6 March 2023 12:38 am Views - 271
CR and FC emerged victors of the Nippon Paint Clifford Cup 2023 by defeating Navy SC 24-18 in the final played at the Racecourse ground on Sunday.
The win ended a 16-year wait for the oldest club rugby trophy in the country for the Longden Place club who are celebrating their centenary year.
The game was evenly contested and could have gone either way. However, a calm and composed CR kept their nerve to lay hands on the trophy that had eluded them for over one and a half decades.
CR took a wafer thin 10-09 lead at the breather. In the end CR scored a goal, a try and four penalties to the six penalties of Navy SC.
In fact the winners were trailing 09-00 for most part of the first half with the Sailors making up their points from two penalties booted over by Thilina Weerasinghe and one by Samuel Maduwantha.
CR undeterred got their act together and made up their first scoring from an under the posts try by Chathura Seneviratne which gave Thenuka Nanayakkara an easy kick at goal which was followed by a penalty by Seneviratne for CR to take the lead 10-09 at the short whistle.
On resumption the teams traded penalties, with the Sailors pushing hard and earning themselves a penalty and Maduwantha had no difficulty with the task which saw them taking back the lead 12-10.
However the lead was short-lived as a Seneviratne penalty helped CR take over the lead.
Maduwantha was in good form and booted over a trade mark 55-metre penalty for the Sailors to surge ahead but again they could not hold on to the lead for long as Nanayakkara helped the red shirts to take over the lead with a penalty.
With the game heating up Maduwantha once again came to the rescue of the Sailors with a penalty booted over in the 62nd minute which turned out to be the last points they would add, with a penalty off the boot of Seneviratne and an unconverted try scored by Lahiru Pavithra sealed the game for CR to emerge champions.