Army-CH clash should be a thriller
Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE
The confrontation between the formidable Army team and the vastly
improved CH and FC in the quarter-final of the Caltex knock-out rugby
tournament for the Clifford Cup at Longdon Place tomorrow should be a
thriller.
The soldiers won the first round game of the Caltex 'A' Division
League by 21-12 while in the return match the lads from Maitland
Crescent came back storming to win convincingly by 43 points to 21.
The soldiers were let down by their three quarters in their last
match and they have made several changes for tomorrow's match.
Full back Upali Wickramasinghe has been shifted to the fly half berth
and will pair off with T.A. Asiri while regular fly half Kapila Knowlton
has moved to the centre position and will play alongside Asanka Perera
while regular winger Saliya Handapangoda will be manning the last line
of defence paving the way for Senanayake to occupy the wing.
A terrific tussle for supremacy can be expected among the forwards
with the marauding Army forwards Meepage, Kotalawela, Ratnayake, Jayalal,
Susantha and Manoj Silva being confronted by the power-packed CH 'eight'
spearheaded by the omnipresent lock forward Dinesh Sanjeewa ably
supported by Ranatunga, Achala Perera, Ranaweera, Sharo Fernando and
Wijesekera.
In the set scrums CH's experienced hooker Achala Perera should get
the better of his vis-a-vis Jayalal while in the line outs the Army duo
of Perera and Susantha have the edge over CH's Dinesh Sanjeewa.
Army: Nushal Meepage, Asoka Jayalal, Nishantha Kotalawela (Captain),
Sarath Kumara Perera, R.M.G. Ratnayake, Jayaratne, Manoj Silva T.A.
Asiri and Upali Wickremasinghe, Maurice Abeyratne, Asanka Perera, Kapila
Knowlton, Senanayake, Saliya Handapangoda.
CH and FC: Jayantha Ranaweera, Achala Perera (Captain) Sathya
Ranatunge, Dinesh Sanjeewa, Gayashan Wijesinghe, Shero Fernando, Senthil
Kumar, Dilanka Wijesekera, Milinda Jayasinghe or Tuan Shamrock and
Sajith Bandara, Heshan Guneratne, Sajith Mallikarachchi, Ruchira
Fernando, Mithum Perera, Indika Udayakumara. |