Can Havies put a full stop to Kandy’s unbeaten run?

Kandy SC skipper Fazil Marija avoids a tackle by Yoshitha  Rajapakse of Navy 

By Shamseer Jaleel

The second round of the inter-club rugby tournament will be worked off with all four games scheduled to take place on the same day in Colombo on 16 January. Defending league and unbeaten league leaders this year, Kandy Sports Club will be the strongest contenders for the club rugby plum this year as well. 

Kandy had a grand first round led by former Sri Lanka skipper, FazilMarija they had the best three quarter line in the country with almost the entire line winners of the national senior rugby jersey. Lads from the Hills were unstoppable especially playing at home. Their closest game this season was against CR&FC which they won thanks to the second half rally. The rest of the games, including the two closest rivals Havelocks and Navy, the up country team never looked like conceding it to their opponents. After round one, all clubs playing seven games each, Kandy SC are placed number one followed by Havelock SC, CR&FC and Navy SC.

Kandy SC’s Head Coach Sean Wijesinghe in his very first year proved himself very matured, not cracking under pressure. He will be tested more when Trinity College, Kandy takes the field in March this year where Sean will be the Head Coach of the “Lions” outfit as well. Sean stated: “We took the field with the hype, confidence, superiority and power, which has been the hallmark of the team this season. It was a special victory than the rest because last year Navy beat us at Nittawela by one point. It was an opportunity that we really wanted to take and it was a huge relief and brought a sense of satisfaction at having got the job done well. Further, we have been losing at Nittawela to the Sailors for the last three years.” Sean further said that Taylor gave the team all the encouragement and a helping hand in the last two games, and helped to polish up the team’s performance during his one month stay in Kandy during December. FazilMarija said: “We are the hardest working lads in club rugby today. I don’t think any other club players have trained harder than us. The work ethic has been magnificent. We do not have the huge stars, but we’ve out-worked other teams and that’s something to be proud of. I thank my players and all the people who helped us in every way.”

Kandy will be at Race Course when the last placed CH&FC host them this Saturday. This should be a good warm up for Kandy, using and giving much needed exposure for the bench. Kandy is assured of a win with over 50 points in this outing which is assured to be one-way traffic. Rohan Fernando will officiate this game. Second-placed Havies will be hosted by the Air Force at Ratmalana. This game too will be no doubt a one-sided affair with the Havies looking fitter and stronger, plus their rugby skills should bring them a comfortable win with the return of their star Dhanushka Ranjan back in to the Park Club outfit. Sarath Madugalle will control this encounter.

The closest game this weekend will be the one between the Cops and the Sailors at Police Park. Navy, smarting from their defeat last weekend in Kandy, will be at their best with some cracking players under their belt. Lee Keegale, Omalka Gunaratne and Yoshitha Rajapaksa are the players to be watched out for by the Cops. While the Police outfit having too many cooks spoiling the soup this season. They had too many stars and all trying to put their individual play not the team at heart. They have some top players such as Bilal Hassen, Sharo Fernando, Mohamed Sheriff and Reza Mubarak all being national players could be a threat for the Sailors. This game should be controlled well by veteran Priyantha Gunaratne. The last game of the weekend will be another cracking game when the Soldiers host CR&FC at Diyagama. “Red Shirts” under Ashan De Costa got some fast running three quarter line along with a set of mobile forwards. Led by Ishan Noor they have lightning fast Shashan Mohamed, Lochana Hettiarachchi, Tharinda Ratwatte and the Costa brothers. While the Soldiers will heavily depend on full back Gayan Salinda’s individual performance. Playing at full back plus the place kicker of the outfit he played a key role in their success this season. Irshard Cader will be the referee.