Kandy to play Army in season’s first home game

Dialog Inter-Club Rugby League 2017/2018 

By Shamseer Jaleel

Defending League and Clifford Cup champions Kandy Sports Club will be playing their first home encounter this season against Army on 19 November at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium.

Kandy, led by Gayan Weeraratne, after a slow start against CH&FC, settled down well to the get better of Police, scoring seven tries in Colombo last weekend. 

Kandy has arguably got the best three-quarter line on the club circuit with Richard Dharmapala, Dhanushka Ranjan, Lavanga Perera, Fazil Marija and Nigel Ratwatte posing nightmares for all of their opponents. The forwards are spearheaded by Sayuru Anthony, while Yakoob Ali and Damith Dissanayake look mobile and rock solid. Scrum half Srinarth Sooriyabandara will operate from the base as a full-time Scrum Half. Roshan Weeraratne is yet to fully recover from his neck injury. According to reports from the upcountry club, Weeraratne should be fit for their next league game in Kandy. Fullback, Thilina Wijesinghe is in top gear with his touch and penalty kicks and looks set to become a try-scoring machine, joining the speedy three-quarter line on more than one occasion.

Army will need to fire on all cylinders in order to contain the champion outfit and will depend heavily on Asoka Jayalal and Gayan Salinda. Salinda their fullback is a reliable placekicker who can gain a much-needed territorial advantage through some nice touch kicks. Fly Half Bandara and flanker Abeykkon are also very good players and their strength - their mobile forwards - could give the Kandy outfit a tough time.

However, Kandy is expected to register a bonus point win at home in this encounter which should see a full house as the spectators return to Nittawela for a club game after nearly nine months.

Meanwhile, CR&FC should have things their own way when they meet their traditional rivals CH&FC at the racecourse rugby ground. 

CR is led by stand-in skipper Tharinda Ratwatte after Kavindu Perera was suspended for a high tackle in their first game against Air Force. Tharinda, a national Sevens player, has shown great speed for a three-quarter player and his place kicks have been spot on. He singlehandedly won the game for the Longden Place club against the Sailors last weekend. Shashan Mohamed, Omalka Gunaratne and Ishan Noor are top-class players for the Red Shirts. 

CH, led by Yoshitha Rajapaksa, will be expecting their Navy recruits Sathya Ranathunge, Lee Keegale and Sajith Saranga to display some quality rugby to contain the CR outfit. Though it will be a close encounter, CR will be favourites to pull off a win.

Navy, led by Dhanushka Perera, will be all out for a win when they meet second-placed Havelocks, who have recorded bonus point wins in their first two games. Reza Mubarak, Sharo Fernando, Hirantha Perera and Kevin Dixon are all national and experienced players who are unlikely to crack under pressure. The Sailors’ fullback Thilina Weerasinghe’s placekicks will play a vital role. Dinusha Chathuranga, Suranga Pushpakumara, Kosala Tissera and Danushka Perera will need to be at the top of their games in order to pull off a shock win. In-form Havelocks should register a close win.

Air Force will be hoping for their first win when they face Police at Ratmalana. Iddamalgoda and Radheesha Seneviratne will play an important role in this game while the cops will be expecting Arachchige and Zinghawansa to deliver the goods. Air Force should win this game.

Today

CH&FC vs. CR&FC                                Racecourse

Referee Rohan Fernando

Tomorrow

Navy SC vs. Havelocks SC                Welisara

Referee Irshard Cader

November 19

Air Force vs. Police SC                        Ratmalana

Referee – yet to be appointed

Kandy SC vs. Army SC                        Nittawela  

Referee Priyantha Gunaratne