Sri Lanka dazzle and blow away Malaysia’s aspirations. Comprehensive thrashing of a serious challenger. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (ELanka sports editor)
Sri Lanka blew away Malaysia’s aspirations of making the top four of Asian Rugby with a breathtaking display of open rugby at the Racecourse ground in Colombo.
Up against a formidable opposition made up of expatriate Fijians and one Australian, Sri Lanka countered the Malaysian expectation with a cleverly executed master plan to outrun and outmanoeuvre the Malaysians, and they did this with fantastic cohesion to run in a 59- 19 victory before a packed out home crowd.
Dreaming big and thinking outside the box mixed with tenacity and self belief does deliver the unexpected as Sri Lanka proved with a memorable performance that was certainly not in the expectation or minds of the purists.
Malaysia came into this game brimming with confidence and after months of preparation compared to Sri Lanka who seem to thrive on disarray, with a little over a week after club commitments and hastily stringing a national side together.
Local media didn’t add confidence to their chances of winning, focussing instead on matters off the field and injuries to key players in the inter club competitions.
Sri Lanka’s clever coach Sanath Marris was unperturbed by the outside distractions confident that his charges would deliver if they stuck to his game plan. They certainly didn’t let him down.
Malaysia were certainly unprepared on how to deal with Sri Lanka’s backs who were elusive, penetrative and at times untouchable as they danced their way through the opposition untouched.
It was a fast paced game of wonderful open running rugby as Sri Lanka put the opposition on the backfoot minutes into the first half with a series of snappy offloads that caught the defence flat-footed. Winger Jainidu Dilshan scored first and later on another in the second half to cap off a great game.
But it was the other winger Dinal Ekanayake that grabbed the limelight with a hat-trick of tries with his superior speed and guile that gave him the man -ofthe -match award.
The try fest that was unimaginable, throws up the promise of Sri Lanka’s raw talent that will be put into perspective when they line up against quality opposition in the All Blacks under 85 kg category that they line up against on May 4 and 10 in Kandy and Colombo where their skill levels will be tested for its worth.
Malaysia responded soon after Sri Lanka took the lead to grab back the initiative and lead with a converted try for the only time in the game, before the Lankans ran riot piling in four more converted tries to lead 33-7 at the short break.
The extreme humid conditions sapped the energy out of the visitors and a special water break between halves was agreed upon to enable players to rehydrate.
The first half rampage certainly broke the back of the visitors who were left scrambling for answers as a ferocious Sri Lanka team basked in the glory of one of their best moments in Asian rugby.
Sri Lanka’s forwards were creditable despite the superior weight of the Malaysians. They responded with bone crunching defence rattling the visitors with their ferocious tackling. The power of the big stature Fijians was underlined by the three tries scored by imposing Etonia Vaga who smashed his way to three tries.
Realising the futility of one on one contact, and playing to their strengths, Sri Lanka were quick to feed their outsides who were always dangerous in possession.
But hindsight suggests they were over adventurous when they found their edge and became complacent at times when in possession, a trait that needs addressing against better opposition.
The brave Lankans refused to take their foot off the pedal running in four more tries in the second session to two by Malaysia making the final scoreline a comprehensive demolition of a team that promised much but were blown out of the water by a brilliant Sri Lankan squad who were perceived to be understrength.
Hong Kong, UAE and South Korea form the other three teams Sri Lanka has to negotiate in the next leg, as they dream of winning that contest in a bid to play in the World Cup first the first time in its history.
If there is more depth to return in the next stage, Sri Lanka can certainly not be written off on their last performance against the Malaysians.
Making the World Cup would certainly be a dream that would parallel Sri Lanka’s World Cup winners in Cricket.
