Kandy to have perfect send off for legend Fazil Marija

Clifford Cup Rugby Final 2018

By Shamseer Jaleel

Inter-club rugby for 2017/2018 will come to an end tomorrow (25 February) when the defending champions, Kandy SC lock horns with the Sailors in the final of the Dialog Clifford Cup at the CR&FC rugby grounds.

Kick-off is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. This will be the final club game for Sri Lanka Rugby legend Fazil Marija who will be hanging his boots after 14 years of service in tandem for the Kandy SC.

Kandy Sport Club, who are the favoured outfit to lift the trophy for the 22nd occasions, will be led by centre Gayan Weeraratne. Navy skipper Dhanushka Perera and Supun Dilshan will miss the starting line up due to their suspension by Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR) on taking a banned substance. If the Sailors call the tune, it will be the second time they will account for the trophy.

Kandy made easy work of Air Force and CR&FC in Pallekelle over the last week in the Clifford Cup encounters while the Navy outfit sweated out for two hard-fought wins over Police and Havies on their way to the Cup Finals.

Navy will heavily depend on their full back and wonderful place kicker, the former Pathana lad, Thilina Weerasinghe. He has been outstanding this season being the highest point scorer in tries and penalties. If Kandy makes a mistake within a range of 50 metres of their own half, they will be in trouble as Thilina’s kicking capabilities are on top at present. Kandy place kickers Nigel Ratwatte and Thilina Wijesinghe too being of top quality will need to maintain their consistency in this one last game not only to win but also to remain unbeaten this season.

The Sailors are fortunate to have Dulanjana Wijesinghe, Musheen Faleel, and Mohamed Abzal in their outfit. All three are top class players and could be major threats to the Up Country outfit. Kandy in their three quarter department are the best in the country. Gayan, Ranjan, Fazil, Lavanga, Richard, and Nigel all being top class national players, will be tough to stop. The only hiccup Kandy could have is the linkman Sooriyabandara who is on the slower side. In forward play, Yakoob Ali and Shehan Pathirana are top class players displaying quality.

Kandy SC (probable side): Ashan Darling, Yakoob Ali, Uchithra Jaysuriya, Sayuru Anthony, Dimithri Wijetunge, Heshan Kalhara, Shehan Pathirana, Buwanaka Udangamuwa, Srinarth Sooriyabandara, Fazil Marija, Dhanushka Ranjan, Gayan Weeraratne (Capt.), Richard Dharmapala, Lavanga Perera and Nigel Ratwatte

Navy SC (probable side): Dulanjana Wijesinghe, Kasun de Silva, L. Wishwajith, Raveen de Silva, Nirosh Perera, Adeesha Weeratunga, Supun Pieris, J. Laksara, Harshana Maduranga, Mohamed Absal, Saliya Handapangoda, Musheen Faleel, Thanuja Maduranga, B. Piyarathna and Thilina Weerasinghe

Referee Sam Jones (Australia).