CR end 27-year wait with scintillating win

Gemunu Chethiya of CR & FC in an attacking move

By Shamseer Jaleel

CR & FC ended their 27-year wait to beat Kandy Sports Club in a league encounter as they recorded a 38-point (6 tries, 4 conversions) to 26-point (4 tries, 3 conversions) win in their crucial Inter Club Rugby encounter, which concluded at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium last evening.

At the short breather, CR led 26-7.

The game was contested at a rapid speed, with Red Shirts forwards showing great commitment and speed, shocking not only the home team but the packed stadium as well. Adeesha Weerathunge, Mursheed Doray, Lasindu Karunathilake, Manilka Ruberu, and Gemunu Chethiya were outstanding in both defence and attack. They landed the defending champions with four early tries in the initial half, which was too much for a comeback game.

Meanwhile, Kandy SC players were shell-shocked by the way things turned out to be in the initial half. Tarinda Ratwatte, Nigel Ratwatte, Srinarth Sooriyabandara, and Jason Dissanayake played top-class rugby. Conceding three extra tries to CR in the first half with a 19-point difference was too much. Once Soori came back to the base of the scrum in the later half, he brought Kandy two quick tries within five points, but CR regrouped to score two more second-half tries to pull off a famous win for which they waited for more than two decades.
CR drew first blood in the very first minute through a try by Manilka after Kandy was unable to catch the high ball. Thenuka Nanayakkara added the extra points. Both teams settled down in the next 10 minutes, which saw Tarinda Ratwatte touching down and converting to equalise the score. A try each for CR by Adeesha, Kavindu de Costa, and Gemunu took CR to a comfortable 26-7 lead at the short breather.

After the turnaround, Kandy scored two quick tries through Tharindu Chathuranga, and Nigel took them to 31-21, but CR hit back with tries through Kusal Tharindu and Adeesha. Kandy scored their bonus point for the fourth try through Dinal Ekanayake.

Kandy SC honoured Nigel prior to the game by naming a stand in his name. Nigel has been playing for Kandy SC since 2015, and he has led the team for three years without losing a single game. Since he joined the Up Country club, Kandy has never lost the league during the eight years and has won the Clifford Cup knockouts and sevens every time he played during this time period.

Referee: Gihan Yatawara