Nippon Rugby League Unbeaten Kandy rout CR to make it eight league titles in a row

 Kandy skipper Damith Dissanayake lifts the champions trophy with teammates
Pix by Kushan Pathiraja at Nittawela

By Shamseer Jaleel

Unbeaten defending league champions, Kandy Sports Club showed their supreme class when they not only beat CR & FC for a second time this season but also got the right to save keep the League for a record eight years in a row when they beat the Red Shirts by 29 points (4 tries, 3 conversions, and 1 penalty) to 10 points (1 try, 1 conversion, and 1 penalty) in their final Nippon Paint Interclub Rugby League 2022/2023 encounter, which was worked off at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium in front of a packed stadium yesterday. This was a bonus-point win for Kandy, who won their 23rd league title starting in 1994.

At the short breather, it was CR who led 10-0.

CR settled well early in the first half, with the wind heavily favouring them. Their defence was excellent, and they put Kandy under severe pressure on the offence. In fact, CR had nearly three scoring opportunities but could find the Kandy line only once. Former Kingswoodian Chatura Seneviratne was outstanding for the visitors, gaining much-needed territory and putting the Kandy three-quarters under pressure with his highball kicks. Suhiru Anthony, skipper Kavindu de Costa, Gemunu Chethiya, and Murshid Doray all played well.

Meanwhile, Kandy was under severe pressure for not getting enough possession in the initial half. They never panicked but defended well. Their skipper, Damith Dissanayake, and Wajid Famy played well for their forwards. Kandy’s playmaker was their fly half, Tharinda Ratwatte, who was acting for Nigel Ratwatte, who could not play due to his suspension. His ghosting attacks were constant, and the CR defence was erratic in the second half. He got ample support from Lavanga Perera, Kavindu Perera, and fullback Srinath Sooriyabandara.
Chatura missed a penalty in the 5th minute of the game but drew first blood for CR later in the 11th minute with a similar penalty. CR, who dominated the initial half, touched down through a Thenuka Nanayakkara try, and Chatura added the extras. At the short breather, CR stunned the Kandy crowd by leading 10 to nothing.

Kandy skipper Damith Dissanayake receiving the champions trophy

Kavindu de Costa, captain of CR & FC, receiving the runner-up trophy

Kandy was unstoppable when play was resumed. The packed house of 4000-plus fans saw four tries scored in the second half through Lavanga, Kavindu, Yakoob Ali, and Asiri Seneviratne. Tharinda converted all three plus a penalty, while the last kick was given to skipper Damith to have a go at it. All 29 of Kandy’s points came in the second half.
Kandy began their league-winning streak in 1994 under former Rajan Indrajith Bandaranayake, and they have won 23 times to date, including their eighth straight victory.
The chief guest was Patron of the Club, Ranjit Page, Deputy Chairman of Cargills PLC, with Nemantha Abeysinghe, General Manager, Nippon Paint, coming in as Guest of Honor.

Referee: Gihan Yatawara
Assistant referees: Ishanka Abeykoon and Raveen Alexander
Match Commissioner: Kavinda Jayasena
CMO: Anil Jayasinghe