Nippon Paint Inter Club Major Rugby League 2023/24 Kandy prevail in tense battle with Cops

By Shamseer Jaleel at Nittawela

Defending league champions Kandy SC prevailed in a tensed battle when they outplayed Police SC by 33 points (five tries, four conversions) to 19 points (three tries, two conversions) in their Nippon Paint Inter Club Major Rugby League 2023/24 encounter, which concluded at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium last evening.

Kandy SC led 26-7 at lemons.

Kandy dominated play in the initial half through several phases but failed to see the try line on most occasions. Their three-quarter line increased their power with the inclusion of Danushka Ranjan, who played his first full game after nearly two years out of rugby. Nigel Ratwatte, Tarinda Ratwatte, Dinal Ekanayake, Danushka, and Srinarth Sooriyabandara looked threatening in their moves. In forwards’ play, hooker Dilshard Fareed was omnipresent. He had a grand game once again for the Up Country outfit.

Meanwhile, the Cops played well in patches, with Prince Chamara, Amjad Faumy, and Akash Madushanka playing their hearts out. Akash, the national sevens player, made some bold moves that put the Kandy defence all over the place.

After several phases, Kandy drew first blood through Danushka’s dashing run down the right corner flag. Tarinda missed the difficult conversion. Soon afterwards, Police replied through a loose ball, which Amjad touched down. Prince added the extras to take a 5-7 lead, favouring the Cops. Dilshard went over for his first try, and Tarinda added the extra two points to take a 12-7 lead.

Then Nigel’s high kick was chased successfully by Tarinda, who scored and converted a try himself. Prince missed an easy penalty for the Cops, but Kandy hit back through Milan Wijesinghe through a forwards’ rush. Tarinda’s conversion increased the lead to 26-7.

After the turnaround, Kandy, with a good lead of 19 points, started to relax, which allowed Police to score one more try through Sachith Silva, which was converted by Prince. Dulanjan Wijesinghe, the replacement hooker, touched down for the Cops to reduce the gap to seven points, but Kandy got out of jail with some solid defence and scored their last try through Tarinda to take a 33-19 win, ending their first three games with each of them with a bonus point win. Kandy will play Air Force SC in Ratmalana after the break for Christmas.
Referee: Ishanka Abeykoon