In the opening round of Division I play, Thailand turned in a giant-killing act stunning top seeds Kazakhstan 33-10 to emerge as dangerous outsiders for promotion to the Top Five next year.
The winner of this four-team tournament earns promotion to the elite company of Asian rugby and sees their Rugby World Cup qualification campaign continue into next year’s final stages.
In 2013, the Division I and Top 5 competitions are doubling as Asia’s qualifiers for Rugby World Cup 2015 as the winning team from Division I will advance to next year’s Top 5 and a chance for outright qualification as Asia’s sole entrant to RWC 2015. Similarly, the bottom-placed team after the Top 5 campaign (starting on April 20) will be demoted to Division I next season and see their Rugby World Cup dream come to an end.
Kazakhstan, who were pre-tournament joint-favorites with hosts Sri Lanka to clinch the promotion berth, struggled to cope with the searing heat of a Colombo afternoon. But coach Timur Mashurov refused to blame the conditions for his team’s capitulation.
“We made too many errors, especially our ball handling which was very poor. We were naive with the ball in hand and our decision-making was very poor,” said a disappointed Mashurov. “The conditions were hot, but we can’t use that as an excuse for it was the same for Thailand too.”
The 2pm kick-off seemed to have an early adverse effect on Kazakhstan, coming off their winter but the heavier forwards led by captain and No. 8 Serik Zhanseitov won the Central Asian team a number of clear chances which were spurned through faulty handling.
Thailand led 17-0 at the break thanks to two tries against the run of play by center Sirichai Daothaisong and winger Topong Boonlon. Daothaisong capitalised on a good 70-metre run by fullback Warongkorn Khamkoet after Boonlon had forced a turnover with a big hit on centre Ildar Abdrazakov who spilled the ball a meter from the Thai tryline.
Boonlon then dotted down just before the break, completing a quick counter-attack which began once again inside their own 22. Winger Pichit Yingcharoen added a third try midway through the second half as Thailand extended their lead.
With goal-kicking fullback Warongkorn Khamkoet in impeccable form with the boot, Thailand punished the frequent errors by Kazakhstan as Khamkoet knocked over four penalties and two conversions to finish with 16 points.
“This is a great win for us. It is the first time we have beaten Kazakhstan in the Asian Five Nations and coming in the first game of the tournament, it is a massive boost for our confidence,” said delighted Thai coach Tanyavit Kuasint.
Round one’s results see Sri Lanka top the tournament table on six points, five for the win plus a single bonus point for scoring four or more tries. Thailand is one off the pace with five points while Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei are on one point each.
The next matches will see Sri Lanka play Thailand (4pm local time) and Kazakhstan face off against Chinese Taipei (2pm local time) on Wednesday of April 3 at Havelocks RFC in Colombo.
Story: Asia 5 Nations
