Kandy Sports Club was crowned as the new league title holders after a lapse of two years on points aggregate despite losing the encounter against Navy Sports Club in a close one point margin (12-11) at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium this evening.
The heavyweights in the league run this year, Kandy Sports Club and Navy Sports Club were on a race with each other to lift the trophy at the end of the season. This being the last game of the season gave two clear indications as to how this game would affect the overall outcome of the league. Kandy needed a win or losing with a bonus point with a 7 or less margin to Navy’s full score. Navy had to win but with a 7 point margin.
Play kicked off amidst a heavily packed rugby audience at Nittawela. The hosts were first receivers of the opportunity for three points in the very first minute off an infringement by a Sailor which proved futile as Roshan Weeraratna’s kick slanted towards the right corner. Kandy playing in front of their enthusiastic fans were aggressive right from the kick off whistle and their aggressive nature bore fruit when their star player Christopher Cloette stepped through the Navy line to what looked like a set piece right from the ‘All Blacks’ playbook to draw first blood. The try went unconverted but gave the hosts a lead of 5 points.
Nuwan Hettiarachchi who is back in the Navy jersey was the Sailor’s arsenal since they were relying on his kicking all throughout play. He tried to open the scoring for the Sailors via a dropped-goal attempt that landed in no-man’s land but later succeeded to bring in the first points through two successive penalty attempts which came after a lapse of 15 minutes to take the lead. (6-5)
The Sailor’s lead did not last long as five minutes later, Roshan Weeraratna put through an easy 3 points to take a single point lead (8-6).
Half Time 8 (1T, 1P) – 6 (2P)
With the game progressing smoothly, Navy had other woes to worry about. A win here at Nittawela was not the only option they were looking for but a win a bonus point. In achieving this, Navy had to shift its gears to a higher attacking frequency, and to bolster the attack heir center Lutemailangi opted to take risks to break through right from the start of the second half. Disappointingly Kandy’s attack fell apart for a while as they failed to capitalize on the chances they received. Oscar Ouma almost made it to the try line off a 5 meter lineout but knocked the ball just before he planted it. It was the similar case with Koto Pongi as well.
Kandy’s thirst for points was pleasing news for the visitors as the more they opted to go forward, the more the infringements they commited and the sailor’s full back Nuwan Hettiarachchi was too kind to let such opportunities drift away. Having missed a 58 meter penalty earlier, Hettiarachchi added a further three points to drift the score away. This followed another easy under the post penalty for Navy as another six points came on board as the number in front of Navy’s tag read 12. (12-8) Kandy on their attacking half took advantage to put through an easy penalty right under posts off the boot of Roshan Weeraratna to cut the deficit to a single point once again.
The clock at the Nittawela Stadium stating less than two minutes of play remaining for the 2014/15 club rugby league, Kandy was gifted a golden opportunity to get themselves another victory when they were awarded a penalty. Roshan Weeraratna who opted to take the kick had a massive responsibility in his hands but to his disappointment, the ball drifted away to the right, giving the Sailors a win with Kandy grabbing the ultimate crown.
The Navy Sports Club had many more chances in attacking in both halves and drifting that points deficit to a higher stand but many seemed to be lacking coordination. At one point, the Navy wing three quarter opted for a cross kick that went astray though having only 20 more meters to cover to the try line. Kandy too had many chances of working through the line rather than opting to utilize their forwards. Their strategies were tactical but execution was poor some resulting in knock ons. (11-12)
Owing to the fact that Kandy SC were on top even after the Navy loss, Kandy Sports Club was crowned as League Champions for the years 2014/2015. Today’s encounter showcased the mighty strength of the quality of rugby Sri Lanka had to offer as both teams fought till the very last minute.
The Kandy SC skipper once mentioned “When I captained in the 2008, I made sure I keep the trophy where it belongs and my last wish before calling it a day is to win Kandy the league title under my leadership”
As the final whistle blew, the Nittawela Stadium witnessed the usual phenomena of the spectators charging the field to embrace their heroes and proud skipper Sean Wijesinghe lift the trophy.
Full Time – 12(4P) – 11(1T,2P)
Dialog Rugby League – Most popular Player – Rochana Hettiarachi from CR & FC with 9491 votes
Dialog Rugby League – Highest Try Scorer – Christopher Clloete from Kandy SC with 15 tries
Dialog Rugby League – Highest Point Scorer – Dulaj Perera from Havelocks SC with 141 points
Dialog Rugby League – Runners Up – Navy SC
Dialog Rugby League – Champions – Kandy SC
