CR-Kandy match should be a thriller

RUGBY: The eagerly awaited confrontation between defending champions Kandy Sports Club and last year's runners up Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club in their Caltex 'A' Division League rugby match at Nittawela today should turn out to be a thriller.

With both teams remaining unbeaten a terrific tussle for supremacy can be expected. It should turn out to be a battle between CR's power-packed forwards and Kandy's speedy three quarters.

In Viraj Prasantha, Danushka Boteju, Dharmatilleke, Karthelis, Walpola and skipper Pavithra Fernando, CR have some superb forwards who should outplay their counterparts in the loose.

In the set scrums CR's Viraj Prasantha will come up against an equally good hooker in Kandy's Mohamed Buksh while the line outs should be shared by Kandy's Senaka Bandara, Imran Bisthamin and the CR duo of Dharmatilleke and Karthelis.

Kandy will rely on their three quarters to deliver the goods.

In Nilfer Ibrahim and Fazil Marija they have a superb halves combination, while skipper Sajith Mallikarachchi and Chamara Vithanage are hard runners who are capable of piercing the CR defence but the biggest threat to the Red Shirts will be posed by winger Sanjeeva Jayasinghe who scored two spectacular tries last week with his powerful runs down the flank.

In addition they have an attacking full back in Nalaka Weerakkody who has the knack of joining the line to form the overlap.

KANDY SC - Jeewa Galgamuwa, Mohamed Buksh, Saranath Hettiarachchi, Senaka Bandara, Imran Bisthamin, Sean Wijesinghe, Danushka Perera, Dushanth Lewke, Nilfer Ibrahim and Fazil Marija, Sameera Silva, Sajith Mallikarachchi (Captain), Chamara Vithanage, Sanjeeva Jayasinghe, Nalaka Weerakkody.

CR AND FC - Danushka Boteju, Viraj Prasantha, Eranga Swarnatilleke, Anuradha Dharmatilleke, Savantha de Saram, Ashen Karthelis, Pavithra Fernando (Captain), Anuranga Walpola, Zulki Hamid and Omar Sariffodeen, Dinesh Kumara, Mohamed Sheriff, A.T.P. Achalanka, Ravindra Wekadapola, Asanga Rodrigo. (R.S.)