Asia U20 rugby 7s series concluded in Hong Kong as Sri Lanka won the plate championship beating Thailand 21 – 15. Hosts became the worthy winners in the cup final thrashing Malaysia 52 – 07.
Inconsistence performance in the second leg as the junior Tuskers managed to win only one game in the first day against Malaysia. Despite losing to UAE and China in the pool game the islanders had another opportunity in the cup quarter final against Chinese Taipei. However, it was a close encounter which was ultimately won by the Chinese Taipei in a thriller 24 – 19. Supun Dilshan of Science College scored 2 tries and Omalka Gunarathne scored 1.
After the early defeat in the second day morning against Taipei, Sri Lanka took on Kazakhstan in the plate semifinal. As expected the junior Tuskers won easily with the Kazakhs 35 – 05 and the top points scorer in the 1st leg in Malaysia Buddima Piyarathne, managed to score 2 tries along with Sajith Silva of Science College scoring 2. Kingswood’s Reeza Raffaideen added 1 try to his name.
In the plate final the Tuskers once again had a hard time beating Thailand 21 – 15. Although skipper Kevin Dixon, Supun Dilshan and Reeza Raffaideen were among the score card it was not an expected performance by the team.
Sri Lanka showcased a brilliant performance in the first leg of the series in Malaysia as they finished second. Team manager Rajiv Perera stated that the players could not bear the heat in the artificial turf in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, China beat Chinese Taipei 33 -12 to secure the 3rd place and Taipei finished 4th. The hosts Hong Kong won the first leg in Malaysia last week and secured their title dominance in Asia U20 7’s yet again.
