Emerge runners-up to Hong Kong:

Sri Lanka in smashing 31-6 win over Chinese Taipei

Sajeewa Jayakody

The Sri Lanka Under-19 team rugby team made amends for their defeats at the hands of South Korea and Hong Kong with a smashing 31 points (four goals, one penalty) to 6 (two penalties) win over Chinese Taipei in the last game of the Singer Under-19 Asian Rugby Football Tournament match played at Race Course, Colombo after leading 14-6 at half time.

The host nation missed an easy chance of taking lead when skipper Tharinda Ratwatte missed an easy 15-metre penalty in the 4th minute. Chinese Taipei grabbed lead in the ninth minute when full back Powei Huang fired across a 20-metree penalty. He increased their lead by putting over another easy penalty to give them a six-naught lead.

The Lankans snatched the lead in the 21st minute, when skipper Tharinda Ratwatte put the finishing touches to a move begun in mid-field by scoring under the posts and added the extra points himself.

Just before the ‘breather’ burly Number Eight Omalka Gunaratne scored a try by the corner flag with Tharinda Ratwatte making a spectacular conversion to give the Lankans a 14-6 lead at ‘lemons’.

In the 16th minute after resumption, the Lankans increased the lead when Ganuka Dissanayake scored off a rolling maul near the right corner flag. Ratwatte made a fine conversion to make 21-6.

Fourteen minutes later, burly Sri Lanka Number Eight Omalka Gunaratne scored by the corner flag off a rolling maul with Ratwatte making a splendid conversion to make it 28-6.

Four minutes before the final whistle, the Lankans added to their tally when Tharinda Ratwatte made no mistake with an easy 20-metre penalty to give the hosts nations a resounding 31-6 win.

With this win, Sri Lanka emerged runners-up of the tournament having more bonus points than South Korea and Chinese Taipei with all three teams winning one match each.

Mighty Hong Kong emerged champions of the tournament with a runaway 58 points (six goals, two tries, two penalties) to 6 (two penalties) win over South Korea in the other game played at the same venue yesterday.