Former CR&FC player Tharinda Ratwatte’s late penalty secured a 13-11 win for the defending champions Kandy SC against CR&FC in the Nippon Paint Rugby League 2022 at Longdon Place yesterday (17). 

The crunch game of week 2 kicked off at Longdon Place, with both CR&FC and Kandy coming into the game with wins behind them. The game was poised to be a crucial one which could go a long way in the season. 

The first half was clumsy from both sides and at the end it was a penalty from Ratwatte which divided the two teams going into lemons. CR&FC lost Vageesha Weerasinghe to a yellow card early in the game, but luckily for them it didn’t cost the home side. 

In the second half, both teams upped the ante. Chathura Senevirathne scored the first points for the Reds through a penalty to get on level terms. The hosts were once again down to 14 and Achintha Radeeshan was sin-binned in the 44th minute. However, it didn’t cost them at all while Chathura slotted in another penalty to take the lead. 

A few minutes later, Ratwatte scored the first try of the game for Kandy SC and managed to convert it to put a 3-point lead going into the one-hour mark. 

The hosts bounced back one more time to take the lead before the 70th minute through Vageesha Weerasinghe. The pivotal point of the game was when last week’s hero Lasindu Karunathilake was sin-binned in the 72nd minute, putting CR&FC down to 14 in the last eight minutes. 

The extra man added more pressure on the hosts, which ultimately paved the way for a penalty for Ratwatte, who slotted it in for the win. 

Full time: Kandy SC 13-11 CR&FC 

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