Nippon Paint Inter-Club Rugby League 2022/23 Kandy SC edge out Navy SC in thriller

Srinath Sooriyabandara (#9) about to feed his threes at Nittawela yesterday

By Shamseer Jaleel at Nittawela

Defending league champions Kandy Sports Club pulled off a hard-fought win over Navy SC by 21 points (3 tries, 3 conversions) to 18 points (2 tries, 1 conversion, 1 penalty, and 1 drop goal) at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium yesterday.

At the short breather, Kandy led 14-8.

Both teams dished out good rugby, though the ground conditions were very tough for ball handling. Navy opted to keep the ball with their three-quarter line while Kandy played with their fresh set of forwards.

Kandy’s Praveen Charles was outstanding, having a great outing both in defence and attack; Yakoob Ali too stood out for the Central Hills team. Dhanushka Ranjan, returning after a lapse of two years, also played well for Kandy. Meanwhile, Radheesha Seneviratne, Musheen Faleel, and Samuel Maduwantha all played their hearts out for the Welisara outfit.

Maduwantha missed a penalty kick in the 7th minute of the game. In the 16th minute of the game, Kandy SC drew first blood through a sweeping three-quarter move when Ranjan scored a right-corner goal. Tharinda Ratwatte did a good job of converting.

A few minutes later, Kandy SC scored their second try through a forward’s rush, which ended with their hooker, Uchithra Jayasuriya, touching down. Tharinda converted the left-corner flag try. Navy reduced the lead, first through a Maduwantha drop goal and then a try through hooker Pulasthi Dissanayake.

After the short breather, Maduwantha put over a penalty to reduce the deficit to three points. But Kandy, who had other ideas, touched down through their full-back Damian Ratwatte. Tharinda, who had a great kicking game, converted his third kick at goal. The Sailors tried to fight back through a fine try by Seneviratne, for which Maduwantha added the extras, but Kandy managed to hold on to the victory.

Kandy will await some Colombo testing when they face Police SC, CH & FC, and Havies in their next three first-round encounters.

Referee: Ishanka Abeykoon