So the dust has settled on Round 1 of the Dialog A Division rugby championship, and we are looking forward to what will be a close run thing in Round 2 with the top 6 Clubs playing each other and the bottom four Clubs battling it out for the Plate. Let’s look at the seedings in a bit. But first the games.
Navy v Sharks
It was a always going to be one way traffic in this encounter and the home team ran in seven tries to beat the Sharks by 47-6. The Sharks have had a baptism of fire, and without local support it will be difficult to build a sustainable team. With so many talented schoolboys in the game though, it will be only a matter of time before the Sharks make their mark.
For the moment though, Navy have got almost all their bonus points and are unbeaten. They are in prime position for the title race, and have made themselves almost invincible as they will have to drop more than one game in the second round to concede the title.
With their big centres Setefano and Tupuailai making the difference, opposing teams will really need to show up their midfield defence in the second round against this team.
Kandy v Havies
What was billed as the high octane feature of the evening failed in the end to leave a lasting impression, much to the joy of the Havelocks fans. It was great to see the grounds packed to the rafters as the league has well and truly come alive this year.
The 34-17 scoreline in favour of the hosts was largely created by a dominant performance from the Havelocks pack led ably by player/coach Paula Kaho. When Kandy lost their no.8 Andrew Porter in the first few minutes of the game, the match was as good as lost for the visitors. He was the only one with a technical ability to take on the likes of Havelocks and Samisoni, with his erratic nature and hopeless tight play, was never going to give them the same ability.
It was surprising that experienced third row man Sean Wijesinghe didn’t start the game, as he could have provided some muscle and nous to the breakdown where Keith Gurusinghe was left hopelessly exposed.
Although Kandy were ahead at half time and extended their lead shortly after, the battering from the execellent scrum and line out where the entire front row, as well as Dias and Pathirana were outstanding and was too much for the inexperienced Kandy pack to handle. Muthuthanthri backed his forwards and kicked to the corners, also probably because he knows he has a placed kicker problem. Dhabare scored early for the hosts, and Mithun Hapugoda, finally preferred at scrum half with the return of Dhabare, gave Niroshan Fernando some confidence as well. The fly half showed his skills and managed to put cut out nicely for Herath also to score in the first half.
Kandy retaliated through Wilwara and the boot of Roshan Weeraratne, but somehow Fazil Marija and Gayan Weeraratne looked a little flat without Pradeep Liyanage outside them. The defining match up of the night though, was Danushka Ranjan’s handling of the dangerous David Halaifonua. He nailed his man every time perfectly. Whether this was Ranjan’s smarts, or good coaching we’ll never know, but he backed his pace and brought Halaifonua down with perfect, low, side on tackling. It was a lesson for all other local players in how to bring down a bigger man.
Kandy’s substitutions were also pretty desperate with Fa’atuana Fili coming in at full back for Samisoni. He was immediately exposed with Herath running down Sherriff’s grubber off a neat, blind side 8,9,15 move. The flood gates then opened and some pushovers from a tight driving maul from Havies signalled the death knell for Kandy, who now drop to third place with two losses in the competition so far.
This is clearly the weakest Kandy have been for a while, and with Marija out of form, they look very ordinary. It also appears that their foreign recruits are not as effective as those of Navy and Kandy, and might be something Malik Samarawickrema has to put right before the next round, especially with the injury to Porter.
Lions v CH
The UCL team finally showed off their attacking wares against a hapless CH outfit, running in 19 tries to score the highest score and victory margin of the tournament so far, thus ending the first round as they began it, securing 4th place and a trip to Kandy next week.
It really was one way traffic, and coach Imthie Marikkar realised how important it was to rack up the points to finish fourth and get the edge of CR and Army. It was a superlative performance by UCL and if they play like this, will be a force to be reckoned with. However, in the face of bigger forwards, things may not go as well.
Police v CR
Police hosted a CR team which has been in a downward spiral for the last couple of weeks. They seem to be still feeling sorry for themselves after the win against Navy and have not raised their game to get the crucial bonus points out of the Sharks and Police games.
They won yesterday’s match 31-27 after enjoying a 28-10 lead with an hour gone. The substitution of the talismanic Nissan Atui, together with the injury to captain Ishan Noor set the cat among the pigeons, with CR barely looking like a top 4 side in the last quarter of the game. Police utilised their foreigners Apisaia and Rockobiau both in the midfield and they were shepherded well by Faleel and Kelaniyagoda for most of the game. However, a positional re- jig and the midfield defence went awry with both foreigners running riot.
CR’s usually tight forwards could not dominate their counterparts up front and lost crucial line outs when looking for their bonus point. It was a learning curve for the inexperienced team, who failed to do their potential justice against Police who were tactically sound, and executed bravely. They should win the Plate championship easily if they continue in this form.
Army v Air Force
Army signalled that they will be very much a force in the second round with a barnstorming win against a gutsy AF side. Bolstered by the return of Jalebula who was unfortunately missed for their game against Navy, they added the impressive Fijian winger Dilai Esava who rampaged on the flanks.
The 60 point scoreline is a worthy effort in the face of a stout defensive side, but Army will be unhappy that they conceded 30 points to a team with no foreign firepower.
Army are so far unbeaten at their home ground in Diyagama and that will be a reputation that they would want to maintain going into the second round. With Jalebula and Esava, they have line breakers, and in the form of speed they are not short either, with players like Imanka Ariyapala being excellent support players, they will almost certainly cause some upsets in the second round. They have already beaten UCL and come close to CR, and will set their sights on the visiting Kandy and Navy teams. Mouthwatering.
The match ups for the second round will be really interesting. Although the fixtures have not officially been released it is likely that Navy will play Army in their first match at Diyagama. With no reason why the foreign players will not be available, Army will make a dent in the Navy defence, and this match will not be one to be taken for granted for the league leaders.
Havelocks will face CR at Longdon Place and the Red Shirts will have to raise their game in the face of a much improved Havelocks side. Kandy will play Upcountry Lions in Kandy and that should be the game that Kandy will see as the banana skin. Latest reports suggest that Kandy coach Neil Footie has been relieved of his position and Central Kings coach Adrian will be taking his place. This is the first such turmoil for Kandy who had Laga and Johan Taylor for extended spells, and may just be creating a little tension in the Kandy board room. How the players, who are rumoured to be a little unhappy with Footie’s style, will respond, should be interesting to see from next week.
