An evening of pure magic as Kandy confront Air Force
It is accepted with demur that the scars of war had healed quickly after the earlier Naval skirmish and that Kandy SC acquitted themselves well against the Hambantota Sharks.
Some of the plus points were that they continued the phases, that the forwards were very mobile and that they were at the breakdowns quite quickly. The team made fewer mistakes, while the work in the scrums, line out, rucks and mauls was good. In the same breath it
Air Force is yet to record a win this season - File pic
should be mentioned that the Sharks were almost as different from the Navy as chalk is from cheese.
In the light of the fact that the Navy really decimated the CH and won by a near 80 point margin, Kandy SC maybe a tad disappointed that they didn’t score more last Sunday. That is so much water under the bridge now.
The requirement for the eighteen time champions is that they keep winning, and winning big. Today’s opponents, the Air orce, shouldn’t trouble Roshan Weeraratne’s men all that much.
After a break come, come the Police, the Up Country Lions and last season’s glamour team – the Havies. All are away games and the Havies encounter, which is the last one, should be a sizzling decider.
Not having any foreigners in the side has caused the Airmen to be out on a limb. With the resources at their command, coach Chandana Deepthi’s team has played to the best of their ability. Fly half Charith Seneviratne is the key player in the line up. No doubt, he will come in for close attention.
The fact that they were soundly beaten by the Nittawela Club in a pre-season ‘chuckers’ game will be at the back of their minds. Few expect the Air Force to defeat Kandy. However, they will do well if they can match wits with the Kandy team up to a point, even. Kandy will also welcome a reasonably tough assignment to prepare them for the tougher tasks ahead.
Having toyed with the idea of moving Marija to number ten position, Kandy took the plunge in the second half. What was interesting was the performance of Kandy’s latest signing – the Tongan fullback David Halifolua. Playing at centre, he was a joy to behold, dummying, side-stepping and causing confusion all round. He must certainly have caused a conundrum to the selectors and this will only be for Kandy’s good.
The Air Force anti-aircraft five will be fully tested by the Kandy’s nimble-footed outsides, in particular. It could be an evening of pure magic.