Kandy-Navy game should be closely contested

by S. M. Jiffrey ABDEEN- - Kandy Sports Corr.

RUGBY: Can the Sailors torpedo the Kandyans or will the defending champions continue their success. Kandy Sports Club takes on the challengers Sri Lanka Navy in their key Caltex Rugby League 'A' Division tournament match to be played at Welisara today (Sunday) June 6th with the kick-off scheduled for 4.30 p.m.

Both teams are unbeaten so far but Kandy Sports Club have conquered all their opponents to have the unbeaten tag while the Navy have won most of their matches but were held to a draw surprising by Police and their match against CR and FC was abandoned thereby Navy lost valuable points.

Kandy Sports Club will once again miss the services of their stand-off and star player skipper Fazil Marija who is still on the injured list, following a hairline fracture be sustained whilst representing the country in Thailand.

He is likely to take the field in their next match against CR and FC. In his absence the team will be led by senior played and flanker Dilip Selvam or former skipper and No. 8 Sean Wijesinghe.

Kandy Sports Club will be making their fourth trip to Colombo in four successive weeks which no other club would have ever done. This speaks volumes of Kandy's dedication to the game and they should be encouraged as they are the lone survivors of outstation rugby in the premier league, as clubs like Dimbula, Uva, Dickoya, Kelani Valley and more recently. Old Trinitians Sports Club and Kurunegala and Kandy Youths SC have dropped out due many reasons.

But Kandy SC has got over both these problems in style thanks to one main benefactors who has provided employment to ruggerites and also pumped in a lot money regularly when the state of funds hit the bottom of the barrel.

When these two teams clashed last year in their first round match, the game had to be abandoned before full time following some unwarranted incidents at Nittawela. Kandy were awarded this match as they were leading 33 - 0 at the time the game was called off.

The second round match provided more drama when the appointed referee Nizam Jamaldeen limped off the field and was substituted by D. Nimal for the rest of the game and Navy won by a there margin 12 - 11. Navy got their points through four penalties while Kandy scored a try and converted two penalties. This was Navy's first win over Kandy SC in 20 years. It was Kandy's first defeat to any club in four years.

Today's match should provide the sparks as both Navy and Kandy have chances of winning the league championship towards which winning this match will play a key role. If Navy wins, they will have the same number of points as Kandy SC.

If Kandy SC wins, they will consolidate their position at the top of the table and making it more difficult for their challengers Navy and CR and FC.