Will Kandy be Navy’s Waterloo?
Kandy SC, who suffered an unexpected and totally indefensible loss to the Airmen some three weeks back, now seem to have regained their composure and confidence to a certain extent. Wins against the Army and Police by 24-point and 25-point margins respectively, did good for their battered ego. However, a tougher test awaits them today at Welisara, when they engage the Navy, a hitherto unbeaten side.
The form of Sri Lanka’s brilliant centre Dhanushka Ranjan has taken a mysterious dip. After a blazing 5-try effort against an admittedly weak CH side, on debut for Kandy, Ranjan has barely crossed the line. Against the Police last week, he seemed to be all thumbs. Yet, he’s too good a player to continue in the doghouse for much longer. Cometh the hour, cometh the man!, could hold good for him when Kandy confronts the Navy.
Marija who did score a try, but left the field in the 2nd half, was not the Marija of old. Are injuries taking their toll?
Richard Dharmapala, Soyuru Anthony, Thilina Wijesinghe and Shashrika Jayawardena (after he came on) had a good outing against the law enforcers. En passant, praising Dharmapala is akin to painting the lily, and guiding refined gold’ as he never seems to have a bad match.
No.8 Buvaneka Udangamuwa was particularly impressive with his barnstorming type of play. It took two or three defenders to bring him down.
All in all, it could be said that the Kandy pack, which is a very mobile one, laid the groundwork for their win against the Police. When the ball does reach the talented back division (which is full to overflowing!) it is curtains for the opponents.
Although the Navy has a true inform record, it could be said they have not really dominated their opponents. They defeated CR 21-13. The game against Army went down to the wire, before the Sailors overturned a 20-24 deficit to a 25-24 win in the dying minutes of the match.
Centre Lee Keegal, a former Peterite, is their star attacker. He touched down twice against the Soldiers. The Kandy defence would do well to keep an eye on him. Another potential danger is the young winger Buddhima Priyaratne who has speed to spare. The 60-metre-run he did, late in the Army game, was eye-catching. It was this effort that paved the way for Navy’s final, decisive try.
Skipper Roshan Ranasinghe, experienced Sajith Saranga (who will be turning out against his former club), Dhanushka Perera and flyhalf Chanaka Chandimal one are some of the more prominent players in the Navy side.
The Navy is fortunate in having former Kingswood player Thilina Wanasinghe to man the last line of defence. He has a good pair of hands and an excellent boot.
Kandy can’t afford a loss here – neither can the Navy, for different reasons. Thus, this clash has all the trappings of a humdinger.