Hi Everyone. It’s been a while since my last post. Unfortunately, my secular work took me overseas, which presented little opportunity to put pen to paper together. But I’m back!
This weekend, sees the 2017/18 Dialog Rugby League come to a closure. Once again, Kandy Sports Club will win it on a canter – with the chasing pack miles behind. Only Havelock SC stand in the way of Kandy ending the league season unbeaten. The fact that Havies are the next best placed team having lost four times just goes to show the gulf between Kandy and the rest. Playing up in Nittawala with the fanatical local support behind the Kandy boys, Havies will have to play the perfect game if they are to pull the rug from under the home teams feet. Given their erratic form since of late, it must be said, that outcome seems very unlikely.
With Kandy galloping away with the prize once again, there is still all to play for, for the rest of the teams. CR&FC, after a resurgence of sorts having beaten Havelocks and strung a couple of positive results will be looking to exact revenge from hometown rivals CH&FC. Interesting to see how that goes. The Maitland Crescent club will also be buoyed by another Marquee signing – Sri Lanka Seven’s skipper Sudarshana Muthutantri. Muthu is fresh after representing Auckland, and needless to say is a player of tremendous ability. His 
experience and raw tenacity will add another dimension to the CH backrow. It’ll be interesting to see how Coach Laga uses him – on the flank, or his preferred position at number 8. I’m sure the CR lads won’t be particularly happy to see him line up against them. I have been quite impressed with CH this season, particularly the form of the likes of Yoshitha Rajapakse, and their centre Lee Keegal. They keep getting better and better and gave the mighty Kandy quite a torrid time as well up in the hills. Samuel Maduwantha’s boot is also an asset upon which they can build on. If the authorities at CH can keep this side together, they will definitely be able to push on for top honours in next year’s championship. Actually, they may well have a say in the knock-outs this term!
I was able to make it for the Havies-CR game a couple of weeks ago. Being a night game, I took steps to be at the ground well before kick-off. This was with the view to beat the traffic and mad rush, so as to secure a good seat. It didn’t quite work to plan, and I ended up at the ground just before kick-off. But still managed to park and enter the ground with consummate ease to find an extremely poor turn out. This was a derby game, for which in the years gone by showcased a fierce rivalry with some top-notch players either donning the red of CR, or the pink and chocolate hoops of Havies. “In our day, we had to queue up the day before to get tickets for this game” was the nostalgic recollection of one of my friend’s Dad’s, a Havies stalwart. The time he spoke of was probably many moons before I saw the light of day. But I well remember as a youngster attending some cracker CR-Havies encounters. The constant chant of ‘Go Havies, go!’, and the distinct screech of ‘Come on CRRRRR!!’ are still vividly engraved in my memory. Actually, in some of the top-tier games, I only fully saw the ball, when it was kicked up in the air. Such were the throngs that flocked to witness these gladiatorial encounters.
The game itself was entertaining in that the lead changed hands a few times. Havies with a dominant pack should have put CR away in the first half. But they failed to kill off the game, and to their immense credit the red shirts put on a much-improved display in the 
second half that knocked the hosts off their perch. But discussing with some seasoned veterans of the game, its alarming how most club players today fail to identify space, and lack the ability to put supporting runners through ‘holes’ (in the defense). Whether they are forwards or backs, they just keep running into contact. Hit after hit after hit. Somehow, the fact that taking a ‘hit’ or going into contact is for the purpose of sucking in defenders and creating space is lost on most. This just results in players overexerting themselves with little ground being made. The other worrying aspect is the inability to string more than two to three phases together. The move just breaks down. I would say part of this is due to the ‘hit syndrome’ as alluded to earlier. This has gone some way in hurting the club game today. Coupled with the fact that Kandy are so vastly superior to the rest of the sides, the interest levels have definitely taken a beating. The poor spectator turn-outs speak for themselves.
This once again begs the question – do we need foreign players to light up the domestic game? Will they improve the standard of our players? Or will that simply deny homegrown talent opportunity? I do believe that foreigners should be permitted. But if that were the case, I’m sure that Kandy will probably get the best ones and be even further head. Maybe we approach this a bit creatively? Say, only one islander or westerner is allowed on the park at any given time, but a higher number of Asians – from Japan, Hong Kong, etc could be permitted? I’m just trying to think out loud. Seeing mismatches of big Fijians run at smaller local players all day is not much fun either.
It’s fair to say that the Schools season is now the predominant following of rugby in the country. What I was happy to see was the number of school players that have made the transition to club rugby this year. The likes of the Lee twins from Wesley, Samuel Maduwantha, Harith Bandara, & Chamodh Fernando are a few to name. We are just a month away from the school season again, and some exciting viewing lies ahead. Group A looks particularly competitive with the likes of Royal, Trinity, St. Joseph’s, St. Anthony’s, and S.Thomas’ all on that side of the draw. If you do not win your first couple of games, you are in serious trouble and at real risk of not making it to the second round. Make no mistake, there are now no freebies in the school’s league. It’s now ultra-competitive, and you must have a strong squad if you are to compete for the league. Injuries and illness will happen. You must able to adapt and move ahead.
So as the curtain comes down on one season (club), the other begins. I for one cannot wait. And if you ask me, it’s really hard to pick which schools have the superior sides. Everyone looks to be keeping their cards close to their chests. Remember now the authorities have switched back to the Under 19 rules. There are two main changes from what I understand. First is that games will be 70 minutes (35 mins per half), as opposed to eighty. Secondly, in scrums you can only shove a maximum of 1.5 meters. This second amendment will definitely aid the smaller teams. They will be keener to shift the ball around. But the best teams adapt to the rules and circumstances. Can’t wait for March to arrive.
