Kandy-Havelocks the real battle
View(s):The book says that an Aircraft in distress has right of way over all other traffic. For Kandy SC it was sweet revenge by not giving the right of way. The Air Force Rugby team which successfully engaged and beat Kandy in the first round were in distress as Kandy rode rough within few minutes of the whistle in the second round game. As Kandy scored 73 points against the 13 from Air Force there was no giving way to the flying men in distress. Ironically when in the first week when the Air Force shocked Kandy and the rugby public and when Kandy beat them convincingly this week; it was the same referee who was in charge of the whistle. It is the same style and the same judgment and attitude that were in play; the result was about how well who played the game better and put points on the board.
Kandy SC all out to defend their League title - File pic
What I saw in Kandy this week was that they did not take a static pass giving room for the opposition to advance in defence. Most rugby is played on Sri Lanka; whether it is the backs that get the ball or the forwards who are prone to pick and hit they start from a stationary position. This week Kandy took the ball on the run and the quick ball was helpful in getting forward of the defense lines. This also helped the ball to move and for the backs to create space which saw some strong runs down the wing. Normally the tendency is to run across and offload the ball giving no option but to be bundled out. Playing to their strength, making use of the space on the field was what made a difference to the Kandy side.
This is the difference in comparison to how they played in the first round. This I thought was god for rugby Sri Lanka as well as to the crowd who had less time to be bothered otherwise. Though the rubber tree is no more the Kandy Rugby Fans are still there in numbers. The spectators enjoyed seeing their heroes running and gaining ground it was less a problem for the Assistant Referee who normally gets a dose of verbal diarrhea from that part of the ground.
The question is whether they can do the same and play the same game this week in Colombo. Kandy is down two games compared to Havelocks that have lost only one. Yet at the end of thirteen weeks Kandy lead the points table on bonus points as both teams have an aggregate of 63.
Rivals Havelocks beat CR and FC by 31 points to 10 but missed on Bonus Points which put them behind Kandy in the points table. Havelocks have been playing steady and even in both rounds and have a battle on hand this week. Win for either club will virtually confirm the league winners though we are in the thirteenth week. If Kandy wins this week and a pocket full of bonus points the league theirs as they have only wooden spoon CH to play. On the other hand Havelocks have another tough opponent in Navy in the last week. The two weeks will be interesting battle between CR Army and Air Force for places four, five and six.
With all the excitement of a close finish can the rugby public be satisfied that entertaining rugby was played? I still do not find the game as exciting as scores or the run up to the league title suggests.
As I mentioned last week the question is whether like in other games where the administration takes centre stage rugby is too following the lead. Has the pseudo professionalism helped the game In Sri Lanka?
The IRB, which is now World Rugby, in 1995, took off restrictions of the game and allowed payments for the game. Fundamentally it completely changed the game because prior to that point it was an amateur sport and players worked for a living. Players trained on a Tuesday and Thursday and then played on the weekend and went back to work on a Monday, even as an international player. Now players are paid and some are in full-time Rugby.
Money brought challenges, pressures on coaches, players and administrators but has this helped to improve the game in Sri Lanka. We are struggling to keep the values of the amateur game and the ethos of the sport alive. Are we facing dilemma of the technical aspects of the game sacrificed for an outcome associated with the money spent. Sport or entrepreneurship is at cross roads. We have yet to find an equivalent of a football club taking over a rugby club.
Are the benefits to the game in terms of the quality of the rugby and the professionalism commensurate to the outcome? In the amateur game players did their best and trained as hard as they could but there were limitations to what they could do. Yet I guess the sport was entertaining back then. While so much is supposed to be done in the name of the game have we been able to get across the gain line. If so how come we see sparse crowds other than in Kandy? But there is plenty of grumbling based on the premise that we are not winning games despite the big names reluctant to fire but blaming others for the impotent performance.
Vimal Perera is a former Rugby Referee, coach and Accredited Referees Evaluator IRB