Sri Lanka were minutes away from creating history, but it wasn’t meant to be as the visitors from Hong Kong China came from behind to score after the 80th minute to win 15 (2T 1C 1P) – 14 (2T 2C) at Racecourse to kick off the Asia Rugby Emirate Championship 2026.
Hong Kong China fielded 10 debutants, while Sri Lanka also made several changes as the two sides locked horns in the opening game of the tournament.
It took the visitors 20 minutes to open the scoring, as Dylan McCann split the posts from the tee to punish Sri Lanka’s indiscipline. (SL 00–03 HKCR)
Those were the only points of the first half as the two teams played out a scrappy 40 minutes, with scrums and penalties in abundance.
Half Time: Sri Lanka 00 trail Hong Kong China 03 (1P)
The second half kicked off after both teams received a talking-to from their coaches, and it was the visitors who responded first.
Glenn Hui became the first player to cross the whitewash as the powerful lock forward picked and went following a massive run from Dana Fourie. Dylan McCann added the extras as the visitors extended their lead into double figures. (SL 00–10 HKCR)
Sri Lanka’s three-quarter line failed to execute despite a much-improved performance from the forwards.
In the 48th minute, McCann’s loose pass was picked off by Thenuka Nanayakkara, who set up replacement Viduna Amaneth to score, sending the substitute halfback over the line. Nanayakkara added the conversion as the lead was reduced to three points. (SL 07–10 HKCR)
Nanayakkara then had an opportunity to draw the hosts level; however, the sharpshooter pushed the kick wide and the scores remained unchanged.
On the hour mark, Sri Lanka struck through big man Naveen Marasinghe, as the lock forward crashed over for the hosts’ second try of the evening. Mursheed Zubair added the extras to give Sri Lanka a four-point lead. (SL 14–10 HKCR)
Sri Lanka continued knocking on the door, but it would not open as the visitors’ defence held firm. With time running out, pressure began to mount on the hosts.
Billy Lung found himself out on the wing and skipper Dean Squire capitalised, finding the replacement hooker with a bouncing ball to score and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Full Time: Sri Lanka 14 (2T 2C) lost to Hong Kong China 15 (2T 1C 1P)
- Player of the Match: Vimukthi Gamage (Sri Lanka)
 – 14 (2T 2C) at Racecourse to kick off the Asia Rugby Emirate Championship 2026.){kind=link}