Havelocks SC and Police SC pick of the week

Dhanushka Ranjan is a class act

Fazil Marija will lead Kandy SC this season

By Shamseer Jaleel

Eight leading clubs will be locking horns in the 2015/2016 inter-club rugby season which will kick-off today. The pick of this week’s matches will be the one between the park club and the Police outfit at Havelock Park; kick off is scheduled at 6.30 p.m.

The second game will be at Welisara, where the Sailors will host the Air Force; kick-off is scheduled at 4 p.m.

Police SC under the watchful eyes of their Rugby Chairman and former Sri Lanka prop forward Hafeez Marso is all out to bring back the League and all out to show a repeat of play in the 1980s and early 1990s. They have signed up with some outstanding players who crossed over from Navy SC. Rock solid number eight Bilal Hassen, Sri Lankan top class flanker Sharo Fernando as well as Achala Perera, Chamara Dabare, Terence Henry and Reza Mubarak will wear the blue jersey. The park club will be led by Sandun Herath and will also have some outstanding national players in their ranks.

Navy SC will be fielding a second string side as more than seven players joined the Police SC this year. Coached by former Sri Lanka Sevens specialist Nilfer Ibrahim they are all out to take the Sailors to a top three ending. Priyantha Gunaratne will officiate this game.

Tomorrow CR&FC will host the Army SC at Longdon Place. CR&FC will be led by former Peterite Ishan Noor and coached by one of the best in the country, the former Sri Lanka Sevens and Fifteens player Imthisam Marrikar. The Longdon Place club will be all out to win the League after a lapse of 17 years with their last win in 1998. With the Costa brothers, former Trinity Lions Shashan Mohamed and Tharinda Ratwatte in their ranks, they are a formidable outfit and favoured to pull this off against the Sri Lanka Army.

Kandy Sports Club, the reigning rugby champions and the most successful club in Sri Lanka with a record of 18 League titles since 1992 will kick off against CH&FC on Sunday, 22 November at Nittawela.

Kandy will be led by Fazil Marija and will have some outstanding players in their camp, such as brothers Roshan and Gayan Weeraratne, Shehan Pathirana, Srinarth Sooriyabandara, Lavanga Perera, Nigel Ratwatte, Anurudha Wilwara and Richard Dharmapala. They will be coached by former Trinitian and Sri Lanka skipper Sean Wijesinghe who is also a fine motivator of the team. Saliya Kumara, a highly-acclaimed utility player, is also lending a helping hand in coaching as an expert in the back division.

CH&FC will find it tough to stop the home team from scoring free. If they can keep the score below half a century, they would be lucky.