The Lions RFC, a premier rugby club in Qatar, recently organized the inaugural TAG RUGBY encounter amongst the Sri Lankan rugby playing community. The fiesta was held at the Iranian School pitch at Abu Hamur on the 27th of January 2017.
Contribution – Nimo Amit of Lion RFC Qatar
The main feature of the fiesta was the battle between two rugby fanatic districts; Colombo and Kandy for the Capt. Arjuna Ekanayake Memorial Trophy which was donated by his brother Jagdeesha Ekanayake. Sri Lankan rugby playing expats locked horns for the championship in a spirit of true sportsmanship.
In addition to the Kandy vs Colombo Blues Encounter, this tag rugby fiesta also featured the long awaited battle between two of the toughest Sri Lankan touch rugby-playing clubs in Qatar, the Hurricanes and the Blue Thunders.
The entire evening brought to witness a parade of spectacular competitive tag rugby played by these respective teams.
The 1st game, which was expected to be a tough contest, the Hurricanes won convincingly by thrashing the Blue Thunders 4 Tries to1, outplaying the Blue Thunders in all departments. The try scorers for the Hurricanes were, Anthony, Dilshan, Thaveesha and Sashi. Lahiru scored the only try for the Blue Thunders.
The 2nd game between the Kandy Vets and Colombo Vets went down to the wire and ended with Kandy winning 4 tries to 3 at full -time. The try scorers for Kandy Vets were, Chameera (3) tries & Hiran (1), scorers for the Colombo Vets were, Latif, Leon & Omar.
The main encounter, the championship battle for the Capt. Arjuna Ekanayake Memorial Tag Champions Title, between the powerful Kandy Reds and Colombo Blues was a stunner. As both teams demonstrated even skills, the game turned out to be a thrilling battle between the two teams. The Reds were the first to cross the score line in the very first quarter and gained advantage over their opponents. However during the 2nd quarter the Blues equalized and scores were neck and neck.
The final quarter saw Colombo Blues advancing with some tactful passes and support play to snatch the championship away from Kandy Reds and win the Championship Title.
The post presentation celebrations commenced with live music by the band “Exit” followed by dinner to mark this truly and fabulous Sri Lankan Rugby Day graced by the many of the rugby loving community in Doha.
