A resurgent Sri Lanka women’s team took Plate honours defeating Thailand 22-10 in the final at the Happy Valley in Hong Kong on Saturday (15).
The event saw the birth of a new star for Sri Lankan women’s rugby in Dulani Pallikondage, who scored tries either side of the halves using her blistering pace.
Another couple of tries by Theekshana Liyanage, one of which was converted by Ayesha Kaluarachchi ensured that Sri Lanka repeated its performance three years ago at the same venue.
It was apparent that Sri Lanka was relying on the speed of Pallikondage and at every given opportunity opted to move the ball wide, which in the end brought the desired result.
The day got underway on a rather slumber note when Sri Lanka women’s team was completely outplayed by China 36-0, ending the glimmer of hope of qualifying for the Cup Championship.
However, in a nail-biting Plate semi-final against South Korea, the Sri Lankan lasses prevailed 21-15.
A couple of tries by Pallikondage, converted by Ayesha Kaluarachchi had Sri Lanka in a comfortable lead.
South Korea pulled one back on the brink of half time and followed up with another two tries in the second half all of which were unconverted to lead 15-14.
With the game as good as gone, Sri Lanka with possession moved deep from its territory and Wasana Weerakkody broke free to cover over 50 meters to score under the posts.
The accurate conversion by Thanuja Weerakkody signaled the end of the game.
Results:
China beat Sri Lanka 36-00; Kazakhstan beat Singapore 24-10; Japan beat Thailand 31-00; Hong Kong beat South Korea 34-00.
Plate semi-finals: Sri Lanka beat South Korea 21-15; Thailand beat Singapore 19-05
Cup semi-finals: Japan beat Kazakhstan 21-15; China beat Hong Kong 19-14.
7th /8th playoff: Singapore beat South Korea 27-00.
Plate final: Sri Lanka beat Thailand 22-10.
3rd / 4th playoff: Kazakhstan beat Hong Kong 14-05.
Cup final: Japan beat China 12 -07.
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