CR-Air Force clash pick of the semis

Ranjeeva Seneviratne

The confrontation between the Caltex 'A' Division League runners up CR and FC and Air Force on August 29 at Longden Place is the pick of the two semi-finals of the Caltex knock-out Rugby Tournament for the Clifford Cup.

The Red Shirts won both matches of the Caltex 'A' Division League by 26-0 and 55-0 over the Airmen but the Airmen have been practising hard during the last two weeks and have obtained the services of several top schoolboy ruggerites and should give the CR and FC a run for their money.

Royal's vice captain Nikira Senanayake, Ranga Perera, Shailendra Chandrasekera, Thomian Janik Jayasuriya and Isipatana Skipper Niroshan Fernando have joined Air Force and will play alongside seasoned campaigners Kosala Ranasinghe, Saumya Silva, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Suranga Arunashantha, Dinesh Weeraratne and Charith Seneviratne making the Air Force team a blend of youth and experience.

The Red Shirts cannot take the Airmen lightly as they always give of their best in the knock-out tournaments. Three years ago they went down fighting to CR and FC by 13-21 after leading 13-11 at the breather in the semi-finals of the Clifford Cup at Longden Place.

The shifting of regular scrum half Srinath Sooriyabandara to the fly half berth paid rich dividends as CR and FC turned in a dazzling display of open rugby to score a smashing 44-22 win over Police in the quarter-finals.

Full back Reza Mubarak too contributed immensely towards their success with his accurate place kicking and they will he relied upon to make a substantial contribution which would enable the Red Shirts to enter the final for the fourth successive year.

The Red Shirts last won the Clifford Cup in 2006 with a smashing 37-5 win over Havelocks - the 14th time they won the trophy.

The mighty Kandy Sports Club which beat the Havelocks by the staggering margin of 102 points to 3 should get the better of CH and FC in the second semi-final on August 30 at Nittawela.

Kandy won both matches in the Caltex 'A' Division League by 30-3 and 31-10 over CH and FC and the lads from Maitland Crescent will have to come up with an extra-ordinary performance if they hope to contain the high riding Kandy SC.

The lads from Kandy SC turned in a dazzling display of open rugby to cross the Park Club's goal line on 16 occasions with dashing winger Sanjeeva Jayasinghe scoring five tries and are expected to come up with another superb display.

Kandy SC have reigned supreme in the Clifford Cup Tournament since winning the trophy for the first time in 1992 and will strive to win it for a record 15th time this year .