By: Vibhuti Pathak
The Sri Lankan rugby team won their fourth Asia Rugby Men’s Championship Division 1 title after a 45-7 win over Kazakhstan in Colombo this Sunday (5). The team is now the fifth-highest-ranked team in the region behind Japan, Hong Kong China, Korea and the Philipines.
The tournament saw a 20,000-capacity crowd cheering at the Racecourse Ground.
The tournament hosts were cheered on by a 20,000-capacity crowd at the Racecourse Ground and rose to the occasion by scoring 45 points for the second time in a week.
Sri Lanka The team opened the scoring with a try by Zubair Dore ten minutes into the first half. They kept on adding points while Kazakhstan relentlessly attacked. By halftime, the Tuskers had scored 31 points.
Tarinda Ratwatte then converted Nanayakkara’s try and one of his own and also added the extras to Dinal Ekanayake’s score as the Tuskers went into the break with a 31-0 advantage.
Ratwatte had a hand in the build-up to Heshan Jansen’s try not long after the restart, Ratwatte again converting to turn the five points into seven and increase their lead to 38-0.
They continued their dominance into the second half, with Heshan Jansen scoring a try at 56 minutes. Captain Magamedrasul Magomedov salvaged a consolation try for Kazakhstan, preventing a shutout. The final score was 45-7
The speciality of the tournament hosted on Racecourse Ground in Colombo was that it was eco-conscious and was designated as a green event. Asia Rugby collaborated with Sri Lanka Rugby to introduce the ‘TRY-A TREE’ initiative, committing to planting a tree for every try scored in Asia Rugby Tournaments.
Remarkably, after just the first day, an impressive 119 trees had already found new homes.
Continuing its commitment to sustainability, Asia Rugby, in partnership with Sri Lanka Rugby, organised educational sessions during the week. The local children, along with team managers from all four unions, participated in a demonstration highlighting the vital role of honey bees in the ecosystem.
Sri Lanka will find themselves in 41st – their best position since they were 40th in August 2018. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, will remain in 64th. The rugby World Cup has just about kicked off in France.
