Havelock SC retained the Matthysz Trophy and safeguarded their hopes of defending the league title when they outplayed CR & FC by 22-17 in their first game in the 2nd round of the Dialog Club Rugby League 2013/14 played at Longden Place.
Return leg of this crucial encounter between Havelock Sports Club and Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club played for the Eustace Matthysz trophy was kicked off by Mohammed Sheriff. CR & FC showed superb defensive attributes from the 1st move as both teams started this game in traditional method by looking for territory and possession early on.
Havelocks drew 1st blood when Joe Brown slanted an easy penalty kick when CR defensive line was caught offside on the 7th minute of the game. (Havies 03 – CR & FC 00)
CR & FC & Havelocks maintained discipline and played free flowing rugby though crucial errors were made by both teams and the game was turning out to be a slow and scrappy encounter.
CR & FC received their 1st penalty inside Havelocks half which was very kickable but Sri Lanka’s current best place- kicker Riza Mubarak missed the uprights. Riza Mubarak got another opportunity to level the scores straight after his 1st miss but strong winds prevented his 2nd kick from bisecting the posts as well.
Bad passing and miscommunication were shown by both teams as the 1st quarter ended without a try but CR & FC could not prevent Sri Lanka’s newest try machine Sandun Herath from scoring on the 25th minute when he executed a brilliant line break after Havelock backline worked the ball from one corner to the other. Joe Brown failed to add the extra points. (Havies 08 – CR & FC 00)
Home team CR & FC got their 1st points on the score board after 29 minutes of intense rugby when Riza Mubarak was 3rd time lucky when he fired across a penalty kick they received for a side entry for a ruck by Havelock players. (Havies 08 – CR & FC 03)
Both teams were guilty of losing points scoring territory as they made silly errors right in front of the try line as the half time break loomed. Havelock SC were dominant in scrums throughout the game but CR & FC scrumming was not too bad as they gave a hard time to the Havelocks forwards.
CR & FC kept the strong Havelock backline only to a solitary try on the 1st half as Referee Nizam Jamaldeen blew the half time whistle to end the 1st half of the game.
Half Time – Havelock SC 08 : CR & FC 03
After lemons, both teams took the field to put up a much improved performance compared to the slow 1st half which only had single try between both teams as Riza Mubarak kicked off the 2nd half. CR & FC came into the lead in the 45th minute of the game as CR & FC skipper Ishan Noor touched down near the left corner flag after Ashan De Costa kicked the ball from the 50 meter line when Havelock lost the possession of the ball. Noor was perfectly placed with 2 team mates behind him to barge over for the 1st try for the home team. Riza Mubarak completed the try with a superb conversion. (Havies 08 – CR & FC 10)
CR & FC flanker Radeesha Senevirathne was yellow carded in the 50th minute and Havelock SC took the one extra man edge when Diran Warnakulasuriya scored the 2nd Havelock try after series of attacking phrases deep inside CR & FC territory. Hosts defended well for several minutes until Diran found the extra inch of energy in the 55th minute to break the 14 man CR defense wall. William Hakalo added the extra points. (Havies 15 – CR & FC 10)
CR & FC was caught napping again in the 57th minute when Havies took a quick line out throw and found space for their speedy wing three quarters to gain ground and let their hard working flanker Sudarshan Muththuthanthri to extend the lead by scoring his 1st try for the evening. William Hakalo slotted the conversion superbly. (Havies 22 – CR & FC 10)
As the game progressed towards the final 20 minutes, both teams injected new blood to stir up the game. CR & FC were always in the game as the 12 points Havelock lead by could always be hunted down and the driving ‘Reds’ maul went perfectly forward in the nick of time as Dushanth Lewke scored a brilliant try in the 70th minute after CR maul was too strong for the Havelock defense. Riza Mubarak made up for his 1st half kicking errors when he converted the try from a different angle. (Havies 22 – CR & FC 17)
As any result was possible, the last 10 minutes were turning out to be the most testing time for both teams. CR & FC tried pulled out all the tricks in their bag including the ‘driving maul’ but they could not penetrate the Havelock defense in the final minutes. Havelocks prop forward Henry Terrance was sent to the sin bin for the rest of the game in the 74th minute and the reigning champions Havelock SC defended and attacked with 14 men until the final move.
Experienced Referee Nizam Jamaldeen blew the long whistle as Havelock won the Matthysz Trophy for the 2nd consecutive time as they beat a fighting CR & FC outfit to keep their title hopes alive.
Final Score – Havelock SC 22 – CR & FC 17
