Navy SC toppled the defending champions Havelock SC by 21-17 in a nail biting clash of the titans played at Welisara Navy grounds in one of the most anticipated games of the Dialog Club Rugby League 2013/14.
Before the start of this game, Navy SC and Havelock SC were the only unbeaten sides of the league. Chanaka Chandimal kicked off this much hyped encounter and Havelocks crashed into the top gear from the 1st minute itself attacking smartly and strongly. Havelocks were dominating in open plays and breakdowns for the first 10 minutes until Navy’s big built DJ.Forbes looking like Samoan born Japanese rugby union center three quarter Alisi Tupuailai turned over the ball from Havelocks inside Navy 22’ meter line and ran away for 45 meters breaking tackles and showing his brutal power before off- loading to Dinusha Chathuranga who scored Navy’s 1st try of the match giving an early lead. Nuwan Hettiarachchi missed the conversion. ( Navy 05 – Havelock 00 )
After being booked by the referee for offside play once, Namal Rajapakse made the same error for the 2nd time in the 12th minute of the game to be shown the yellow card and made to sit outside of the game for 10 minutes. Navy extended their lead in the 17th minute of the game when Havelocks held onto a ball offside and Nuwan Hettiarachchi made no mistake with 35 meter penalty kick. ( Navy 08 – Havelock 00 )
Nuwan Hettiarachchi had another perfect opportunity to extend their lead but he missed a very difficult 50 meter penalty kick given due to a scrum infringement made by Terrance Henry.
Both teams showed lack of communication in passing and calling the line outs which caused loss of possession in this nerve wrecking encounter.
Havelock SC made their 1st entry in the score board in the 30th minute of the 1st half when Havelock SC skipper Sudarshan Muthuthanthri barged over for a try started from a brilliant blind side move by Anuranga Walpola which caught the Navy defenders off side and Rizwan Meedin took a quick tap of the penalty advantage and made way for ‘Muthu’ to score. William Hakalo failed to add the extra points. ( Navy 08 – Havelock 05 )
William Hakalo missed the chance to level the scores in the 35th minute when Navy 2nd rower Suhiru Anthony’s side entry into a ruck situation gave away a penalty to the visitors but Hakalo made a mess of the kick. As the game inched towards the half time, Havelock SC displayed their best set play attack when Shehan ‘Lema’ Pathirana touched down from a brilliant driving maul on the brink of half time. William Hakalo missed the kick but Havelock SC went into the break with a slight lead of 2 points.
Half Time : Navy 08 – Havelock 10
Both teams returned to the battle from a much needed 10 minutes break after a breathtaking 1st half of superb, classic rugby. Navy SC started the 2nd half with an improved attacking game plan though Havelocks defensive work stood out brilliantly but referee awarded a penalty to Navy SC as Havelocks made an infringement in the 45th minute of the game. Nuwan Hettiarachchi kicked perfectly to put Navy into the lead once again in this enthralling passage of rugby. ( Navy 11 – Havelock 10 )
Both teams showed intent of spreading their backs wide and working their way into the opposition half but standout defensive work from both teams kept the fans on the edges of their seats as bone crushing tackles were made and scintillating runs from speedy three quarters ensured the game was played physically throughout the 80 minutes.
Navy SC scored their 2nd try of the game in the 55th minute of the game when Mateaki Katalolu capitalized on a Havelocks unforced error in a line out and scored under the posts. Nuwan Hettiarachchi converted the try. ( Navy 18 – Havelock 10 )
Fijian 7s sensation Stefano Cakau injected some steam and speed into the Navy backline making terrific attacking runs and Stefano’s brilliant offensive plays caused Mithun Hapugoda to make a forced error of playing the ball from the ground to stop a try and referee Priyantha Gunarathne sent him to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
As the game approached the last 5 minutes, Havelock SC were running out of ideas as Navy SC seemed to be taking away with the game but Sandun Herath who had been dormant throughout the game scored Havelocks 3rd try when in the 78th minute he took a quick tap for a penalty advantage Havelocks received as Navy were caught offside after a series of attacking phrases by Havelocks. Josateki Brown converted the try. ( Navy 18 – Havelock 17 )
Both teams displayed rugby of the highest quality during this top of the table clash and only a point separated the teams as the game clocked near the 80th minute and Havelock’s unbeaten run came to an end when referee Priyantha Gunarathne awarded a penalty inside Havelocks half. Navy SC replacement foreign expatriate Tinani Ilai bisected the posts superbly to end the game in Navy SC’s favour maintaining their strong unbeaten run.
Full Time : Navy 21 – Havelock 17
Both teams had ups and downs during the game but the biggest difference of the game which changed the cause of the game was place kicking as William Hakalo missed several kicks while Nuwan Hettiarachchi had worn his best kicking boots. Compared to the Havelock SC’s foreign players, Navy SC’s foreign recruitments were way better as they had the much needed killer punch in them.
It was disappointing that photographers from several media institutions were restricted to pockets and therefore repressed from taking proper action photographs.
