Lankans clear first hurdle -beat China 19-12
The Srinath Sooriyabandara led Sri Lanka Sevens team overcame a stiff hurdle in their opening game of the Asian 7s Rugby Series third Leg by getting the better of a bigmade Chinese team by 19 points (2 goals, 1 try) to 12 (1 goal, 1 try) at the Racecourse ground last evening.
China were on the board first and got into a 7-0 lead. This was a must win game and the local team redoubled their effort after an early setback. Danush Dayan equalised by speeding away and touching down, while Sudam Sooriyaarachchi added the extras.
Mercurial Dhanushka Ranjan, returning from injury, split open the defence and ran through for the second try which was not converted. The skipper took a hand in the proceedings now by collecting from a ruck and weaving his way over the line. Sooriyaarachchi converted this try for his team to lead 19-7.
China did come back with their second try when the Sri Lankans seemed to relax the pressure thinking they were home and dry, 19-12. The Chinese were just seven points away and attacked with gusto. However the local team responded to the situation by tackling very well to prevent their opponents from getting that vital third try.
The Sri Lankan girls did well initially, holding the Hong Kong team almost until the hooter sounded. They tackled well and seemed inspired. The second half was different as the Hong Kong lasses applied greater pressure to break down the defence of the local team and go on to a 29-0 win.
The other women's matches seemed one- sided as China, Kazakhstan and Japan overcame Thailand, Singapore and South Korea by margins of 35, 41 and 46 respectively.
The Japanese men ran rings round the Malaysian players to thump them 61-0. The Philippines scored early and drew away from their opponents for a comfortable 34-5 defeat of South Korea. Hong Kong headed the day's tally by running up 71 points as against Chinese Taipei's 5.
Results
Men's: Philippines beat South Korea 34- 5, Japan beat Malaysia 61-0, Sri Lanka beat China 19-12, Hong Kong beat Chinese Taipei 71-5
Women's: China beat Thailand 35- 0, Kazakhstan beat Singapore 41- 0, Hong Kong beat Sri Lanka 29-0, Japan beat South Korea 46-0, Thailand beat Singapore 14- 0, Kazakhstan drew China 0-0