Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 26 : With qualification on the line for Bengaluru Bravehearts, Philip Wokorach, Arpan Chhetri and Liam Poulton lead the way to seal the third spot in the race to the semi-finals in the ongoing Rugby Premier League (RPL) edition.
Player of the match, Liam Poulton, scored a few crucial tries to shut down Kalinga completely as they showed glimmers of taking the game away from Bengaluru in the first half. Bengaluru Bravehearts finally won with a margin of 8 points, with the final score reading 34-26.
"Being in the semi-finals is the first step to winning this tournament. We did a great job in the league. We have consistently been in the top three going into the semi-finals and have had some very good performances and game time. Now is the time to work even harder and hopefully move from the semi-finals into the finals," said Francisco Hernandez, Head Coach, Bengaluru Bravehearts, as quoted by a press release from RPL.
The Kalinga Black Tigers led 14-0 in the first half, but the Bravehearts started to mount a comeback with Philip Wokorach and Arpan Chhetri's tries. It was a comeback that Bengaluru has become known for in this tournament, where the team consistently finds a different gear to score consecutive tries whenever they have trailed. This win puts the Bengaluru Bravehearts 2nd on the points table, just nudging above the Chennai Bulls, owing to the score difference with both teams at 21 points apiece after 9 games.
"It's great that we have made the semi-finals now, it's why we are here. The whole team wants to win the competition, and making the semi-finals is the first step towards that. We still have another game against Mumbai Dreamers, and we look forward to taking the perfect momentum into the semi-finals and hopefully into the finals," said Scott Curry, Co-Captain, Bengaluru Bravehearts.
Notably, Philip Wokorach is currently trailing by a single try on the stats table of most tries in the league, with a total of 9 tries in 9 matches. Another Braveheart leading the stats table is Akuila Rokolisoa, sharing top spot for total conversions (14) and most points for a team (53).
The Bengaluru Bravehearts will take on the Mumbai Dreamers on June 27 in the last match of the league stages, after which the final standings will decide who they take on in the semi-finals.
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