Kandy out to continue winning streak

The Kandy SC 2023 team (Picture courtesy: ThePapare.com)

By Shamseer Jaleel in Kandy

Kandy Sports Club under Damith Dissanayake are all out to continue their winning ways in the rugby field, as they have already beaten Sri Lanka Army SC and CR & FC in their first two league encounters. They have been the only outstation club to play in the ‘A’ division for many decades, with many difficulties with overhead costs in travel, hotel, and other expenses increasing in tandem to the point where they need to travel on at least seven occasions to Colombo while the other clubs have got only one ride to the Hill Capital.

The club started its winning ways in 1992, when they won the Clifford Cup by beating Police SC under Maurice Joachim. The club won its first league trophy in its 100-plus-year history two years later under Indrajth Bandaranayake. 

The day they won the league in 1994 was not short-lived; they had a long-term plan. The former Royal scrum half, Malik Samarawickrema, had a vision and worked very hard to see Kandy win no less than 22 league titles in the last 28 years between 1994 and 2022. The club’s leadership is currently handled by Mahesh Weerasinghe, and with some top-class administrators such as Sujeewa Liyanage and Ashan Ratwatte in line to take over the reins, the club is in safe hands for the future.

The Hill Country club, though losing out on nearly seven seniors this season, is fortunate to have some young blood in the outfit. Seniors such as Nigel Ratwatte, Tharinda Ratwatte, Heshan Kalhara, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Yakoob Ali, Danushka Ranjan, Lavanga Perera, and Anuruddha Wilwara are all there to guide the youngsters. Ranjan will be returning to competitive rugby after two years, while Wilwara, who has almost recovered from his injury, will be available for selection in the near future after recovering fully.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Kandy SC skipper Dissanayake said, “We as a team are working very hard. We are the defending champions, but we must start from scratch because everyone is on equal footing in the new season. We won both our matches and are expecting some tough challenges in order to keep the trophy in Kandy. We have some talented youngsters representing the club as forwards and three-quarters and expect to end on top by winning both trophies on offer.”

“We have a bigger challenge this year after losing nearly seven senior players who have gone overseas or joined other clubs,” said Fazil Marija, Head Coach of Kandy SC. “We have groomed many youngsters, and the young blood will take time to adjust to the top rugby league in the country. Fortunately, we have a very good setup in Kandy, well supported by the Committee and Malik Samarawickrema. We are very thankful to our principal sponsors, Cargills Ltd. and Master Card, for coming forward to support us this season. I want to thank our rugby-crazy fans, who are always in numbers and behind us in win and loss not only at home but also in Colombo, where many come to support us.”

Led by the former Trinity Hooker, the Kandy team includes Tharinda Ratwatte, Yakoob Ali, Nigel Ratwatte, Kavindu Perera, Srinath Sooriyabandara, Lasitha Attangoda, Thilina Bandara, Chathura Soysa, Sanushka Abeywickrema, Dinal Ekanayake, Danushka Ranjan, Lavanga Perera, Oshan Perera, Heshan Kalhara, Tharindu Chathuranga, Suranga Tennekoon, Anuruddha Wilwara, Charles Praveen, Malitha Rashmika, Milan Weerasinghe, Lakshitha Ranaweera, Diluksha Dange, Chamika Perera, Uchitha Jayasooriya, S. Monishan, Bawantha Udangamuwa, Heshan Jansen, Bawantha Dharmapala, Fawmy Wajid, Damian Ratwatte, Asiri Seneviratne, Rumesh Premathilake, Nimesh Premathilake, Sahan Wijesinghe and Kavishka Bandara.

Buddhika Thalagampola will serve as Marija’s assistant. The duo will have a dual role as they handle the Trinity outfit as well in 2023. Former Isipathana player Kapila Silva is Kandy’s Team Manager, Tharaka Algama is their trainer, and Lasantha Wijesuriya is their Rugby Chairman.

Kandy will play the following fixtures in their remaining first-round encounters:

vs Air Force (Nittawela) 31 Dec
vs Navy (Nittawela) Jan 8
vs Police (Police Park) Jan 14
vs CH & FC (Race Course Ground) Jan 21
vs Havelock SC (Havelock Park) Jan 28