they have a lot to ponder on as performances like today will only push them far away from the trophy.
Matheesha Perera, who scored two tries in the game and became a colossal headache for the Sailors, was adjudged Black Knight Player of the Match.
Full Time: Police SC 41 (6T 4C 1P) beat Navy SC 22 (3T 2C 1P)
Black Knight Player of the Match: Matheesha Perera (Police SC)
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Points Breakdown
Police SC: Matheesha Perera 2T, Hirantha Perera 2T, Sujan Kodithuwakku 1T, Lahiru Tillakaratne 1T, Prince Chamara 4C 1P
Navy SC: Lahiru Herath 1T, Anushka Ramesh 1T, Denuwan Wickramarachchi, Thilina Weerasinghe 2C 1P
