Kandy SC out for rugby triple crown

S. M. Jiffrey Abdeen Kandy sports corr.

The glamour boys of the local rugby Kandy SC will make an all out effort to clinch the rugby triple when they take on a determined CR and FC in the finals of the Caltex Clifford Cup knock out rugby tournament match to be played at the Nittawela rugby stadium up in Kandy on Sunday with the kick at 4.30 p.m.

Gracing the finals will be the Managing Director of Caltex Kishu Gomes who has done a lot through his organisation for the promotion of rugby, volleyball, boxing and motor sports making him an household name.

There will be also the President of the Sri Lanka Rugby Football Union DIG Nimal Lewke who was responsible for bringing back the Clifford Cup finals to Kandy last year under his tenure of Presidency.There will be also the CEO of the SLRFU Dilroy Fernando another indefatigable worker and a leading rugby referee in Sri Lanka.

Kandy Sports are the defending champions. They have already won the Dialog Professional Rugby Sevens both in Kandy and Colombo this year. They have also defeated the red shirts in both legs to clinch the Caltex League title for a record 8 times in a row. They will go all out to complete the 'red wash' if you can all it that way.

It has now become a near formality for Kandy Sports Club to meet CR and FC in the finals or the deciding match in a league tournament.

Thus the clash between these two teams have evoked a lot of interest as the rivalry is bitter and no quarter is asked nor given doing justice to the proverb.

A peep into the records indicate that both teams have won the Clifford Cup 13 times each with Kandy last winning it in 2007 and CR and FC in 2006 when Kandy opted to keep out of the tournament in protest for not maintaining the 'status quo' and taking the Clifford Cup away from Kandy.

It was DIG Nimal Lewke was responsible for bringing back the Clifford Cup finals to Kandy.

Kandy Sports Club led by that durable flanker old Trinitian Sean Wijesinghe go out firm favourites to win the Clifford Cup for the 14th time and round off a highly successful season.

They are set of doughty fighters and believe in fighting it to the very end as it was evidenced in the last three matches against CR and FC when they made magnificent and recoveries in the second half to pip the red shirts in the end.

They have a galaxy of national players with some of them even sitting in the bench and pushed into the team in the second half for the final thrust which has often flustered their opponents.

Kandy has been in smacking form in the Clifford Cup matches having beaten Galle RFC 114-0, they trounced the giant killers by the huge margin of 79-3 - thus their has been not crossed in this tournament.

Second rower Senaka Bandara is certain not to play due to injuries. Centre three quarter Sajith Mallikarachchi nursing injuries is a doubtful starter, so is flanker Zafeer Jhan who had to be carried off the field in the last match.

But equally good replacements are available for the Kandy Club for the red shirts to see red.

CR and FC led by prop Shamil Mohammed have played second fiddle to their arch rivals in the two league games and will make a determined effort to turn the tables the third time.

They have the men to achieve this but they must maintain their cool and fight it up to the end. They had a close call against the youthful Havelocks Sports Club before posting a 22-16 win.

But against Kandy they are not going to go down that easily as they have many old scores to settle and also to register their 14th title win in the Clifford Cup rugby tournament.

The Manager cum General Secretary of Kandy Sports Club former Sri Lanka flanker and Trinity College rugby Lion Iswan Omar states though this is the rainy season in the hill capital but Kandy has experienced hardly any rain during the past three weeks which would have left he grounds bone dry.

But the grounds has been constantly watered via the sprinkler systems and is soft and in fine fettle.

With the weather keeping fine, an enjoyable evening of red hot rugby is in store for the rugby fans before the certain falls on club rugby and gives way to international rugby in the form of Singer Sri Lankan International Rugby Sevens at Nittawela next month.

Kandy SC (from) Jeewa Galgamuwa, Anuranga Walpola, Erande Swarnatillake or Kishore Jehan, Zafeer Jhan, Sumedha Jayasinghe, Sean Wijesinghe, Dilip Selvam or Buddhi Talagampola, Imran Bisthamin (No. 8), Saliya Kumara and Fazil Marija, Sameera Silva, Pradeep Liyanage, Gayan Weeraratne or Sajith Mallikarachchi, Sanjeewa Jayasinghe, Radhika Hettiarachchi, Sean Wanigasekera, Piumal Manohanayake, Arvinda Udangamuwa, Erande Weerakoddy, Kapila Silva, Prasad Chathuranga, Roshan Wijesiri, Dhanushka Pushpakumara, Krishantha Rajapaksa and Kusal Rankothge.

CR and FC (from) Shamil Mohammed (captain), Anuja Perera, Navin Wijetunga, Dhanushka Boteju Henry Terrence, Ashen Karthelis, Pavithra Fernando, Airen Warnakulasuriya, Kasun de Silva, Dushantha Lewke (No. 8), Amjad Buksh and Ashan de Costa, Dinesh Kumara, Lasintha de Costa, Niroshan Karunanayake, Mohammed Jabbar, Reza Mubarak and Mohammed Sheriff, Anuradha Dharmatillake, Dev Ananda, G. Fernando, Duminda Pullikuttiarachchi.