CH end in third place with 32-10 win

CH & FC finished third in the Caltex League Rugby Championship this season defeating Havelocks by 32 points (3 goals, 1 try, 2 penalties) to 10 (1 goal, 1 penalty) at Maitland Crescent yesterday after leading 15-0 at half time. CH won the first-round game 15-13 too.

CH should have won by a bigger margin of points, but it was no to be. They were able to score only four tries. They did not play well as expected though running the ball. Havies on the other hand never looked the side that beat CR last week. The threes not only failed to run the ball, but were guilty of poor ball handling too and their defence too left much to be desired.

Saliya Kumara put CH ahead in the second minute with a 35-metre penalty, which they increased to 10-0, 11 minutes later through a superb try by left winger Nishantha Kumara who ran over 60 metres for Saliya Kumara to convert. Just before lemons, CH increased the lead to 15-nil through an unconverted try by scrum-half Milinda Jayasinghe after Badurdeen made the break.

After the turn around, Havies, reduced the lead through a simple 20-metre penalty by Sajith Bandara in the sixth minute, while Saliya Kumara made it 18-3 in favour of CH with another simple 15-metre penalty three minutes later. CH's prop Dilan Ekanayake then scored under the posts in the 15th minute for Saliya Kumara to convert (CH 25-3). Jayasuriya then scored a consolation try for Havies in the 28th minute for Sajith Bandara to have an easy conversion, but the issue was put beyond doubt in the 40th minute with CH's Badurdeen scoring and Saliya Kumara converting for them to win 32-10.

Two players from CH, flanker Tharindu Rathnage and scrum-half Milinda Jayasinghe were sent in to Sin Bin in the second session with the latter even been warned by referee Dilroy Fernando early in the first session.

(L.G.)