CR continue winning ways

By Shamseer Jaleel

CR & FC continued their winning form when they beat Police 38-17 at Police Park.

At halftime CR led 26-17. Sachith Silva put Police on the board early in the game but CR hit back through a Reza Rafaideen try. Dias, Kavindu and Chamod scored tries within the next 10 minutes to take the game away from Police and establish a huge 26-3 lead. Police did play really well in their previous two games against Navy and Kandy which they lost.

Police hit back through a try from skipper Udara and then they received a penalty try which took them closer and offered them a glimmer of hope of making a comeback in the latter half.

Reza Rafaideen and Rahul De Silva scored tries to seal the game for the Longdon Place club, who ran away with an easy 38-17 win and await a date with defending champions Kandy away in the hills next weekend.

Police played poorly compared to their first two games. The game was refereed by Dinka Peris. 

Kandy return to form 

There is a saying that a champion side needs only one game to get back into top gear. This was true of Kandy last evening at Ratmalana when they outclassed Army to roll to a 38-10 triumph. 

The defending champions led 14-5 at halftime. Heshan Kalhara blew past a few defenders before scoring Kandy SC’s first try. Thilina Wijesinghe added the extra two points. Buwanka Udangamuwa, who was unstoppable and operated with great pace and power, recorded his first try in Colombo. His schoolmate Thilina added the extra points. Sugath Nanayakkara scored their first try.

After the turnaround Kandy dominated proceedings. The Kandyan Express Dhanushka Ranjan, a man who it is very difficult to keep silent, scored his first try. Thilina once again showed his accuracy from the spot with a successful kick at goal. There was time for one more try from Roshan Weeraratne with Thilina keeping his perfect kicking record at Ratmalana intact. Sudaraka Dikkumbura scored Army SC’s second try but Kandy dominated the latter half as well when their Fullback Thilina Wijesinghe touched down and converted the try by himself. There was time for Arshard Jamaldeen, replacing injured Nigel Ratwatte, to record a neat drop goal.

Thilina Wijesinghe played a huge role in the Kandy win with some accurate kicks at goal. He also gave Kandy plenty of territorial advantage to attack from the opposition half. His kicking abilities are being honed by former kicking sensational Nalaka Weerakody. The referee for this game was Rohan Fernando. Kandy will host CR & FC next Sunday in Nittawela.

Meanwhile, CH & FC registered their first win in the Inter-Club Rugby season when they beat Sri Lanka Air Force by 26 points (4 tries,  2 penalties) to 18 points (1 goal, 1 try, 2 penalties) at the Racecourse rugby grounds yesterday. At halftime CH led 15-8. This was the first win for CH & FC this season after being defeated by CR & FC and Havies in their earlier encounters. Air Force are yet to register any wins this season after going down to Army and Kandy SC.