Reds power into Clifford Cup semi final

Saturday, 28 February 2026 01:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

CR and FC advanced to the semi-finals of the Clifford Cup Knockout Rugby Tournament with a commanding 29/15 victory over Sri Lanka Navy Sports Club at Longdon Place under floodlights last night.

The Reds controlled the game well and held a 17/5 lead at halftime after a solid first-half performance.

CR displayed their attacking strength with four well-worked tries scored by Omalka Gunaratne, Viduna Amaneth, skipper Lasindu Karunathilake and Senura Perera. Thenuka Nanayakkara played a key role with the boot, adding three conversions and a penalty to keep the hosts comfortably ahead throughout the contest.

Navy SC fought hard and responded through tries from Isuru Perera and Koojana Kulathunga. Thilina Weerasinghe added a penalty while Kalpa Lakmina converted one of the tries, but they were unable to match the pace and structure of the CR outfit, who maintained pressure for most of the game.

Referee Raveen Alexander controlled proceedings.

CR will now move on to face Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club in the first semi-final of the tournament.

Today (28 February) there will be two more quarter finals, one in Kandy and another in Colombo. Defending knockout champions, Kandy Sports Club will host Army Sports Club at Nittawela while Havelock Sports Club will host Police SC at Havelock Park. Winners of these two matches will face each other in the second semi-final encounter. (SJ)

Pic by Upul Abayasekara