Sri Lanka thrash Sabah Eagles 46-0
SANDAKAN: Sri Lanka edged closer to defending the Women's rugby title after securing a place in the Cup semifinals of the Borneo Sevens here yesterday.
The title holders showed their prowess by beating Sabah Eagles 46-0 in the quarter-finals played at the Eagles Sports Arena.
Sri Lanka will next face Thailand for a place in the Cup final after the latter thrashed the Sabah Sukma squad 52-0.
Head coach Sudath Sampath was happy for his team to reach the last four but he stressed the squad must be at their best to face Thailand, whom they beat in last year's final 12-5.
"We are gonna work harder when we take on Thailand...they are a very good team.
"The players have to do their basics properly and focus on our plays, our defence and attack structures. We need to follow that if we are gonna do well against Thailand," he said.
Sampath also expressed his hope the squad would return to full strength today after injuries to three of his players. The other Cup semifinals of the women's category will see Hong Kong Dragons up against Singapore Select.
Hong Kong Dragons were too good for the Islanders Women's RC after winning 83-0 while Singapore Select defeated Eagles RFC Select 25-5 in the quarter-finals.
And Sampath, the former Sri Lanka Rugby Sevens men captain, expected the Hong Kong Dragons to be their strongest challengers for the Borneo Sevens title.
In fact, Hong Kong Dragons had beaten Sri Lanka 22-12 in the preliminary Group A fixtures in the morning to advance into the evening's quarter-finals as the group winners with Sri Lanka in second place.
"Hong Kong are a strong team. We have chances but we lost the game because we did not do our things correctly.
"Our defence were not coming up together while when we had possession, it was hard for us to pass the ball...we are not in control of the ball.
"That's why we lost to Hong Kong actually," he said when asked of the toughest team they had faced in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the women's Plate semifinals today will see Islander's Women RC taking on Eagles RFC Select and Sabah Eagles up against Sabah Sukma.
The various finals in the Women's category will be played later today with the main Cup final scheduled at 4:50pm.