The Dialog Club rugby season kicked off in full throttle this weekend as the formidable ranks of Navy sports club took on the likes of the highly motivated and gritty Air force sports club at the Walisara Navy camp which ceremonially embraced the occasion.
The sailors showed vigilance and class from the first whistle as the kick off was collected cleanly and secured by the star studded forwards disvion of Navy SC which did not however create the most stunning performance but complimented the finesse of their precise and ruthless back division. The Airmen called “mayday” from the very early stages of the encounter as fundamental errors and poor handling saw to it that their territorial advancement was contained. They also took the first shot at goal following a penalty conceded by the Navy for handling on the deck. The approximately forty-five meter kick was sent wide of the uprights in what was the first stint in a spree of atrocious kicking by the Airmen. The Sailors were far from hesitant to counter attack collecting the loose kick. The Navy tested the airmen’s mettle with a series of great attacking phases strung together with class running rugby and support play which seemed the by-product of excellent team chemistry.
The sailors climbed on to the score board following penalty conceded by the Air force, not releasing the ball. Navy kicker (no14) made no mistake in putting the ball through the uprights setting his team off the mark. Not long after from what seemed like a breach of conduct by the airmen saw the Navy kicker taking another successful kick at the uprights putting the home team further ahead.
The sailors kept mounting the pressure until the Navy center broke through the defense and put the ball to the boot only to be secured by the Airforce full back in whose attempt to put the ball in to safety was charged down by the Navy wing three-quarter who touched down finishing a successful center break initiated from inside the Navy forty meter line. No mistake was made with the conversion.
The hell-bent airmen were more than defiant as they retaliated instantaneously with a series of attacking plays initiated by long cut-out passes from the fly-half in the center field with the intension of spreading out the naval fleet beyond their defensive perimeters. However the home the team etched on by their supporters stood strong as phase after phase of airmen crashed against the Navy’s defense which was pushed back on its feet to the twenty meter line until lack of discipline again saw the ball slip from the airmen s hand which resulted in Tongan full back scorching the grass to score just by the uprights subduing the airmen for the first half of play.
The first half of the encounter saw some well-orchestrated running rugby by the sailors as well as the monumental effort that the airmen had to exert to contain them. Not to mention a noticeable difficulty shown by the Air force in containing the foreign players. Not necessarily in terms of physicality but in terms of skill and ingenuity in broken play that turned tables from the very beginning of the encounter.
HALF TIME 20-00 in favor of Navy SC
The second half saw an invigoration of the Airmen who’s intentions of coming out on top of the encounter began to manifest in the form of a heavy offensive play by Air force s rugged forwards division which powered its way through and over the sailors containing them within their own half for a considerable period of time. However handling errors by the airmen saw possession change hands again until a penalty conceded by the airmen for obstructing the ball carrier saw the Navy looking towards the uprights yet again. And no mistake was made as Navy SC continued to sail ahead.
The Navy forwards division however seemed to relax their authority as untidiness at line- outs and at the break downs became an order of business. However young lock forwards of the home team Jason Disanayake produced an outstanding performance displaying his back-like running skills and attacking prowess in broken play. Navy winger (no14) also had a brilliant game as the dynamic wing three-quarter manipulates his seemingly above average weight an blistering speed in unison with his adapt kicking skill to keep the ball in motion at all times whilst harassing the opposition with the uncertainty of his actions,
The air men still keeping their hopes with the boot alive changed kickers to take a gamble on yet another penalty conceded by the sailors and were successful putting to rest the fear of having to return with nothing on the score board. Navy power house Bila Hassan whom had been quiet for much of the encounter shifted gears with one of his signature eight man breaks darting past the flanker and in between the eight man and the fly half only to knock the ball on in contact.
After what seemed like a change of posture from the home side from backs to forwards, the sailors put their hefty forwards to use battering the airmen back from each pick and drive from a series of which resulted in the scoring of yet another touchdown. The conversion however was sent astray.
A prolonged series of back and forth play from both teams saw Navy sc manage the final touchdown that sealed the airmen’ s fate. The Navy sports club recorded their first win of the tournament beating Air force sports club 33-3.
Despite the conclusive and overwhelming win for navy sports club their performance however was not flawless. Being a formidable side in this year’s teams line up and having much talent under their banner Navy SC should polish their steel in preparation of confronting the giants yet to be set loose from Havelock park and the hill country.
ThePapare managed to snatch a word regarding his side’s performance from the triumphant Navy coach Mr. Leonard despite his jovial attempt to elude us. “This is a very positive sign, we have used a lot of new players coming in through the ranks and we are definitely a side to look out for “
The disappointed yet far from dis-heartened Air force coach had this to say “Basically we are playing with a very new side. We have about five players whom until recently have never played rugby before and having no foreign player in our ranks, most of whom are original airmen our target is to beat at least five clubs with this squad”
