Nippon Paint Clifford Cup Knockouts 2023 Army, Navy lock horns with place in final on the line

By Harsha Amarasinghe

Army Sports Club will battle it out against Navy Sports Club in the second semi-final of the Clifford Cup Knockout Tournament at Race Course Grounds in Colombo today.
The winners of this semi-final will meet CR and FC in the final as the Red Shirts claimed a thrilling 23-20 win over Police yesterday (01).  Army pulled off a stunning victory over Havelock Sports Club in the quarter-final when they hammered the Park Club 39-17. Wing three quarter Sudaraka Dikkumbura was in sensational form against Havelock SC scoring once in that memorable quarter-final. 

Fly half Ashen Bandara was also among the tries for the Soldiers and former Sri Lanka playmaker could make a huge impact in this semi against the Navy backline.  Navy Sports Club though getting off to a slow start this season, made great improvement towards the end and now are two matches away from bagging the prestigious Clifford Cup.

The Navy backline have showed their classes throughout this season with players like Thilina Weerasinghe, Dinesh de Silva and Samuel Maduwantha contributing very well. 
Their forwards will be up against it when they go head to head against Army this evening, but having the experience of national players such as Adeesha Weeratunga will give Navy edge.