Gladiators win second leg of Carlton seven at Beliatta

Monday, 7 July 2014 01:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Text and Pictures by P.D. De Silva The Northern Gladiators continued their good form and remained undefeated at Beliatta at the conclusion of the second leg of the Carltons Rugby Sevens last evening. They defeated North Central Typhoons the winners of the first leg by 22 points to 15. The Gladiators and the North Central Typhoons who won the first leg in Kurnegala were named joint champs of the Carlton local sevens tournament.

The Northern Gladiators and the North Central Typhoons led their respective groups after the preliminary round held on Saturday Group A winners North Central Typhoons overcame the Jaffna Challengers 19 points to 14 to enter the semi finals while the Northern Gladiators continued their winning spree defeating the Western Warriors 28 points to nil. Central Kings got the better of Southern Sharks 31 points to 19 and the North Western Blacks overcame the Uva Vipers 12 points to 10 to qualify for the semis. In the selection matches for fifth to tenth places, Eastern Eagles held Jaffna Challengers to a 14 all draw, the Southern Sharks over came the Sabaragamuwa Stallions 31 points to 10, the Uva Vipers defeated the Eastern Eagles 24 points to 14, while the Sabaragamuwa Stallions got the better of the Western Warriors 33 points to 10. In the next set of matches, the Uva Vipers defeated the Jaffna Challengers 26 points to 17 and the Southern Sharks vanquished the Western Warriors 36 points to nil.

In the semi finals the Northern Gladiators registered their sixth consecutive win by defeating the North Western Blacks 21 points to 15. The North Central Typhoons entered the final by defeating the Central Kings 19 points to 17. The playoff for the ninth and tenth places between the Jaffna Challengers and the Western Warriors was started in a heavy deluge which fell on the D.A. Rajapaksa Stadium. The Jaffna Challengers won the game 34 points 12 to clinch ninth spot while the Warriors had to settle for tenth place. The Challengers led 17 points to nil at half time. The Sabaragamuwa Stallions led 14 points 5 at half time to go on to win 19 points to 12 against Uva Warriors to clinch the 7th spot. Eastern Eagles defeated the Southern Sharks 17 points to five to win 5th place. North Western Blacks edged out the Central Kings 21 points to 17 to win third spot at Beliatta. Dhanushka Ranjan of the Northern Gladiators scored the most tries at Beliatta with ten tries.

Group A North Central Typhoons 10 points

Uva Vipers 10 points Central Kings 09 points Western Warriors 07 points Sabaragamuwa Stallions 04 points Group B Northern Gladiators 12 points Sothern sharks 08points North Western Blacks 08 points Jaffna Challengers 07 points Eastern Eagles 05 points