Can Havies topple Kandy?

Despite the unbeaten reign of Navy coming to an end last week courtesy of a major HSC fight back, Navy still occupies the top slot by virtue of the six bonus points that they have collected so far including one against the Havies.

The atmosphere was electric last week and with many ‘papare bands’ in attendance, a carnival atmosphere was prevalent. The crowds were good, but I would suspect that a large posse of naval ratings was in attendance, if the number of buses was anything to go by.

For those of you that missed the game last week, you have missed a treat. Navy started off at a canter but ended up on a whimper. At the end of the first half they had rattled up 20 points and looked set to extend this lead further.

What was said at the halftime break to the Havies is unknown but it obviously had the desired effect. For the first time they played as a cohesive unit and made sure that they were able to retain ball at the tackle situation and also recycle good ball.

Each of the tries scored by HSC was well crafted barring one, which was gifted to them by the Navy full back. It is amazing that with the levels of coaching that is now available at the disposal of many teams, the Navy think tank got it horribly wrong in the second half.

When penalties within kicking range are on offer, I am a firm believer that the three points must be taken. Instead Navy deicded to kick for touch and hoped to get seven points. That tactic is valid only in certain situations and generally when one needs that many points to overtake the opposition or even maybe when playing catch up.

The HSC place kickers had left their kicking boots at home and squandered at least nine points in the first half and another six in the second half. If they are to be a champion side, they need to have a reliable place kicker.

The referee was brave in his decisions but not necessarily competent. There were a number of infringements which should have been penalized, and with no assistance from the assistant referees to the overall controlling of the game, we are bound to have more gaffes in the future. Thus I cannot fault the call by a majority of the clubs for overseas referees to officiate at such crucial games.

HSC despite their win last week will have their work cut out against Kandy this weekend and that too in the hill country. Whether they will be able to reproduce the Houdini act once more to get the better of Kandy will definitely be a point of conjecture. It would definitely be a game to watch as the title of league champs are at stake.

Havies in my opinion have one of their best chances this week in many years to topple Kandy as their all round game has improved in leaps and bounds. The work load by their flankers has been great and their locks need to win them good ball consistently.

Tapping the ball back is not an option, and they need to be patient with five to six phases of continuous play if not more if they are to break the Kandy defence.

Kandy has not been crowned champs for over ten years without good reason, and will definitely be on their guard against the marauding HSC forwards. There will not be a second chance and all points on offer will need to be grabbed with both hands. With the Perahera in full swing a drive to Kandy will be a daunting task. Another game that would be closely contested could be the Army/Police game with the teams occupying the fifth and sixth position in the table. Fourth placed UCL will meet the red shirts and I cannot see any major upset in this game given the quality of CR rugby this season and the spate of injuries that they have to contend with. On the super rugby front it is semi-final stage and the rugby will be fierce and intense. With the 2011 winners being knocked out last week, we will obviously have a new winner.

The Chiefs will meet the Crusaders on Friday whilst the Stormers will meet the Sharks on Saturday. Given the quality of the four sides, I will not even hazard a guess but would encourage all to watch these games and place your own personal bets.  



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