An action packed weekend after some extraordinary final results for Army, CR&FC, CH&FC and Navy who were the winning teams, which cuts open wide the Dialog Rugby League 2014/15 predicting excitement to come.
Army v Kandy
Kandy on their second away fixture came down to Colombo as red hot favorites after thrashing the Airmen 78 – 09 in week one. However, the end result saw the crest-fallen Kandy bunch trundling to the dressing room in despair after leading the half time 13 – 00. A phenomenal come back was witnessed by the Soldier’s in the second half unlike the match against CR&FC in week 1 where they lost the plot in the 2nd essay. Having learnt their lessons quickly, they came back strong to dent the hopes of hill country lads.
Mothilal Jayathilake using his ‘magic’ brought in Fijian Pio Tuwai, the giant No8 from languishing on the bench the first half to drag 2-3 defenders with him and orchestrate the Army win. Tuwai who started against CR&FC unfortunately got injured after playing 30 minutes where Army led the first half, his injury clearly made the different for Army loss that day.
‘Prince Chamara’ what a start he is having on his club debut season. He made his mark kicking the points for Soldiers and also his combination with Chula Susantha in the attacking line providing good results for the host. It was expected to be an exciting encounter between the two outside halves with Rohitha Rajapaksa taking on his opposite number Quinton Crocker. Rajapaksa did not have any pressure on feeding the line and also has built his confidence in kicking which he did quite well to put the ball in touch and some up and under.
Kandy had no chance in scoring during second half despite a missed penalty by Crocker. Army defense was rock solid as well as their attack after the lemons. Anurudda Wiwara made a stunning try beating three defenders but he was not used as much as Kandy needed him in the second half. Fazil Marija and Gayan Weerarathne’s centre combination that went up against the two Fijians (Epi & Ramuwai) in the opposite camp was commendable as they kept them quite under control.
Graphic by Navod Wijewickrama ©ThePapare.com
Nevertheless it is question time for Kandy … Crocker playing at 10? when you have Sri Lanka’s first choice fly half Fazil Marija in your squad and the versatile Christopher Clete in the flank. This is something Kandy will certainly have to look at in the coming games. As depicted in the above graphic when Pio Tuwai breaks off the scrum he is taking on Clete (Flanker) and Crocker (Fly Half) as a result options open out wide for Army attack as Chula showed, scoring the second try in the corner.
Talking points: Pio Tuwai – the non-royal Prince Chamara – Kandy flank/fly combination in vain
CR&FC v Havelock’s (Mathysz Trophy)
The traditional match between Havelock’s and CR&FC was another twist when the host kept their 100% winning record after the end of round two. However, the Mathysz Trophy will be decided after the second leg where Havelock’s trail by 5 points after a 17 – 12 win for the host CR&FC. There was a controversy in this match as in the second half CR&FC played with 16 men in the field for 2 phases of the game, to which the Havies complained and SLRFU to give a decision this week.
A similar incented is recorded by the IRB when England met Samoa at the Rugby World Cup 2003 where as per the old laws saw England fined 10,000 pounds.” (IRB). As per the modern laws a penalty should be awarded.
Havies had experienced three quarters in their line up including last year’s highest try scorer Sandun Herath and man who led the National 7’s team for Beijing last month, the nippy Mithun Hapugoda. CR managed to keep these two runners scoreless and shut the gates most of the time in the corner between the lineout and the 5m mark. This was yet another great ploy by Imthi Marikkar; despite Sandun Herath threatening to attack twice, he was denied scoring in the dying stage.
Graphic by Navod Wijewickrama ©ThePapare.com
Sudarshan Muthuthantri who kept the first try for Havies continued his form with his great tackles and turnovers, the youngest of Costa brothers ‘Kavindu’ who moved from CR&FC to Havies also had a brilliant game scoring a vital try, but there was not much support by Dulaj Perera, Mohamed Sheriff and Dhanushka Ranjan. Dulaj at 10 he missed out two penalties which were carried inside not finding touch which is a cardinal sin in rugby. He has the potential of becoming a solid running No 10, taking tips off Jonathan Sexton the Irishman playing against the Springboks last weekend.
Robbie Malneek the Reds Centre was astounding with his thinking brain reading the fast moving game well in order to bring success. Anurada Herath chasing Shanaka Kumara’s kicks; the combo showed great awareness. During the last quarter of the game the hosts were down to 13 men with Rajitha Abeykoon and Rochana Hettiarachchi both shoved in the bin, yet the visitors could not exploit the advantage. Now an interesting game awaits CR as they are taking on the defending champions Navy at Welisara this Saturday.
Talking Points : Robbie Malneek – CR’s defensive structure – 16 Reds on the field at one time
Police v Navy
Navy after a disappointing performance in the first week, came to the Police Park doing all their homework neatly. In week one Sailor’s had the bulk of play from their big forwards through driving mauls in the lineouts and in scrums, this time around also they provided a valuable effort against the cops. In last Saturday’s international clash between Ireland and Springboks, despite the South African line out being regarded as the best in the world, Ireland counteracted this by stepping off from the maul and removing the offside line. This tactic forced the South Africans to react, which they struggled to do. It will be interesting to see if any of the local teams will employ this tactics against the star studded Navy forwards.
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Sailor’s new foreigners Pau Halafihi, Leo Naikasau and much known Joeli Lutumalagi adding the X factor was a struggle for the Police. Also the Fijian 7s legend Setefano Cakau is expected to return to the island and strengthen the Navy driving force. Dinusha Chathuranga had a fabulous run with a hat-trick which was much deserved. Yoshitha Rajapaksa’s first try of this match added to his previous weeks tally making him the leading try scorer at the end of week two with a tally of 4 under his belt.
Police Prop Forward Prasath Madusanka intercepted a pass and scored a try which he will remember for a long time; Apisai Nagaliva is the main power that the Cops rely heavily on with Samantha Lakshan feeding the ball to him. So far these two have found a great understanding in the attacking game but their defensive construction needs to be worked on.
Talking Points : Navy set pieces – Pau Halafihi’s strength at #8 – Yoshitha leads tries with 4
Air Force – CH&FC
Airmen after been beaten heavily by Kandy, put up a valiant effort against the Maitland Crescent team in week two. However, they have not shown composure and maintained their discipline in the playing field. Dinesh Weerathunga getting a red card had the Airmen suffering with 14 men in the field and also playing without any foreigners, had their fates sealed.
CH&FC on the other hand cannot ask for a better start in the season after having observed the rest of the eight teams playing in week one and starting their first match against the bottom team. Nevertheless, a win is a good start but allowing Air force to score two tries is not something Bilal Yousuf’s men would have wanted especially having two foreigners in the CH team. Winger Pium Jayasinghe and centre Mushin Faleel were on song for the striped team and also the Tarnaki player Tumula Ioane’s presence was able to strengthen the three quarters with his power and pace.
The Air force will have a bye in week three, while CH&FC struggle with a home ground to play against the Army in their next fixture. According to club chairman Iqbal Hassan, CH might play their home games at the Royal Complex.
Talking Points : CH home ground – Air Force discipline – Young CH Three Quarters
