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Friday, 6 February 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
CR played with a lot of passion and their forwards were well and truly on the ball. Despite trailing Kandy for most parts of the game, there was a lot of self-belief as they went about their business with dedication and a sense of purpose. In fact two of the scores that they conceded could be considered as soft as they were caught napping and were purely on the individual brilliance of the Kandy players.
With the last quarter to go and with Kandy having a lead of 12 points, Kandy would have felt very secure and were entertaining thoughts of closing out the game. CR has on many occasions thrived on individual brilliance, as much as Kandy has during the season and this came to their rescue once again. CR’s willingness to run the ball at almost every opportunity and use the width of the field of play finally paid dividends as they came off with a very creditable draw.
Deep kicks into CR territory by Kandy was well-anticipated and the CR expatriate combination was a delight to watch as they would bring the ball back with some scintillating runs supported by imaginative rugby.
Kandy had played a pretty professional and calculated game throughout the season except for the blip against Army in the first round. The fuss about the referee may not need intense investigation, but the due process must be followed; after all we have been on a good governance theme in the past few weeks.
Havies did themselves a favour and a bigger favour to Kandy as they beat a lacklustre Navy side in the once-considered bastion of Welisara. From the outset Navy looked as if they had lost the will and the mindset to win as they went about their business with great monotony.
There was very little imaginative play by them and this suited Havies immensely. Havies were on a mission impossible given their lacklustre performance against CR and they proved that if you dare, you are able to win.
The set prices were ugly to watch although nobody can deny the ferocity of the forwards as they engaged each other in scrums and in mauls. Navy has virtually a Sri Lanka team pack sans the former captain. Whatever allegations that may be levelled at this point in time, there is no denying the fact on the pivotal role that he played in sourcing players and moulding them into a strong unit, capable of winning tournaments.
As of now they appear to lack a genuine leader and with the vast talent pool at their disposal, they appear to be having a game plan of their own. Having talent and individual brilliance is one thing, playing as a cohesive unit is another as witnessed in the corporate world as well. The key is attitude.
The role of the coach is vital and there is popular belief that the coaching staff must have a good working relationship with the players and rely more on a consultative role as opposed to directly barking orders for execution.
Whilst that is the way forward in many sports, there is a fine line that divides on what is considered as too much of interference. The Havies/Navy game is a point in question as the Navy coaching staff, were seen time and again very close to the touchline continuing to ‘coach’ whilst the game was in progress. This is fraught with risk and it can easily disorient the players with too many instructions. The referee too thought that there was too much interference and did speak to the coach on a few occasions.
There was also the issue of the replacement of an injured expatriate player by another expatriate who had already been substituted. The player was permitted to participate for a few minutes before the error was spotted and the matter redressed.
As much as the referees and the players must be aware of the rules of the game, so should the entire coaching staff and the match officials. Instances of such a nature leave a bitter taste in the minds of both camps and it is not unusual, although it cannot be condoned, when certain spectators then decide to take the law into their own hands.
The ensuing melee after the match was a poor spectacle for any sport and such incidents must be nipped in the bud. If the authorities are willing to take a serious stand on the issue and mete out the punishment that it deserves including blacklisting the venue, the sport will be richer and spectators will not feel intimidated to attend such games. After all what is the point of having a good game, with no spectators to witness the sport?
Commentating on any sport is an art and needs loads of practice and experience. Those that watched the live streaming were treated to a rather pathetic display of commentary with poor linguistic and descriptive skills.
Irrespective of the team that one may support, whilst on commentary, the skill of being neutral must be exhibited. It is also of paramount importance that the commentary is based on what is available on the screen to all the viewers as opposed to what can been by the commentator outside the window.
(The writer can be reached via [email protected].)
