Kandy Abolish CH & FC in Season Opener

146

It was large scale massacre at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium this evening as the all time favorites Kandy Sports Club went after CH & FC with a vengeance just massacring the visiting side before they could even catch their breath.

CH complied of a young side were no match to the veteran side who is out to prove a point this season.  A completely one-sided affair with tries raining all over the grounds, the Kandyans lived up to their playing standards preventing their opponents even a glance at the try line.

With the sun bathing down on the stadium, it was  perfect conditions for rugby with the usual jam packed host audience gathered in and around the pavilions of Nittawela to witness their household heroes coming out to battle in their Kandy jerseys. The game however, commenced with a head start to the visitors as Full-back Nalan Kumara kicked an easy penalty to draw first blood. The home boys insistent on keeping momentum on their side pulled up an equalizer the very next minute as Fly-half Fa’tanu Fili kicked an easy 22m. CH responded aggressively with another kick through the posts to take the lead early in the game.

Kandy’s strong response came in as the clock ticked to the 10th minute as Wing three- Anuradha Wilwara did his familiar side step through the inner side of the CH defense to the try line. With the Fatanu conversion, it gave Kandy the lead for the first time with scores 10-6. The New Zealander Faatanu continued his luck with his boots as went on to kick two more penalties both with a distance of 40m successfully to take the scores further higher 16-6.

Fatanu was enjoying his game on the field this evening and he was no doubt proving himself to the level of favourite Fazil Marija who has been rested. Kandy’s entire game plan usually centered around Marija. The Kiwi continued to enjoy success as Kandy scored their second try thanks to some quick passes and side steps by Faatanu to Wilwara who covered almost the distance and offloaded on to wing three Lavanga Perera to score on the outer flag. With Fatanu kicking the 42m conversion against the wind the deficit went high as 17 with the tally reading 23-6 in favor of Kandy.

Several attempted kicks by Nalan Kumara at regular intervals went astray to the disappointment of the visitors as all of them were farther than 30m and he failed to capitalize on them. The homeboys continued their success stride, this time with the scrum. Having awarded a 5m scrum, the Kandyans pushed their way to the try line allowing No8 Andrew Porter to score an easy try on the opposite corner. With scores reading 28-6 the and audience anticipating the breather from this wonderful entertainment, Standoff Fatanu, with his quick strides and passes straddled along the CH defense finally handing on a quicker to Center Oshan Perera who made no mistake with a try right under the post. With Faatanu kicking it with ease, lemons was called as Kandy lead the visitors 33-6.

With the first half deciding the winner and the end result being an inevitable one, the home boys were playing  a calm game and flipping passes and running the game the way they wished. The first half had the three quarters skipper Roshan Weeraratna, Oshan Perera and Wilwara doing all the work with Faatanu and they decided to take a break while the front rows tried their luck. The first try of the second half came after a lapse of five minutes as Sean Wijesinghe scored through a forward maul under the posts which was easily converted. 

It was tries for all at Nittawela as the “beast machine” Faatanu started to steal lime light, this time again with some strategic passing to wing three Lavanga Perera who side stepped his way through the rumbling defense to score the second for the second half again under the posts. Faatanu made his way to the scoreline as well as he grabbed upon an offload from Wilwara to score on the outer flag. It followed a breakthrough by Lavanga Perera once again allowing prop forward Mohammed Arshard to score an under the post try. With all these tries flooding in CH managed a solitary penalty by the boots of Nalan Kumara and at end of all these drama the scores stood 59-9 with a comeback seeming beyond a miracle. 

The dying stages saw Wilwara scoring another on the corner flag and tall figured Randika Alwis wrapped matters up at Nittawela as he warded off at least four players before falling over allowing Lavanga Perera score the final try before the whistle. The game ended giving the home team a celebrated victory of 69-9 against CH& FC.

CH & FC did not have the luck in at least reaching the try line even once though there were several efforts made by the Tongan #8 Bolakathi Wadleven to make room but they never materialized. The three-quarters tried their level best to surpass through the gaps of the Kandyan defense but fell short each time. 

Kandy took the opportunity to field their entire bench in the second half but that too proved to be too much to counter. Marija absence was entirely consolidated by Fatanu Filai who was the playmaker for the day. His quick passes and the long kicks with his smart thinking made the difference between the sides. The entire Kandy game play today was woven around this New Zealender and he was able to master the art of kicking with possession and control.

Kandy has taken a leap forward from the very first outing which foresees that they are no doubt coming to take back what they’ve lost.

ThePapare.com caught up with Roshan Weeraratna at the closure of the match and as we inquired on today’s game play he mentioned “ the new faces together with the old veterans performed quite well on the field” and on the prospects for the season he stated” we will be looking forward to build on this performance this season”

Scores in brief: Kandy 69 (5G,5T and 3P) to CH 9 (3P)