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Army ‘A’ and Chennai Cheetas in final

KOLKATA: Holder Army ‘A’ and last year’s runner-up Chennai Cheetas extended their dominance in the National rugby scene moving into the final of the all-India and South Asia Rugby tournament for the second year in succession.

In the two semifinals at the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club here on Thursday, Army ‘A’ blanked local outfit Future Hope 62-0, while Chennai Cheetas prevailed over Army ‘B’ 36-14.

The two teams faced little resistance and sailed through the draw earning facile wins before ensuring a repeat of the last year’s final line-up.

Army ‘A’ started on a sedate note and led the first session 19-0. With Future Hope failing to match the fitness and strength of its opponent, the armymen went on the rampage after the break.

They succeeded in making a string of tries, which more than doubled its first half collection. Among the leading army scorers were Sujoy Lama, who made one try and five conversions, while Charanjit Singh and Sandip Singh made two tries each.

The Chennai side, having three players from New Zealand in its fold, gave its best in the first session.

It worked up a 22-0 lead. Army ‘B’, riding on a try each by Joginder and Surinder Singh, tried a comeback after the break, but that did not work out well as Chennai Cheetas kept scoring regularly.

For the Chennai side, Mike Pirret, Jayashankar, Lorenzo and Benjamin contributed with a try each, while Emil Vartazarian accounted for the highest points making three penalty conversions and an equal number of conversions. — Principal Correspondent

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