CH&CR set to meet in Club Rugby League thriller

Kandy should have things their own way this weekend 

By Shamseer Jaleel

CH&FC will host CR&FC in their second Club Rugby League first-round fixture - which will be a close encounter as hardly anything separates these two teams – set to take place at the Racecourse Rugby Grounds.

Though much was expected from CH&FC, their performance fell far below expectations. Led by Rohitha Rajapaksa, their outfit possesses ample talent. Players such as Sudam Sooriyarachchi, Dushmantha Priyadharshana, Samuel Maduwantha, Chamara Dabare and their coach cum player, Gayan Weeraratne, will be looking to give a good account of themselves.

Meanwhile, although CR won their encounter against Police they too went through a tough time in a game where the ball-handling was challenging in the wet conditions. Led by Omalka Gunaratne, the team includes Reza Mubarak, Sharo Fernando, Sandun Herath, Chanaka Chandimal and Supun Warunakulasuriya as well as their two Sevens players Reza Rafaideen and Kevin Dixon who will take the field for the first game this season for the Longdon Place Club. They will hold a slight edge over the CH outfit. The match will be refereed by Gihan Yatawara.

Havelocks is led by Mithun Hapugoda and should have things their own way but Police are all out to produce a good game when they play under lights at Havelock Park. Havelocks boast no big name in their starting line-up but the park club boys are operating under veteran Sanath Martis, who is a rugby savant. Mithun will be supported by Naveen Heenakakanmge, Lasindu Karunathilake, Azmeer Fajudeen and Prince Chamara. Chamara will be continuing his kicking duties in this game as well. 

Meanwhile, Police will depend heavily on their Fijian Emosi Vunivosa, who is no stranger to Sri Lankan rugby fans. A fine player who lacked support in their initial game against CR. Police will be led by Shanaka Harischandra supported by Lasith Silva, Amjad Fahmy and Lahiru Pavithra. They are coached by former Royal, CR&FC and national player Asanga Rodrigo. This encounter will be refereed by former Vidyartha player Dilum Deeshana, who was selected by the Asian Rugby to officiate the ARC Under-19 Division 1 event in China next week. He is one of the best emerging referees in the country. 

Army will be all out to continue their good work when they meet the lowly-placed Air Force. The soldiers are led by veteran Manoj Bandara, who is supported by Mohamed Rizvi, Gayan Salinda, Isuru Medagedera and Thusitha Senanayake. They are coached by former Kandy SC, CR and CH player, national Sevens, Fifteens and Nepal coach Radhika Hettiarachchi. Air Force will depend heavily on Prakrama Ratnayake and Gayantha Iddamalgoda to take them through. Although they attacked several times against Kandy, they lacked a finishing touch. The game will be refereed by Kelum Sandaruwan.

Kandy should have a field day when they host Navy up in the hills. They will be boosted by the return of Buddhima Piyarathne, who will make his club debut for the upcounty outfit. Led by Nigel Ratwatte, and possessing Tharinda Ratwatte, Kavindu Perera, the Perera brothers and Thilina Wijesinghe, these players are a dream for any coaching staff. All of them have national exposure and will be tough for the sailors to contain and will be all at sea if their defence is not tight. Their forwards too are good. Praveen Charles, Damith Dissnayake, Sayuru Anthony and Buwanaka Udangamuwa are all star-class players.

Navy will be led by Richie Dharmapala, who will be supported by Chathura Seneviratne, Musheen Faleel and Niroshan Perera. The kicking duties will be handled by Thilina Weerasinghe. The referee for the game is Isuru Perera.

December 6

Havelock SC vs. Police SC (under floodlights)

Army SC vs. Air Force SC

December 7

Kandy SC vs. Navy SC

CH&FC vs. CR&FC