High-flying Airmen bring down Havelocks

Ranjeeva Seneviratne

RUGBY: The Sri Lanka Air Force came up with a superb performance to score a sensational 26 points to 20 win over Havelocks Sports Club in their Caltex 'A' Division League rugby match played at Havelock Park on Friday.

It was a marvellous display by the Airmen who were routed by the mighty Kandy SC by 82-3 nine days ago.

It was the Air Force forwards who played a key role in their success with Saumya Silva, Ranasinghe, Vithanage, Bandara, Ediriweera and Kurukulasuriya playing like terriers to match upto the powerful Havelocks 'eight' especially Hassen, Rajiv Perera, Jayasena, Dissanayake, Yasaisuru and Harrison in the loose.

They also had a large share of possession from the line outs with the trio of Bandara, Soysa and Kurukulasuriya towering above the rest while the set scrums were shared between Air Force's Vithanage and Havelock's Rajiv Perera.

The Air Force's three quarters too gave a fine display particularly winger Sirej Niranga and full back Rohan Fernando (who often joined the line to form the overlap) who made some daring runs before they were brought down in the nick of time by a desperate Havelocks defence.

The Park Club's three quarters gave a woeful display by spilling passes at crucial moments particularly centre Ruwan Suranga and winger Zakir Badurdeen much to the dismay of their supporters. The lads from Havelock Town staged a spirited fight-back in the last ten minutes to score two splendid tries but unfortunately time ran out for them.

CR-Old Zahirians

CR and FC went on the rampage at Longden Place on Sunday to crush Old Zahirians by 93 points to 7. The Red Shirts who were sans several regulars were contained in the first half (19-7) by Old Zahirians with some resolute tackling but surrendered meekly after the breather.

With three of their stalwarts Mohamed Sheriff, Amjad Buksh and Radhika Hettiarachchi entering the fray soon after half time the CR 'threes' turned in a dazzling display of open rugby to the delight of their supporters.

They had an abundance of possession with Anuja Perera outhooking his vis-a-vis Mannapperuma in the set scrums and the duo of Dharmatilleke and Karthelis holding sway in the line outs. The three quarters made maximum use of the 'good ball' by running the ball at every opportunity. The feature of the Red Shirts play was the smooth co-ordination between their forwards and the three quarters.

Winger Radhika Hettiarachchi capped a fine performance by scoring three tries while the omnipresent flanker Ashan Karthelis, full back Ashan de Costa and winger Wekadapola planted two tries each with the Red Shirts notching up the highest score for the season.

Kandy - Police

Defending champions Kandy SC playing sans several regulars scored a hard fought 29-13 win over a gallant Police outfit at Police Park on Saturday. The Police eight came up with a courageous display to match upto the power-packed Kandy forwards with Hewawasam, Chaminda Silva, Asirige, Welagedera, Asanga Dias and Perera giving a sterling display.

They also managed to keep a close check on Kandy's famed three quarters particularly centres Nilusha Fernando and Priyantha Pradeep who brought down their opposite numbers Sajith Mallikarachchi and Pradeep Liyanage with some bone -crunching tackles preventing the mighty Kandy SC from winning by a much bigger margin.

CH - Army

The formidable CH and FC came up with a fine display in the second half to score a convincing 32-5 win over Sri Lanka Army after leading 10-5 at the breather.

The Army three quarters gave a pathetic display by either knocking on at crucial moments or being tackled in possession by their opposite numbers.

After being contained in the first half the lads from Maitland Crescent got their act together after the breather and scored four splendid tries through centres Jimmy Bolakoro, Dinuk de s. Wijeyeratne, full back Matheesha de Silva and winger Lakala Perera.

With this win CH and FC which is a strong contender for the League title kept their unbeaten record intact and will clash with CR and FC on June 16 at Maitland Crescent which should turn out to be a thriller.