Unbeaten Kandy host Havies at Nittawela

Dialog Inter-Club Rugby League 2017/2018 

By Shamseer Jaleel 

The Dialog Rugby League 2017/2018 will come to an end this weekend in Kandy when the upcountry outfit hosts Havelocks at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium. 

Although the final results will not impact the league winners as the Kandy outfit already lead by a massive 26 points over second-placed Havelocks, this will be a good sign off for the fans up in the hills who been waiting for their first Sunday home game this season. 

A full house is expected and the awards ceremony will take place soon after this encounter, organised by sponsors Dialog who have propped up league rugby for more than a decade. 

Police hold edge over Army 

Police, who have been playing good rugby in the last three weeks, have clicked well as a unit under their Head Coach Shamly Nawas, but unfortunately they have run out of time as the season has come to an end. They took a lot of time to settle down and ended on the wrong side of the results sheet in their second round encounter against Havelocks which should have gone their way. They also had two drawn games in round one. 

At present Police are in seventh position and if they can maintain this position they will be able to avoid Kandy in the quarterfinal encounter. Wajeed Fahmy and Sandesh Jayawickrema have both been their playmakers this season. Army, who were fourth after the completion of round one, lost their way very badly in round two.  Their head coach Nilfer Ibrahim is a good tactician and did well with the unit but they have majorly lost focus. Ashoka Jayalal, skipper Senananyake, Rizvi and Gayan Salinda will make the difference if they are to pull off a good win here. The referee for the game was Priyantha Gunaratne. 

Navy hold the edge 

Navy, who lost second position, will be in with a good chance to reclaim it when they face last-placed Air Force. Thilina Weerasinghe, Dulanjana Wijesinghe and Buddhima Piyaratne will be the players to watch out for from Air Force. 

Air Force will depend greatly on Iddamalgoda, Seelagama and Charith Seneviratne in order to get out of eighth place, which will give them an opportunity to avoid Kandy in the Clifford Cup quarterfinal encounter next week in Kandy. Aaqil Jamaldeen will be the referee for the game.  

CH hold slight edge over CR 

CH&FC, playing cohesive rugby at present, will be in with a chance of avoiding a possible semifinal contest against Kandy if they can avoid fourth position in the Dialog league. Lee Keegale has played a top brand of rugby alongside Sathya Ranathunge, Yoshitha Rajapaksa and Samuel Maduwantha. Maduwantha will need to be accurate with his penalties and touch kicks if the Colombo 7 outfit is to attack their opponent’s half. 

They have acquired former Thomian, Havies and Sri Lanka Sevens skipper Sudharshana Muthuthanthri for this league game and the Clifford Cup thereafter. Meanwhile, CR&FC will depend on Omalka Gunaratne, skipper Kavindu Perera, Tharinda Ratwatte and Sashan Mohamed to be at the top of their game. The red shirts unfortunately have not consistently been at their best this season. A close game is expected with CH slightly favoured to eke out a victory. The referee for the match will be Dinka Peiris. 

Kandy favoured to continue unbeaten league run 

Defending league champions Kandy will be favoured to continue their unbeaten streak when they face Havelocks in the last league game for veteran star rugby player Fazil Marija. 

Playing at their peak with some outstanding players such as Ranjan, Dharmapala, Lavanga, Wilwara, Nigel and Fazil, their three-quarter line looks smooth. All their players possess lightning pace and are very good defenders as well. 

Among the forwards are Yakoob Ali and Shehan Pathirana, who will be called up for guidance. However, they will be without the experienced Sayuru Anthony, who was injured in the Army game last weekend. Meanwhile, Havelocks will depend on Sharo Fernando, Nishon Perera, Madushanka, Dulaj Perera and skipper Melder to contain the upcountry outfit. 

Going on current form and considering that a potential home crowd numbering around 7,000 will pack into the Nittawela Rugby Stadium, it is unlikely that Kandy will be beaten in their last game. Rohan Fernando will control things out in the middle.