New Zealand U85kg outclass the Sri Lanka Tuskers in Kandy

Nittawela Rugby Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka, hosted the first overseas tour for the New Zealand U85kg team, starting on Sunday evening. The team overcame a physical test from the Sri Lankan Tuskers.

A loud and passionate crowd packed into the stadium for the matchup, after the Tuskers recently won an Asia Rugby Championship Playoff against Malaysia, 59-19.

The New Zealand side, captained by Jarred Percival out of the High School Old Boys Light Bears club team in Canterbury, started the game off strongly in Kandy, scoring in the opening ten minutes through loose forward Pasia Asiata from the Poneke Wanderers club in Wellington. Percival added the extras from the corner to take a 7-0 lead.

The New Zealand side then decided to counterattack from their own end, winning the ball back on the back of a long kick from Percival. New Zealand midfielder Ben Megson out of Grammar TEC Old Boys in Auckland found himself in some space, before firing a long cut-out pass to his midfield teammate Campbell Busby.

Busby sharply offloaded it to Jamie Petford, who dived in the corner to score untouched.

The Tuskers hit back shortly after, through a well-functioned lineout maul, to bring the scores to 12-7.

New Zealand fullback Francis Morrison, one of five representatives from the national club champions the Pakuranga Black Panthers, showed some nice footwork to break the Sri Lankan line.

Morrison was able to free the arms and offload to vice-captain Josh Gellert, who smartly passed the ball to Megson, before going from creator to try scorer, putting the ball down 15 meters in from the touchline.

Percival once again was able to convert, taking New Zealand’s lead to 12 just before halftime.

New Zealand’s final try of the first half was from influential lock Jack Laity out of the Auckland University club in Auckland. Laity got the ball in his hands just under five meters from the line, proving to be too big, too strong that close to the line.

HT: 26-7 to New Zealand.

The second half was dominated by the Kiwis, running in another four tries in the second forty, with the Tuskers only adding a penalty to their first-half total.

Percival was once again in the thick of the action, this time he found a gap in the Sri Lanka defence after a nice offload from Asiata, to score under the posts.

Morrison, the ever-present fullback, finally got himself on the try scorer’s list after setting up a couple of tries. Morrison fired a cutout ball to replacement playmaker Eamon Reilly, who returned the favour and set up Morrison in the corner.

Asiata was then on the end of a Reilly line break, to score his second of the match with just under ten minutes to go,

With only a couple of minutes left on the clock, the New Zealand side was able to score their eighth try of the evening.

Morrison was able to break through the Sri Lankan defence on the back of a Taine Cordell-Hull bullet pass from the base of the ruck, to bring up 50 points on the night.

FT: 50-10 to the New Zealand U85kg representative team. 

Game two: New Zealand Under 85kg v Sri Lanka Tuskers, Saturday, May 10, 6.30 pm SLT (Sunday 11 May, 1 am NZT), Race Course Grounds, Colombo.