Navy out for revenge

After last week’s two upsets, CR and Kandy will meet this weekend. Both teams were beaten in close contests and having lost last week, will be out to prove a point. Thus the chances of us seeing some scintillating rugby cannot be ruled out.

As luck would have it, the two winners last week will meet this weekend as well.

Navy will be out to avenge the first round defeat to Havies which was a last gasp attempt by the Havies. I was unfortunate to miss that game and speaking to stalwarts who witnessed the game, they were of the opinion that Navy were unlucky to lose.

On the plus point for Navy is that they have repeatedly shown us that Kandy can be beaten. Kandy on the other hand has not clicked at a cohesive unit and their three quarters needs a bit of tweaking and maybe infusion of new blood.

Navy has been admirably led by Yoshitha and with brother Namal playing the full 80 minutes, they are more than a handful. Both are good leaders and their presence obviously infuses a sense of self belief in the Navy ranks.

Whilst Dev Anand may not look the complete ruggerite in terms of physique, it is more than made up by his tactical play, which incidentally won them a number of games including the last minute draw against CR in the first round.

Although Havies have had a good season to date, I cannot see them running away win a win easily against Navy and will be required to bring their ‘A‘ game to the fore. Last week after building up a lead of 17 points they almost squandered the same due to some lacklustre performance after the first 30 minutes.  Navy on the other hand showed us all that they can crank up their game when required as done last week. If they play to their true potential, a win is within their grasp.

CR has had a pretty ordinary season given the quality of players that they possess. Last week their front row taught the Havies a thing or two about scrummaging. Last week having had an abundance of possession their ability to convert the same into points was poor. They let the game slip in the first half-hour of play and then played catch up rugby.

Against Kandy they cannot afford to do the same as Kandy is tough to beat on home soil. The entire Kandy market comes to a standstill when Kandy is in action and this weekend will be no exception. Kandy to my mind over the years has enjoyed the best crowd support at home and that has a huge effect of the performance of the team. The fans are inexorable in their show of loyalty towards the side and do not be surprised to see a huge number of flags and painted faces in the crowds.

It’s a tough choice on which match one would choose to watch and unless you fancy a trip to the hill capital with the perahera in full swing, I will opt for the Navy game. Security will be tight and with the new traffic arrangements in the vicinity make sure that you are in early and are on the right track given the plethora of one way roads.