Confront Kandy SC in Clifford Cup final tomorrow:

Can Havelocks clinch the Rugby Double?

Ranjeeva SENEVIRATNE and S M Jiffrey ABDEEN, Kandy sport corr

Can Dialog ‘A’ Division League rugby champions Havelocks Sports Club clinch the rugby double by overcoming the formidable Kandy Sports Club? The answer to this question would be found only tomorrow evening when these two teams clash in the final of the Dialog knock-out Rugby tournament for the Clifford Cup at the Bogambara Stadium.

The park club who are having a marvellous season came up with a stupendous performance two months ago to beat Kandy SC by the staggering margin of 50-19 at Havelock Park which resulted in the park club winning the ‘A’ Division League title after 31 years. But since then Kandy SC have improved tremendously scoring two smashing wins over CR and FC (85-5) and Police (53-8) in the quarter-final and semi-finals respectively and should pose a fierce challenge to Havelocks who scraped through to a 32-31 win over Up Country Lions in the semi-final.

Kandy SC have bagged the Clifford Cup on a record 17 occasions including five-in-a row from 2007 to 2011 and will strive to retain it by overcoming the park club who are making a determined bid to wrest it from Kandy SC and emerge as undisputed champions for 2012 having already clinched the league title.

Possession will play a vital role in a game of this nature. In the set scrums the experienced Kandy SC hooker Anuranga Walpola should get the better of his vis-a-vis Rajiv Perera while the line outs should be shared between the Kandy SC duo of Bandara and Thalagampala and Havalocks’ Jayasena and Dias.

In the loose a terrific tussle for supremacy can be expected with Kandy’s famed forwards Jehan, Walpola, Bandara Thalagampola Wijesinghe and Mossess likely to be given a torrid time by Havelocks Terrence, Rajiv Perera, Jayasena Muthutantri, Warnakulasuriya and Nissan Aitui.

Scrum half Roshan Weeraratne has played a key role for Kandy SC this year both as a player and place kicker. He was injured and had to leave the field in the semi-final against Police and is a doubtful starter for today’s game.

If he plays then the lads from Kandy are likley to make the maximum use of the good ball which comes their way as he has hit it off smoothly with fly half Fazil Marija whose breaks has left the opponents defense in disarray while seasoned campaigners Gayan Weeraratne, Pradeep Liyanage and Mohamed Jabber have tested the opponents defence to the hilt with their daring runs with full back Saliya Kumara joining the line to form the overlap.

The park club will hope that their halves combination of Amjad Buksh and Niroshan Fernando will click as they have fast and penetrative runners in Samoan Niva Touso, Chamara Dabare and Mithun Hapugodage in addition to an attacking full back in Mohamed Sheriff. These two clubs last met in a Clifford Cup final in 2004 when Kandy SC led by Radhika Hettiarachchi scored a runaway 51-20 win at Nittawala.

Kandy SC – Kishore Jehan, Anuranga Walpola, Kio Mena Latu Senaka Bandara, Buddhika Thalagampola, Heshan De Silva, Fosita Mossese, Sean Wijesinghe, Roshan Weeraratne and Fazil Marija, Mohamed Jabber, Gayan Weeraratne, Pradeep Liyanage, Danusha Dayan, Saliya Kumara (Captain).

Havelocks SC – Henry Terrence (Captain), Rajiv Perera, Dushmantha Priyadarshana, Kavinda Jayasena, Shanal Dias, Sudarshan Muthuthantri, Dhiren Warnakulasuriya, Nissan Aitui, Amjad Buksh and Niroshan Fernando, Chamara Dabare, Niva Tauso, Lee Keegel, Mithun Hapugodage, Mohamed Sheriff.