Being one of the two unbeaten teams in the season so far, CR & FC played against the only team without a single win in the season – Navy SC – at Welisara, where the visitors ran circles around the home side to register a thumping 57 – 06 win.
The opening 15 minutes of the game belonged to the home side as they were disciplined and had a clear plan to not let the visitors off the hook. Navy SC received the first scoring opportunity of the game after going deep into the opposition half, as a penalty was awarded from kickable distance. The Sailors opted to go with the sensible option of adding every point possible as Stevan Sansoni kicked the 3 pointer through to give his team the early lead. (CR 00 – 03 NSC)
Before long after the initial penalty, Navy once again found themselves inside the opposition half, and the visitors conceded another penalty. This time it was not easy with a distance of at least 40m, but the Skipper trusted Sansoni and he backed it up with a beautiful kick through the posts to increase their lead. (CR 00 – 06 NSC)
Five minutes after the second 3 pointer by Navy, the boys from Maitland Place found some momentum using their backs. With the momentum the backs created, hooker Venura Kodagoda powered his way into the opposition 22m territory, and they also received a penalty which Viduna Amaneth took quickly and gave the pass out to Randy Silva, who found the whitewash with ease. Manilka Ruberu converted the try to give his team the lead for the first time in the game. (CR 07 – 06 NSC)
A few moments later, CR received a penalty after a high shot from Lahiru Herath, which Zubair Doray kicked into touch. From the lineout which followed, the visitors worked the ball to their left, and the young gun Rinesh Silva found space right in between two defenders to gain some valuable metres. CR then shifted directions passing from left to right which opened up ample space for Randy Silva to score one of the easiest tries ever in his career. The conversion did not go through, but the lead came up to 6 for the visiting team, and that was the last score of the first half as the next 15 minutes did not produce anything special. (CR 12 – 06 NSC)
Half Time: CR & FC 12 – 06 Navy SC
After a closely contested first half, everyone expected the game to get even more interesting in the latter half, but CR & FC managed to put that thought to rest straightaway as fresh legs on the park, former Royal College Skipper Randul Senanayake, went over for a try from the left corner and, once again, the conversion did not go through. (CR 17 – 06 NSC)
For the next 10 minutes, CR had the majority of the possession without any scoring chances, but that finally came when Navy conceded another penalty. They went with the territory gaining kick and the rolling maul ploy, but that was not enough to get over the line. Afterwards, they went for the passing game, and at first their passing from right to left did not work out, but the left to right passing paved the way for the bonus point try as Raveen de Silva overpowered the last line of defence with ease. Ruberu added the two extra points with a phenomenal kick as the game continued to drift away from Navy, (CR 24 – 06 NSC)
With their trailing points number going up to 18, Navy’s second half went from bad to worse when Apoorva Wijesinghe was shown a yellow card for multiple infringements. With the numbers advantage on their side, the visitors took advantage straightaway as the left side of the field became wide open for Iranga Ariyapala to go over the try line easily. Ruberu missed a hard conversion, but the lead was well into the 20 plus mark for CR. (CR 29 – 06 NSC)
With 5 tries already in the bank, the Maitland Place boys started to ooze with confidence as they were ready to run from their own 22m line. One of those runs ultimately paid off when Rinesh Silva reached out to score a well-deserved try. Ruberu converted a hard angled kick, and the lead was nearing 30 for the visitors. (CR 36 – 06 NSC)
The next try did not take that long to arrive for the boys in red as Samith Warnakulasooriya finished off an opportunity created by some slick passing from Kavindu de Costa, Thenuka Nanayakkara and Manilka Ruberu as he ran for about 25 metres from the short side. Nanayakkara converted the try as CR were just 7 points away from a half ton. (CR 43 – 06 NSC)
De Costa provided CR with a lovely break from their own 22m territory as his lovely footsteps carried him well over the halfway mark. From there, CR received a penalty and after getting deep into the Navy territory with a kick – they went over the try line from the right side of the field courtesy of Rinesh Silva. Nanayakkara added the 2 points with a brilliant conversion as the half century came up for them. (CR 50 – 06 NSC)
Just before the final whistle, Shehan Kelaniyangoda scored the 9th and final of the game for CR & FC and Nanayakkara converted once again as the Referee blew the final whistle, ending the misery for the Sailors. (CR 57 – 06 NSC)
Navy Sports Club will be heavily disappointed about this outing in their own backyard as the opposition made a mockery of their defence and ran circles around them. They showed glimpses of good Rugby, but it was not consistent for an extended period of time, which led to this final scoreline. As for CR & FC, they now have the same number of bonus points as Kandy, but they will have to see how Kandy faces the Havelock challenge tomorrow.
Iranga Ariyapala was adjudged Black Knight Player of the Match for scoring a try and for being a vital cog for most of the CR & FC tries. He was exceptional with defensive work as well. Senura Perera also had a solid game to go with the Silva brothers, who scored 2 tries each.
Full Time: CR & FC 57 (9T 6C) beat Navy SC 06 (2P)
- Black Knight Player of the Match: Iranga Ariyapala (CR & FC)
Points Breakdown
Navy SC – Stevan Sansoni 2P
CR & FC – Rinesh Silva 2T, Randy Silva 2T, Randul Senanayake 1T, Iranga Ariyapala 1T, Samith Warnakulasooriya 1T, Shehan Kelaniyangoda 1T, Raveen de Silva 1T, Manilka Ruberu 3C, Thenuka Nanayakkara 3C
