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| Sunday, 6 July 2003 |
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Kandy stay unbeaten after superb 36/20 win over CR by LAL GUNESEKERA Defending champions Kandy Sports Club look set to retain the Caltex 'A' division League Rugby Championship this year too. They completed their first-round engagements yesterday at Longden Place, defeating CR & FC by 36 points (4 goals, 1 try, 1 drop goal) to 20 (1 goal, 2 tries, 1 penalty) after leading 17-13 at half time. They remained unbeaten in their 10 games to be the only side to do so. Kandy were the favourites and they stamped their class - particularly with a fine display in the second session. The heavy, but mobile Kandy pack looked as if they had crushed whatever resistance their counterparts had in this session. CR did not get much ball in the second session, and whenever they did they hardly ran the ball and made too many mistakes. Kandy too played with their forwards with the threes hardly doing much running. After CR's dashing fullback Asanga Rodrigo made a darting 40 metre run after hitting the gap in the very first minute, it looked as if CR would run the ball to stay in contention with a win. But this was not to be. A Nalaka Weerakoddy drop goal saw Kandy taking the lead at 3-0 in the 12th minute, but CR, took over the lead through a try by centre Haren Kaluaratchi off a quick short tap (CR 5-3). They made it 8-3 in the 21st minute with Kodagoda putting over a simple 20 metre penalty. Kandy struck back four minutes later through a try by Samoan No. 8 Tavita Tulagaese and another try by flanker Kapila Silva after the second Samoan, Ifta Tema the centre made a fine break. Both tries were converted by Weerakoddy for Kandy to lead 17-8. Eight minutes before the breather, CR, reduced the lead by an unconverted try by their Fijian centre Charles Latsui (CR 13-17). After the "turn around", Kodagoda, missed a 35-metre penalty for CR in the fourth minute, and five minutes later, Kandy's Tavita Tulagaese scored his second try off a ruck and with Weerakoddy making the conversion they lead 24-13. Three minutes later, Kandy, struck again through an opportunistic try. CR's scrum-half Zulki Hamid was tackled in possession just outside the "22" and with right winger Kishan Musafer and fullback Asanga Rodrigo too joining in to help Hamid the defence was wide open. The ball rolled and there was Kandy's flanker Sean Wijesinghe to pick it up and score under the posts. Weerakoddy again obliged with the conversion for Kandy to lead 31-13. Tulagaese touched down for the third time in the evening off a quick short-tap taken by hooker Malith Silva but Weerakoddy missed the conversion (Kandy 36-13). This was in the 25th minute, and three minutes later, CR, reduced the lead to 20-36 through a fine bit of running by winger Musafer with Halimdeen making no mistake with the kick. Halimdeen replaced left winger Nishantha Kumara in the second session and also Viraj Prasanna came in for Walpola, Bohoran for Zulki Hamid and Roshan Pieris for Kodagoda. Nizam Jamaldeen refereed. Today, Army take on CH & FC at Galle Face, While Police meet a weakened Havelocks outfit at police Park. These two games sees the end of the first-round matches. |
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