Army holds CH to a thrilling draw

By Sandun Kodithuwakku

CH and FC clawed back a half time deficit but it was not good enough to overcome Army SC, as both teams settled for an 8-all draw in their opening match of the Dialog Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament worked off at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo today (29).

Both teams scored an unconverted try and a penalty each as rain made for tricky playing conditions for almost the entirety of the game and ultimately missed chances costing either the victory.

However, Army SC had a surprise 8-0 advantage at the break but were unable to extend that lead in the second half missing two penalties and a conversion.

Pre-tournament favourites CH and FC for their part had a more positive second half and could have had completed an excellent comeback had they been successful with either converting their only try or the solitary penalty they attempted at goal.

Army SC playmaker Ashen Bandara broke the deadlock in the 15th minute with a move that saw the ball go down their attacking line, from right of the field to left, before he dived over and touched down for the first try.

Full back Isuru Medagedera, who missed the conversion, put over an easy 22-metre penalty for Army SC to grab an 8-0 lead which they carried into half time.

It didn’t take long into the second half for CH and FC to score their first points with prop forward Sathya Ranathunga crashing through a rolling maul to score mid-left.

But the incessant rain made for a tricky conversion which full back Samuel Maduwantha missed.

Maduwantha redeemed himself with a 65th minute penalty from close to the touch-line, giving his team 15 minutes to claim a comeback victory.

But a missed penalty meant that CH and FC had to be satisfied with sharing points with Army SC to open their league campaign.