Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Saturday Dec 14, 2024
Tuesday, 11 November 2014 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Traditional rivals of local rugby, CR and Havelocks, met on Saturday at Longdon place. In years gone by this game would be hosted at the end of the season and would effectively be the grand finale. It would be an event that everyone would look forward to with the winner claiming bragging rights till the next season.
Over a period of time the game has lost its charm primarily due to the emergence of other clubs that boasted of quality players coupled with the dismal performance of the two clubs. This year the game was held with half empty stands. Whether this was due to many people opting for a longer break out of Colombo given the mid-week holiday or because the charm and tradition of the game has lost its significance is a point of conjecture.
The game itself did not reach any dizzying heights and the quality of rugby on display was average. CR started the game where they had left off in the previous week against Army. Their forwards were omnipresent and gave the Havies a tough time. The tactics adopted by CR were simple as they spun the ball wide, used high kicks to good effect and were eager to pounce on the loose ball.
Havies were circumspect against the high ball and permitted the ball to bounce before they decided to catch it, giving their opponents adequate time to compete for it. Havelocks had a very poor game overall and would need to go back to the drawing board to map put a proper plan of play. They were not cohesive and lost many set pieces. Their positioning for line-outs was shambolic with the throwing even worse. In short, the forwards were slow, lethargic and displayed no sense of urgency.
CR was able to win the bulk of the battles for the loose ball as they rucked well and their forwards were willing to run the hard yards and get stuck in the thick of things. CR was helped to a great extent by Havies being slow to the breakdown point, an unwillingness to commit numbers to the ruck and their inability to retain and recycle the ball upon contact.
All in all, it was a superior performance by CR and they were unfortunate not to score more points given the amount of possession that they enjoyed.
For any game to be enjoyed by players and spectators alike, the quality of the refereeing must be of an acceptable standard. The referee had a very poor day in the office and was the centre of attention for most of the game with his interpretation of the rules and the apparent non-sighting of several infringements. There was many an occasion when players who did not support their own body weight were seen playing the ball, entering the ruck from the side and hampering the line-out jumper and the number 8 was not bound on many occasions.
If the referee was a joke, the two assistant referees were even worse as they often looked dumbstruck as they were unsure of which side should throw the ball in. I hope that the officials concerned do look at the video of the game and take meaningful steps to correct the errors committed on that day, if not we will see crowds at these games dwindle even further.
At the start of the game a minute’s silence was observed for two rugby stalwarts who had passed away recently. One of them was none other than the brilliant Sari de Sylva, who captained CR and Sri Lanka in 1965. He was a very noble personality, always full of humour and would keep all of us rolling in laughter during many social gatherings. May his soul rest in peace.
(The writer can be reached via email [email protected].)
