Kandy emerge league champs after 2 years

Monday, 23 March 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

League champions Kandy with officials By Shamseer Jaleel Kandy, under the dynamic leadership of former Trinitian Sean Wijesinghe, became the Club league champions after a lapse of two years last week at Nittawela. Although the last game of the season was won by Navy by a single point, Kandy had already done enough to clinch the league in front of their rugby crazy supporters who were present in large numbers at the Nittawela rugby stadium. During the last two years Kandy

has finished in the top three and went through a tough time on and off the field due to circumstances which were beyond their control. During the season, Kandy suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Army and drew against CR&FC after leading most of the game. Despite these two shocks for Kandy and their supporters they lived up to their top quality billing when they went on to win all their games except the last one which they lost by a solitary point after missing a 25-metre penalty in the match’s dying moments. Kandy enjoyed the firm backing of their rugby promoter, former Royal College scrumhalf Malik Samarawickrema and its Rugby Committee, which was directed by President Dr. Sarath Kapuwatte, and this played no small part in their eventual success. Kandy was also fortunate to have some solid seniors in its ranks such as Fazil Marija, Gayan Weeraratne, Roshan Weeraratne, Lavanga Perera, Anurudha Wilwara, Nigel Ratwatte, Kishore Jahn, Skipper Sean Wijesinghe and Shashika Jayawardena along with their overseas player Chris Colette. In fact Colette was omnipresent in both attack and defence. The only thing that went wrong for Kandy was flawed selection of some of their overseas players, which it is sure to amend in the coming season. Three of their overseas players were sent back due to poor performances. The other two - Kenyan Oscar Ouma and Tongan Koto Pongi - lived up to their expected standards. Their coach, South African Johan Taylor, demonstrated his world-class pedigree and remained calm in tense situations, allowing the players to make their own decisions and play their game. Kandy won the league 12 times and clinched the Clifford Cup 18 times. Speaking to Daily FT, Kandy Skipper Sean Wijesinghe said: “First of all I am thankful to our sponsors, without whose support we would not have come this far. Our Rugby Committee and Trustee of Kandy, Malik Samarawickrema, gave their full support at all times. My team played as a unit, including the overseas guys.” Sean added that the team missed its coach during the last two seasons and his return this season heavily influenced their play. He concluded by thanking Kandy’s fans for their unflagging support which saw them flock in droves to home and away games.