Sports

The CR and FC having had a close call against the Army in the previous week had their own way against the Havelocks on Friday the 2nd. CR showed the crowd that was present, as to what they are capable of. As the season matures the CR side is bound to do better.

The expectation that this match will raise the dust as traditional rivals met did not materialize. CR powered their way to win by 62 points to 7 after leading 22 to 7 at half time. They are sure to be a threat to all the others and should rank high as top contenders for the cup.

The Havelock who made the CH run all the way during the last week should not be disappointed. They lost to a better side and a superior side on that day. The Army who lost narrowly to CR the previous week had luck eluding them this week too. After holding the Kandy side for most parts of the game they lost after another spoiling performance. The win by Kandy in its first outing by 23 points to 9 was an uninspiring one. Kandy the entertainers of rugby did not live up to the high expectation of the crowd that turned up for this match. With big names on the team card much more is expected. As they go along and meet CR and CH in the coming weeks better performance is expected. If not we might see a different league winner this year. CR, CH and Kandy are the unbeaten teams so far.

There will be another interesting development at the bottom. Army and Havelock’s will be battling on for 4th and 5th place. At present the Havies are ahead in the points table. This is because of the bonus points they earned from their match against CH. It seems that the two places are as important as the first place. The threat of going down to the next segment is in the minds of both teams. Therefore there will be a lot action as these two teams meet each other. These two weeks will see the unbeaten teams meeting each other in the first round. More action will follow in the weeks to come.

In the B segment of the league Police, Air Force and the Old Zahirians remain unbeaten so far. The ugly side of rugby that surfaced during the week was the inability for players of Jawatte and old Zahirians to play the game in the correct spirit. The match with two minutes to end saw both teams’ exchanging punches. The referee had no alternative but to call off the game as the spectators too joined in. An inquiry was held on this incident and it is reported that the Jawatte team or its representatives did not turn up. Playing rugby at the A division level is one. Playing the game in the spirit in which it has to be played is another. The SLRFU should take note of the attitude and take appropriate action. How about a cut in the funds they are to receive? The Asian Rugby Football Union mid year review was held in Manila Singapore on the 9th and 10th of June. Sri Lanka was represented at this meeting by its CEO, Dilroy Fernando. An important item on discussion at this meeting was the format for this year Asian Rugby Football Tournament (ASIAD). The meeting was chaired by Priyantha Ekanayake the President of SLRFU who is also the President of ARFU. The top group in the ASIAD 2006 will consist of Japan, Korea and Hong Kong with the winners booking a place in the rugby world cup 2007. It is likely that Sri Lanka with its present performance will be in the plate as against the bowl in the previous tournament.

India met Thailand in Bangkok for a historic first match as they played the Asian Triangular Group match in the Asian Group series 2006. Thailand beat India by 50 points to 28 after leading 21 to 19 at half time. In another group match Pakistan beat Guam by 27 points to 22. There is action on the Asian Rugby circuit with more matches being played among the countries that did not make it to the RWC 2nd round of qualifying matches. All the action should put the Lankan on notice to keep up their performance.