Kings And Sharks Maintain Dominance But Other Teams Step Up Challenge
- Rugby – Carlton Super 7’s – Colombo Leg
By Milinda Gunawardena
Action in one of the games - pic by Sachin David
After an eventful two days in Kandy, the Carlton Super Sevens rugby tournament kicked off the first day of the second leg at the Royal Sports Complex in Colombo yesterday. The tournament which has created a carnival atmosphere and two days of scintillating display of sevens rugby attracted large crowds to the Royal Complex.
Proceedings for the day were delayed till 12.40 in the afternoon as the latter part of the scheduled matches for the day was to be played under lights.
The first leg played in Kandy saw the Southern Sharks stealing the thunder and emerging champs. The much fancied Central Kings team led by Fazil Marija had to settle for the runners up position. However the second leg predictions were that these two teams will be the teams to beat in the Colombo leg.
Both teams lived up to expectations although the Central Kings had a hiccup in the middle against the Jaffna Challengers led by Yoshith Rajapakse. Southern Sharks continued their excellent form by beating Western Warriors led by Dushanth Lewke in the first game of the day by 45-05 and the Sabaragamuwa Stallions 28-12 before tea and in the evening beat the Eastern Eagles convincingly. The Eastern Eagles led by Lasitha De Costa had a fairly steady first day with the help of the nippy scrum half Danushka Pushpakumara and the skipper himself. On the other hand the young and talented Uva Viper’s team played strong robust rugby with the help of youngsters Tharindu Chanka, Sajith Saranga and schoolboy sensation Danushka Ranjan. The Uva vipers beat the Jafffna challengers 17-14 but lost to the Central Kings later on.
The two most improved teams after the first leg were North Western Blacks and Jaffna Challengers who made their presence felt on the first day of the tournament. Players that stood out on the first day were Zah Lawrence, Benjamin Botica, Nalu Tuingamala, Mohammed Sheriff, Fazil Marija, Srinath Sorriyabandara, Sajith Saranga, Richard Dharmapala, Vilivara and Dinusha Chathuranga. The second days play will resume at 12.40 today at the Royal Complex and it would be interesting to see if the Southern Sharks can retain the title.
