Two In A Row For Kandy and CR

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Kandy SC helped themselves to their second victory in the Dialog Rugby League after a 29-15 victory of hosts CR&FC at Longden Place.

Fazil Marija, Roshan Weeraratne, Saliya Kumara and Lavanga Perera managed to score tries for the visitors, while Rizah Mubarak was the only enforcer for his team.

It was the home team that started off with confidence, as they put relentless pressure on Kandy SC who barely approached the CR&FC 22m line in the first ten minutes of the game. Eventually, the visitors succumbed to the consistent pressure from the CR forwards that led to a penalty. Rizah Mubarak who is playing a talismanic role for his club this season, slotted in the three points with ease to put the home team ahead early in the game. 

However, Kandy SC hit back a few minutes later when Fata’anu Fili sent the ball wide to the ever reliable Fazil Marija who was playing at centre. Marija managed to skip past two players in defense and was brought down inches away from the try line. But Marija managed to smartly wriggle his way through to eventually score the first try of the game. Fili added the extra points as the visitors took the lead for the first time in the game. 

Rizah managed to add three more points on the board with another penalty, as the home team seemed to be very much on top in terms of possession and confidence compared to their performance against the Upcountry Lions.

It was Roshan Weeraratne’s turn to join the Kandy party as he managed to find some space to contribute to the score with a try under his belt. Fili did not fail to add the extra points on this occasion as well as the score moved on to 14-06 in favour of the visitors. Later, Rizah added another three points to cut the deficit to just five.

Kandy SC who were on the prowl again found some inspiration through Lavanga Perera who scampered his way through to help setup fullback Saliya Kumara which consolidated the Kandy SC lead at half time, with the scores remaining at 21-09.

Rizah continued  his brilliant form with the boot as he slotted in another penalty early in the second half. CR continued to play better in the second half, as they managed to put relentless pressure on their opponent, but unfortunately the home team could not find their rhythm right throughout the game, as they committed many errors in play, especially considering the line out and scrums.

CR began to slowly creep closer towards the Kandy SC total, as Lafele Va’a managed to add three more point on the board with an audacious drop goal. This kick also put the home team within range.  It was all but CR who was to blame, as they failed to capitalize on the mistakes made by Kandy SC and conceded possession far too often in crucial point scoring areas.

The visitors nearly went on to score once again through F. Samisoni who blazed his way towards the post, but referee Irshard Carder spotted a forward pass in the process of getting the ball to Samisoni as Kandy SC lost out on a golden opportunity to put the game to bed.

Fili managed to slot in a penalty for Kandy SC as the pressure was slowly building up on CR. However, Lavanga Perera had other plans, as he managed to score the last try of the game, this time set up by the unfortunate Samisoni.

The full time score stood at 29-15 in favour of the visitors. However, the scoreline does not depict the full picture of the game, as the lads from Longden Place played extremely well, showing a marked improvement from last weeks game against the Lions.

Looking at Kandy SC’s performance, it will definitely be a confidence booster to have two back to back wins, as this team definitely look title contenders.

Interestingly, CR&FC have not managed to score a single try in the last 160 minutes leaving unanswered question marks about their offensive prowess.