Iddamalgoda shines again as Air Force soars to Plate Championship glory in thrilling victory over Police
In a display of grit, tactical discipline, and second-half attacking brilliance, Air Force Sports Club clinched the Plate Championship title with a thrilling victory over Police Sports Club in the Plate Championship Final of the Maliban Inter Club Rugby League 2025/26 held at the Air Force Grounds, Rathmalana. The Airmen, who have shown fluctuating form throughout the season, saved their best for the final battle, overturning the early lead of the visitors to secure the silverware in a high-stakes encounter.
The Air Force kicking legend, Gayantha Iddamalgoda, started the proceedings with a deep kickoff right into the bucket hands of the Fijian, Kaliova Mocetadra. Soon after, the Police SC made an exceptional clearance kick by putting the airmen under tremendous pressure. Building on that, the Police SC earned a penalty for not releasing the ball with swift defensive work. Though it came at a kickable distance, the cops opted to get a lineout near the 5-metre line. Sooner, their fine decision paid off as the forwards did the job for the cops with just a couple of phases in a pick and drive play. Hence the police assert an early dominance as their prop forward Dhanushka Edirisooriya was the player to cross the whitewash and to take the first blood of the plate final. (Air Force 00 – 05 Police)
After the initial strike, more than a quarter of the game went without troubling the scorers. Suddenly, the Air Force fullback, Ishara Madushan, received a clearance kick while he was inside their own half. After making a few metres by sprinting, he made a quick pass to their vibrant winger Shenal Uyangoda, who managed to break the defensive line. Then he offloaded the ball back to Uyangoda. By reading the game well, he made the final pass to the overseas player Afasua Yaovasa, who went all the way to score with his eye-catching side-stepping. Kaveesha Kaluarachchi made no mistake with the conversion to add the extras. (Air Force 07 – 05 Police)
Near the 10-metre mark of the hosts, the airmen were penalised for an offside play at a ruck. Though the penalty was received nearly 40 metres from the goalpost, the cops decided to go for the points as it looked pretty straight. But Yohan Peiris failed to nail the kick.
In the dying stages of the first half, the Air Force foreign player Afasua was yellow carded for having a dangerous tackle on the Fijian player, Kaliova. With a one-man advantage on the field, the visitors went for the lemons by trailing just by a couple of points.
Halftime: Air Force SC 07 (1 T, 1 C) – Police SC 05 (1 T)
The cops made a deep drop kick to launch the second half, and after six minutes of play, the hosts were penalised for the hands-in-the-ruck offence. But again Peiris missed a straightforward chance. After a long tussle, the airmen managed to break the deadlock as they put massive pressure on the cops inside the police territory. Here the police made a mistake by trying to set up an attack from inside their own red zone, as the match referee spotted an obstruction of play. The Airmen’s foreign grit, Afasua displayed his tactical insight and magnificent game reading by noticing that the cops’ defence was undone. He took a quick tap and covered three police defenders by changing his running angle. Then the ball was sent out, and the winger Shenal Uyangoda did exactly what he was supposed to do by planting a classic diving try at the left corner. As the pendulum swung again in favour of the Air Force, Kaveesha Kaluarachchi nailed another magnificent conversion to add the extras. (Air Force 14 – 05 Police)
In the meantime, things went from bad to worse for the police as their playmaker, Hafiz Thabith, was sin-binned for foul play.
Later, the home crowd went electrified when the Air Force managed to turn over the ball as the referee penalised a police player for not releasing the ball at the deck. By following the basics right, the airmen earned a five-metre lineout. Then they put up a massive force on the police forwards by creating a driving maul. Though the police finally managed to stop the challenge, the referee blew for an offside play. It was followed by another five-metre lineout and a driving maul, where the Air Force forwards roared towards the whitewash. At the back, the gigantic prop forward, Shamika Kaushan, made the break to land the ball. Surprisingly, Iddamalgoda missed the conversion attempt with a considerable margin. (Air Force 19 – 05 Police)
Then the game halted for nearly 13 minutes due to lightning at close range. After the restart, when there was a brawl at the centre line, the Air Force standoff, Iddamalgoda noticed a no man’s land and put in a little chip kick. During the chase he made another kick, while the fullback Ishara Madushan showcased his class with a fine chase coupled with brilliant footwork. Finally, he managed to land on the ball, which moved into the in-goal area, to post the bonus point try, which wasn’t material in the context of the plate final. (Air Force 24 – 05 Police)
At the brink of the long whistle, the cope reunited and displayed their superb attacking flair, which they were hiding throughout the game. As the hosts were guilty of collapsing a maul and for offside play, the police received a couple of five-metre lineouts in their favour. After the third unsuccessful driving maul attempt, the cops launched a fine pick-and-drive attack. After advancing inch by inch, finally the skipper, Shanaka Harishchandra, led from the front and crossed the whitewash to plant a consolation try. Then the reliable Police kicker, Prince Chamara, made no mistake with the conversion. (Air Force 24 – 12 Police)
The try was shortly followed by the long whistle, giving a well-deserved but hard-fought victory for the Airmen. With this statement of victory, the Air Force Sports Club clinched the plate championship of the Maliban Inter Club League Tournament 2025/2026, which can be considered as a testimony for their dominance in the field of state sector and tri-forces rugby.
Full-time: Air Force SC 24 (4 T, 2 C) – Police SC 12 (2 T, 1 C)
- Swisstek Player of the Match – Gayantha Iddamalgoda (Air Force SC)
Points Breakdown
Air Force Sports Club – 24
Afasua Yaovasa 1 T, Shenal Uyangoda 1 T, Shamika Kaudhan 1 T, Ishara Madushan 1 T, Kaveesha Kaluarachchi 2 C,
Police Sports Club – 12
Shanaka Harishchandra 1 T, Dhanushka Edirisuriya 1 T, Prince Chamara 1 C,
