By Callistus Davy
Contrary to expectations, Sri Lanka dismantled Malaysia in a quarter of an hour in their Asian Rugby Championship play-off match at the Race Course ground in Colombo on Saturday.
When the match ended with the scores reading 59-19, no other proof was needed that Sri Lanka asked for a mere 15 minutes to make the difference in the first half itself, taking a 33-7 half-time lead.
Malaysia started as if they meant business, pushing back the Sri Lanka pack after conceding a try in the fifth minute.
They forced a scrum five metres away from the line and scored, and that was all the Malaysians had to showcase.
Midway through the first half, Sri Lanka got into rhythm and matched the Malaysian forwards weight for weight and strength for strength, and it was only a formality with the final result a foregone conclusion.
Eventually, what separated both teams was that the Sri Lankans were better ball players and gap hitters—faster and swifter on the run.
In the thick of everything were centres Dhanushka Ranjan and Arkash Madushanka, followed by winger Dinal Ekanayake and second-rower Naveen Marasinghe, making up the try-scoring spree that was to settle the issue.
“We came together for just a week and our plan was to play fast open rugby—and thanks to the boys,” said Nigel Ratwatte, who captained Sri Lanka for the first time.
In the process, winger Ekanayake scored three tries while Mursheed Doray converted seven of Sri Lanka’s nine tries.
Interestingly, Sri Lanka signed off in style, scoring the final try off a classical rolling maul.
Sri Lanka’s next match will be against South Korea on a date yet to be announced.
