Plucky Lankans complete inspiring 25-21 win against Philippines
In a grueling encounter Sri Lanka recorded an inspiring 25-21 win against the Philippines to secure the second slot of the Asian Division I Rugby Championship 2016 at the Royal Selangur Stadium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday. The Tuskers, smarting after the shocking 17-42 defeat at the hands of eventual competition victors Malaysia on Wednesday, put up a perfectly executed show to secure the second place of the Division I table. Flanker Jason Dissanayake touched down twice for Sri Lanka while centre Kanchana Ramanayake crossed the tryline once. Fullback Riza Mubarak contributed with 10 points from his boot putting over two tries and two penalties. Both Mubarak and Dissanayake are among the top five points scorers in this year's competition. Next to Mohamed Saiful of Malaysia (35) and Singapore's Richard Patterson (30) sits Mubarak with 30 points at joint second after putting over six penalties and six conversions. Dissanayake end up as the top try- scorer of the tournament but in the overall list he sits at fifth behind Philippines' Oliver Saunders. Saunders collected 18 points from a try, three penalties and two conversions while Dissanayake's 15 points come from three tries. Malaysia's Etonia Saukuru, Mawara Nasalo, Mohamed Azmir, Philippines' Terrence Corroll and Singapore's John Ansell complete the top players' list with two tries each.
Both Malaysia and Sri Lanka wrap up the tournament with two wins and a defeat each from three games but the host's big-margin win against last year's champions earns them 11 points including 3 bonus points with a handsome points difference of 47 to top the division.
In the three games Malaysia collect 92 points and give away 45 points, with their heaviest being 17 against Sri Lanka, who finishes with 9 points with a bonus point. The Tuskers end their campaign with minus five points as points difference after earning 75 points and conceding 80 points in the three games.
Malaysia recorded wins against Singapore (40-13) and Sri Lanka (42-17) and lost to Philippines ( 10- 15) while Sri Lanka beat Singapore (33-17) before handling the Philippines Volcanoes.
Philippines, who were earlier marked as the direct threat by Sri Lanka, finishes at third with a win -- against Malaysia (15-10) but suffered a shocking 24-28 defeat against Singapore before tasting their second loss yesterday. They earn 7 points with 3 bonus points and completes the tournament with minus three points difference. They collected 60 points but conceded 63 points. At the bottom of the table are Singapore who has a win and two defeats to their name. Sans any pluses they earn 4 points and at the end are with minus 39 points after securing 58 points and conceding 97 to their opponents.