Kandy SC make it six-in-a row by beating CR

Rugby: A superb fight-back in the last 15 minutes by defending champions Kandy Sports Club helped them to snatch a 17-12 win over arch rivals CR and FC and retain the Caltex 'A' Division League Rugby Title for the sixth successive year.

It was Kandy SC's forwards who paved the way for this victory. Kandy's 'eight' especially Dushanth Lewke, Sean Wijesinghe, Danushka Perera, Senaka Bandara, Jeewa Galgamuwa and Mohamed Buksh played like terriers in the loose to match up to their famed counterparts Viraj Prasantha, Pavithra Fernando, Anuradha Dharmatilleke, Ashan Karthelis, Anuranga Walpola and Sevantha de Saram. Throughout the season the CR forwards maintained their supremacy in the loose but on Sunday they faced a fierce challenge from the Kandy 'eight'.

The Red Shirts enjoyed a large share of possession from the line outs with the duo of Anuradha Dharmatilleke and Ashen Karthelis holding sway but the set scrums were shared between veteran CR hooker Viraj Prasantha and ex-Sri Lanka hooker Mohamed Buksh of Kandy SC.

CR's three quarters could not make much headway as centres Rajith Jayasundera and Akalanda Ayagama being at the receiving end of some bone-crunching tackles from their opposite numbers Mallikarachchi and Vithanage which saw them spilling passes at crucial moments. Kandy's 'threes' too could not breach the CR defence although Sajith Mallikarachchi and Winger Sanjeewa Jayasinghe made a few threatening runs before being brought down.

Former Antonian Prasad Chathuranga who replaced scrum half Nilfer Ibrahim midway in the second half scored the match-winning try five minutes before the final whistle when he smothered a clearance kick by CR's Mohamed Sheriff and pounced on the loose ball in the in-goal area.

Earlier he made a superb break on the blind side off a scrum in mid field before full back Asanga Rodrigo 'nailed' him with a desperate tackle.

However CR's centre Achalanka Ayagama had the honour of fashioning the best try of the match when he collected a kick by a Kandy player in the CR '25' and unleashed a 60 metre run before slipping out a pass to Anuradha Dharmatilleke to touch down mid right. The Red Shirts also lacked the services of a reliable place kicker with Mohamed Sheriff missing a sitter of a penalty from 25 metres out and also failing to convert the try scored by Dharmatilleke.

CH and FC - HAVELOCKS

CH and FC came up with their best performance of the season to score a smashing 32-10 win over Havelocks at Moirland Crescent on Saturday to end up in third position.

CH's forwards came up with a power-packed display to dominate play in the loose while the three quarters ran the ball at every opportunity. CH's forwards Achala Perera, Dilan Ekanayake, Sumedha Malewana, Wasamba Senarath, Dilanka Wijesekera and Rajiv Ganapathy gave a fiery display to outplay their counterparts. In the set scrums CH's Achala Perera had the edge over his vis-a-vis Rajiv Perera while the line outs were shared between the CH duo of Malewana and Senarath and Havelocks trio of Amerasinghe, Jayasena and Jayasuriya.

For Havelocks Shafi Hassen, Ravi Jayasuriya and T. D. Seneviratne gave a sterling display but lacked the support from the rest of the forwards. CH's fly half Harshana Wijeweera set the three quarters in motion at every turn and centres Mathessha de Silva, Radhika Hettiarachchi and Winger Zakir Badurdeen sliced through the Havelocks defence time and again with full back Saliya Kumara joining the line to form the overlap.

Saliya Kumara who had an excellent game also impressed as a place kicker contributing 12 points by firing across two penalties and converting three tries from difficult angles. The park club was let down by their three quarters who gave a pathetic display. They were either tackled in possession or spilled passes time and again much to the dismay of their supporters.

(R.S.)