After a stupendous performance for two days, Sri Lanka men’s outfit led by Kavindu Perera sealed the third place in the Asia Rugby 7s series finale Colombo edition which concluded at the Racecourse Grounds yesterday (19).
24 teams in both Men’s and Women’s divisions battled it out for the series title for important spots in the World Rugby HSBC SVNS Division 3.
Hong Kong China defeated heavy favourites Japan 12-7 in the cup finals.
Sri Lanka were unlucky to miss out on a maiden grand final spot after going down fighting in an intensely fought tight game 15-12 against Asia’s powerhouse Japan in the Cup semi final.
However the hosts put everything aside and came back storming into the third place decider against China whom they lost to in the previous edition played in Hangzhou, China last month. This time it was sweet revenge for the island nation as they beat the visitors 19-12. The pocket rocket veteran Srinath Sooriyabandara opened the scoring as he dashed his way across the park. At half time, scores were at 7-7.
Diluksha Dange started off the second half in style diving over the whitewash in the right flank. Dharshana Dabare sealed the deal a minute before the long whistle going over for Lanka’s third try.
It was also a day to remember as Sri Lanka did a double against China on the same day as the hosts got the better of the Chinese lads 34-07 in their final group game.
Meanwhile Sri Lanka women won the battle for the wooden spoon defeating Indonesia 38-10 in the 11-12th place playoff game.
Results Day-2
Women’s
9th Place SF: Philippines 17 – 00 Indonesia
Sri Lanka 19 – 24 Malaysia
5th Place SF: India 33 – 05 Singapore UAE 07 – 38 Kazakhstan
Cup SF: Japan 31 – 00 Hong Kong China Thailand 17 – 19 China
11th-12th place final: Indonesia 10 – 38 Sri Lanka
9th-10th Final: Philippines 12 – 29 Malaysia
7th-8th Final: Singapore 14 – 12 UAE
5th-6th Final: India 05 – 10 Kazakhstan
3rd-4th Final: Thailand 10 – 05 Hong Kong
Cup final: Japan 29 – 00 China
Men’s
9th Place SF: Malaysia 19 – 07 Chinese Taipei
Korea 05 – 10 Uzbekistan
5th Place SF: Philippines 10 – 17 UAE Singapore 00 – 32 Thailand
Cup SF: Hong Kong China 29 – 12 China Sri Lanka 12 – 15 Japan
11th-12th Final : Chinese Taipei 05 – 27 Korea
9th-10th Final: Malaysia 31 – 05 Uzbekistan
7th-8th Final: Philippines 12 – 22 Singapore
5th-6th Final: UAE 12 – 26 Thailand
3rd-4th Final: Sri Lanka 19 – 12
Cup final: Hong Kong 12 – 07 Japan
Men’s overall standings
- Hong Kong - 40
- Japan - 36
- Sri Lanka - 30
- China - 30
- UAE - 22
- Malaysia - 14
- Thailand - 14
- Singapore - 11
- Korea - 10
- Chinese Taipei - 7
- Uzbekistan - 7
- Philippines - 7
Women’s overall standings
- Japan - 40
- China - 36
- Thailand - 30
- Hong Kong - 30
- Kazakhstan - 24
- India - 20
- UAE - 14
- Malaysia - 10
- Singapore - 9
- Sri Lanka - 6
- Philippines - 5
- Indonesia - 2