(UTV|COLOMBO) – Japan emerged champions in the Asia Rugby Sevens Series reasserting their dominance by clinching a ‘double’ in the third and final leg as both their men and women dismantled Hong Kong and Thailand in the Cup finals respectively with almost clinical efficiency under the dazzling lights amid a thin drizzle at Colombo’s Racecourse stadium yesterday.
Champions in the opening leg in Korea a month ago but upstaged by Hong Kong and China a fortnight ago, the stunning form of the Brave Blossoms in the ongoing World Cup seems to have inspired their Sevens stars to perform as brilliantly in the finale of the Asian series.
Chihito Matsui epitomized the sublime skills of the Japanese scoring his 18th try of the tournament and ninth of the weekend with a searing burst of speed to score their second in the sixth minute. Jose Seru crashed over in the fourth minute to break Hong Kong’s resistance while Lote Tuqiri added another as they raced to a 17-0 lead at the break.
Max Denmark put Hong Kong on the board after Japan were penalized with a yellow card but were denied despite a TMO (Television Match Official) review after some stoic defence by the Japanese in the second half before getting a consolation try on the stroke of full time to close the gap 12-17.
Hong Kong clawed back from 19-5 down to beat China 24-19 in the Cup semifinal after scoring two tries in quick succession in the final minutes of the game through Denmark and Liam Herbert who virtually ducked his way through the defence for the winning try.
Japan routed Sri Lanka 45-0 in the first Cup semi-final but the Tuskers who began the day with an impressive 35-10 win over UAE in their final pool match. Buddima Piyaratne scored one of the quickest tries of the tournament after just 34 seconds with a spectacular 80-metre sprint while Sri Lanka’s flyer Reeza Raffaideen scored a brace to give them a 21-5 lead at the break. Iroshan Silva and Sudharaka Dikkumbure crossed the line in the second half to seal an emphatic win.
However, Sri Lanka had to settle for fourth place after being beaten 27-12 by China but the Tuskers were not disgraced scoring two memorable tries. China surged ahead 12-0 with tries by Liu Jiunku and Bowel Jia after three minutes but Sri Lanka’s playmaker Kevin Dixon had other ideas. Picking up a loose ball he stepped and jinxed his way through from the halfway mark before being brought down near the line but skipper Dansha Dayan latched onto the pass to score in the right corner.
Liu Luda scored the first of his two tries to give China a 17-5 lead at the break. But almost with the restart Piyaratne fielded the ball and hared across the right flank to score one of the best tries of the tournament and denied China a try with a corner flag tackle.
In the Women’s Cup final, Japan romped to a 26-5 victory over surprise finalists Thailand with Hondka Tutsumi opening the floodgate with a quick brace in the fifth minute for her 14th try of the series while Yume Hirano gave them a 19-0 lead at the break. Wakada Hara dashed over the line for their fourth before the gallant Thais were awarded a TMO review try at the end of a fierce contest.
Sri Lanka Women clinched seventh position after defeating Malaysia 19-7. Malaysia took the lead when Norfarhana Aziz scored in the second minute but were a player short for much of the game thereafter after being shown red for a dangerous tackle.
Sri Lanka’s captain Sanjeewani de Silva scored in the fifth minute putting the finishing touches to fine a team effort to draw level 7-7.
Speedster Dulani Pallikondage, who scored a brace during their 22-10 defeat to Hong Kong in their final pool match earlier in the day, scored her third while Anusha Attanayake dashed from the halfway mark for two brilliant tries in the second half to give Sri Lanka victory.
Results
MEN
Cup Final: Japan 17 Hong Kong 12, Semifinals: Sri Lanka 0 Japan 45, China 19 Hong Kong 24
3rd/4th Final: Sri Lanka 12 China 27
Plate Final: Philippines 19 UAE 14, Semifinals: Korea 12 Philippines 22, Chinese Taipei 0 UAE 38
7th/8th Final: Korea 12 Chinese Taipei 19
Pool A: Sri Lanka 24 Korea 10, Hong Kong 34 UAE 0, Korea 17 UAE 24, Hong Kong 34 Sri Lanka 0, Sri Lanka 35 UAE 10, Hong Kong 45 Korea 0.
Pool B: Japan 43 Chinese Taipei 0, China 19 Philippines 17, Chinese Taipei 7 Philippines 41, China 0 Japan 33, Japan 35 Philippines 5, China 40 Chinese Taipei 0.
WOMEN
Cup Final: Thailand 5 Japan 26, Semifinals: Thailand 12 Kazakshtan 7, China 14 Japan 22
3rd/4th Final: Kazakshtan 0 China 31
Plate Final: Singapore 5 Hong Kong 22, Semifinals: Sri Lanka 0 Singapore 29, Malaysia 10 Hong Kong 22
7th/8th Final: Sri Lanka 17 Malaysia 7
Pool A: Hong Kong 5 Thailand 22, Japan 34 Sri Lanka 0, Thailand 36 Sri Lanka 5, Japan 24 Hong Kong 0, Hong Kong 22 Sri Lanka 10, Japan 31 Thailand 0
Pool B: Kazakshtan 52 Malaysia 0, China 61 Singapore 0, Malaysia 5 Singapore 10, China 17 Kazakshtan 19, Kazakshtan 48 Singapore 0, China 43 Malaysia 0
(DN)
[alert color=”faebcc” icon=”fa-commenting”]Keeping up to date with breaking news while you are on the move is now simple with UTV Alerts [textmarker color=”8a6d3b”]Type REG UTV and send to 77000[/textmarker] on your Dialog, Airtel, or Hutch mobile connection[/alert]