Navy power their way through fitness and stamina:

Namal shines in victory over CH and FC

Two spectacular tries from Namal Rajapaksa helped the Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club pull off a hard fought 24-18 victory over CH and FC in their Caltex Inter-Club 'A' Division League Rugby Tournament match worked off at Maitland Crescent yesterday.

The winners who were trailing 8-13 at half time rallied round well in the second half and collected their points from three tries, two penalties and one drop goal. CH and FC responded with one goal, one try and two penalties.

Dynamic third row forward Namal Rajapaksa led the way as he scored two important tries and also initiated the third try which was scored by wing three-quarter Niranjan Wickremaratne.

The other major contribution for Navy SC came from the reliable boot of Dav Anand who struck form at the correct time with two fantastic penalties from difficult angles and a neat drop goal to complete a memorable outing.

Navy SC were under pressure at the beginning after CH and FC had launched a fierce assault through their heavy set of forwards. In fact the home side did all the scoring in the first half that put them in a commanding position.

But in a dramatic turn of events Navy SC powered their way through their fitness and stamina which gave them the advantage during the latter stages of the game. But more importantly they held their nerve and committed the least number of mistakes that turned out to be a decisive factor in the final outcome. CD

Action from the Navy - CH & FC game