A last-minute try by Avishka Lee saw John Keells Blues team beat 3DH International in the Cup final to win the trophy at the 50th Mercantile Rugby Sevens Tournament at Longdon Place yesterday.
The two-day event produced keenly contested games that saw the best two teams reach the final. Many teams were loaded with national and club players who displayed good skills with high levels of fitness.
John Keells Blues and 3DH International teams featured in a close contest with long passes and close tackling that made it difficult for either side to score at will.
John Keells took the lead in the first half through a try by Richard Dharmapala in the fifth minute that went unconverted. But just before the half time Gemunu Chethiya scored under the posts with Sudam Sooriaarachchi converting as 3DH took a 7-5 lead at half time.
The second half too saw some close tackling being the main feature and the scores remain unchanged. Then in the dying minute Avishka Lee received a pass and went over mid right. John Keells Blues took the lead 10-7 and with the conversion being missed the long whistle was blown.
The Plate final was won by John Keells White who beat Dialog ‘A’ by 7 points to 5.
Ishan Fernando scored for John Keells and Mithun Hapugoda for Dialog.
Sampath Bank won the Bowl final when they beat Brandix by 17 points to 12 after leading 10-7 at half time.
Fair First won the Shield final when they narrowly beat Ceylinco VIP ‘A’ team by 5 points to nil. The match winning try was scored by Akila Dilshan.
Only three teams participated in the women’s tournament that was played on a tag rugby basis.
CDB beat Sampath Bank by 10 points to nil in the final.
A fairly large crowd was present to witness this tournament that was played after a two-year gap due to the pandemic across the country.