CR and FC face strong challenge from Navy and Air Force

Ranjeeva Seneviratne

Thirty two teams will vie for honours in the Inter-club Rugby Sevens which will be worked off today and tomorrow at the Royal Sports Complex and CR grounds, Longdon Place. The tournament will be conducted in two segments with leading ‘A’ Division Clubs competing in Segment ‘A’ while losser known clubs will battle in out in Segment ‘B’.

The tournament will lose much of its glamour with the withdrawal of defending champions Kandy Sports Club over the refusal by the SLRFU to pay a sum of Rs 200,000 for the expenses.

Last year Kandy SC fielding a virtual national ‘Sevens’ team won both legs of the club Rugby Sevens by beating CR and FC in the finals – 40-10 (Nittawela) and 23-14 (Longden Place).

Kandy SC first clinched the Rugby Sevens title in 1999 by beating CR and FC 12-5 in the final and since then they have reigned supreme with the title eluding them only thrice – 2000, 2001 and 2004.

Last year’s runners-up CR and FC will make a strong bid to clinch the title this year. Led by Danushka Perera the Red Shirts will have the services of Sri Lanka Sevens players – Ashen de Costa, Lasintha de Costa, Ashen Karthelis, Bilal Hassen, Dinusha Chathuranga, Vishwamithra Jayasinghe, Srinath Sooriyabandara and talented youngsters in Mohamed Rinaz, Nigel Ratwatte and Nuwan Chamara.

But the Red Shirts will face a strong challenge from the Navy Sports Club and Air Force Sports Club.

The sailors will be boosted by the presence of national ‘Sevens’ players Suranga Pushpakumara, Samantha Lakshan, Nuwan Hettiarachchi, Eranda Weerakkody, Niranjan Wickremaratne in addition to Dev Anand, Dilip Methruwan, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, M E R C Silva and Mathakaweera but will miss the services of Chula Susantha who is on the injured list.

The Sri Lanka Air Force will also field a formidable team. Led by former Sri Lanka scrum half Milinda Jayasinghe the Airmen will have the services of Sri Lanka ruggerites Chanaka Chandimal, Radhika Hettiarachchi, Dilan Soysa while the rest of the squad will have seasoned campaigners Charith Seneviratne, Pradeep Kurukulasuriya, Wasamba Senarath and talented youngsters Fazly Mohamed, Gayan Iddamalgoda, Mithun Hapugoda, Navinda Pullikuttiarachchi and Kingswoodian Mohamed Afzal.

The Army which has excelled in recent years in ‘Sevens’ rugby will miss the services of Sri Lanka Sevens player Asanka Perera due to injury but will have in their ranks players of the calibre of Saliya Handapangoda, R M G Ratnayake, Maurice Abeyratne, Kepila Knowlton, W A Kumara, Sampath Wijesuriya, Upali Wickremasinghe, Manoj Silva.

The teams taking part in segment ‘A’: CR and FC (two), Havelocks (two), Police (two), Army (two), Navy (two), Air Force (two), CH and FC (one), Uva (one), Galle RFC (one) and Petersons (one).

Past winners: 1977 (CR), 1978 and 1979 (Havelocks), 1980 (CH and FC), 1981 (Havelocks), 1982 and 1983 (CR and FC), 1984 (no tournament), 1985 (Police), 1986 and 1987 (Havelocks), 1988 and 1989 (Police), 1990 (no tournament), 1991 to 1994 (CH and FC), 1995 (Havelocks), 1996 (CR and FC), 1997 and 1998 (CH and FC), 1999 (Kandy SC), 2000 and 2001 (Havelocks), 2002 and 2003 (Kandy SC), 2004 (Army), 2005 to 2009 (Kandy SC).