Havies thrash hapless Reds
Table leaders Havelocks Sports Club extended their unbeaten run by thrashing a hapless CR&FC side by 53-3 to claim their sixth win of the SLR Club Rugby League Championship 2022 at Longdon Place yesterday.
The Red Shirts were the first to open scoring when they put over a penalty in the fifth minute of the game to enjoy a slender 3-0 lead up to the 20th minute, after centre Yasas Kavindu put over an easy penalty, but it was all they could gain for the rest of the day.
Havelocks gained the lead in the 20th minute and went on a rampage, while leading the halftime by 22-3, in a game where the hosts had no say at all. Earning bonus points, Havies scored from eight tries, five conversions and penalty, to become the first team to surpass the 50-point mark in the ongoing season.
From the point when centre Randitha Warnapura overturned the game to gain a 5-3 lead with an unconverted try, it was total domination by the Havies right up to the final whistle. The Red Shirts had very little or no clue as to what to do to save their face. The lead expanded to 8-3 when flyhalf Sandesh Jayawickrama put over a penalty in the 25th minute as the game moved on without much of an impact for 10 minutes.
But Warnapura made a sudden breakthrough to brace a try, to which extra points were added by Jayawickrama as Havies expanded the lead to 15-3. Minutes before the short whistle lock Umesh Madushan made another breakthrough to add Havies' third try and with Jayawickrama's conversion they comfortably took the breather with a 22-3 lead.
Winger Christian De Lile was the first to go past the CR defence after the resumption when he landed a try in the 46th minute. With Jayawickrama's conversion the lead went up to 29-3. Forward Hafiz Adahan then barged through in the 60th minute to score an unconverted try to put his team further up by 34-3. Joining the party next is three-quarter Ashel Ranasinghe, who landed a try in the 66th minute, as Jayawickrama successfully put it over to further expand the lead to 41-3.
CR players were merely spectators by then, having all their plans thwarted by the Havies right throughout as they succumbed to their fifth defeat in seven games. Winger Ramesh Fernando added another try in the 69th minute, which went unconverted as the lead expanded to 46-3. Fernando was sin-binned five minutes later, yet CR could not make any breakthrough even Havies played a man less right up to the final whistle.
Instead they added another try to their tally, when No.8 Lasindu Karunathilake landed Havies' final try of the game. With Jayawickrama's conversion, the scores were 53-3 at the end of the game.