Kandy-CR Clifford Cup final should be a thriller

S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen, Kandy Sports corr.

RUGBY: It is going to be rugby extravaganza when the defending Caltex Clifford Cup champions CR and FC clash with the challengers Kandy Sports Club in the finals of the Caltex Clifford Cup Knock out Rugby Tournament finals to be played at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium in Kandy on August 18 (tomorrow) with the kick off scheduled for 4.30 p.m.

An added interest will be that Kandy Sports Club's hero of many seasons and match winner and full back Nalaka Weerakoddy has announced his retirement from rugby and will be playing his final match on home soil which has made him a sort of demi god.

It is going to be Nalaka Weerakoddy's last outing and the crowds are expected to give him a standing ovation as he leaves the field. How he performs in this match is left to be seen.

A peep into the records, the statistics tells us that since the inauguration of this tournament champions CR and FC have won the cup 14 times and Kandy SC are not far behind with 12 wins. The Red Shirts first won the cup in 1952 and Kandy SC in 1992 when their rugby fortunes turned around to trounce the other clubs and make them the 'Rugby Kings' - a Kandyan Revolution of a sort.

While CR and FC's wins are spread for over half a century, Kandy Sports Club started winning the Cup only from 1992. A stupendous record indeed as they have won 12 times during the last 15 years.

CR and FC won in 2006 and CH and FC in 1994. With the tournament not being held in 1998. It must be recalled that Kandy Sports Club did not participate in 2006 as a mark of protest for taking away the Kandy part of the matches to Colombo.

This final will produce rugby of the highest standard as both teams are well balanced and it is a game in which no quarter will be asked not given and the final outcome of the match will be in the balance till the final whistle is blown.

These two teams have met twice before this season and Kandy Sports Club have emerged winners quite convincingly on both occasions to lift the Caltex Rugby League title.

They beat the Red Shirts 23-0 at Longden Place and in the return game at Nittawela they won by the margin of 40-20 - a game which produced pulsating rugby. At one stage the game appeared to be a neck to neck race but in the end it turned out to be an overwhelming win for the white shirts. Kandy Sports Club having already won the Caltex League title will go all out to complete the rugby double.

Led by that hard working prop Jeewa Galgamuwa they had an easy passage into the semi finals trouncing Old Zahirians 84-7 to notch up their highest score this season. Next they beat Havelocks Sports Club 28-13, a win which not impress many. They went into this match sans many of their key players. But they are all back for this all important game.

Kandy's front row will have the hard working Jeewa Galgamuwa, hooker Anuranga Walpola and Kishore Jehan who is fast turning out to be a fine player in the loose. Beginning supreme in the loose heads will be lock forwards Sumedha Jayasinghe and Senaka Bandara.

It is the hard tackling third row comprising Imran Bisthamin, Sean Wanigasekera or Dilip Selvam and work horse and No. 8 Dushantha Lewke who is enjoying one of his best seasons - a stint of training in the land of Kiwis has done him good to make him one of the best cover defenders in the country today.

At the base of the scrum it is going to be a tussle between the experienced Saliya Kumara and Kirhsnatha Rajapakse just out of his teens and has been very impressive in the few matches he has played as a 'stop gap' player.

Stand off Fazil Marija has been very outstanding with his probing kicks to touch and in feeding the hard running Kandy's three quarters comprising national players Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Sajith Mallikarachchi, Pradeep Liyanage, Sameera Silva and new find Mohammed Jabbar who is swift as a deer. Also available is Eranda Weerakoddy.

Manning the last line of defence will be play maker Nalaka Weerakoddy whose judicious kicking has relieved pressure and his drop goals has been a bonus. His place kicking too has been excellent, a player who could gather points for Kandy with the least effort.

CR and FC led by Anuradha Dharmatillake will not only defend their championship title but also will go all out to avenge their two defeats at the hands of their opponents.

They did well to defeat Air Force 27-7 to enter the semi finals. But in the semi finals against CH and FC they came up against a second half blitz by their opponents before they won 30-17, in a game they led 30-0 at one stage. But they cannot allow for the game to slip this way against a strong outfit like Kandy.

CR and FC will have to strike Kandy through their forwards comprising Shamil Mohammed, Suranga Swarnatillake and Senthil Kumar (hooker) in the front row. In the line but skipper Anurahda Dharmatillake, Henry Terrance and the hard working Ashan Karthalis should hold away. Power play could be expected to hassle Kandy's defence by their third row of Ashen Karthelis, Kasun de Silva and No. 8 Naveen Wijetunga, who impressed in the last game.

Amjad Buksh will retain the top slot as the scrum half with the nippy Zulki Hameed too available as a substitute and occupying the fly half berth will be utility player Ashan de Costa. They have same hard runners and hard tacklers in their three quarter line which will be made up of Ravindra Wekadapola, Lasintha de Costa, Avantha Hettiarachchi, Mohammed Sheriff and Dinesh Kumara. In the last line of defence will be former Kandy winger Radhika Hettiarachchi, a hard runner and fierce tackler. The spot kicks will be taken by either booker Senthil Kumar or Mohammed Sheriff.

Kandy SC - Jeewa Galgamuwa (Captain), Anuranga Walpola, Kishore Jehan, Sumedha Jayasinghe, Senaka Bandara, Sean Wijesinghe, Imran Bisthamin or Dilip Selvam, Dushantha Lewke (No. 8), Saliya Kumara or Krishantha Rajapakse and Fazil Marija, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Pradeep Liyanage, Sajith Mallikarachchi, Mohammed Jabbar or Sameera Silva, Nalaka Weerakoddy,.

CR and FC - Shamil Mohammed, Senthil Kumar, Suranga Swarnatillake, Anuradha Dharmatillake (Captain), Henry Terrance, Ashen Karthalis, Kasun de Silva, Naveen Wijetunga, Amjad Buksh and Ashan de Costa, Ravindra Wekadapola, Lasintha de Cost, Avantha Hettiarachchi or Mohammed Sheriff, Dinesh Kumra, Radhika Hettiarachchi.