When going gets tough Kandy gets going
Kandy SC are defending their title - File pic
The local Rugby world was shaken to its very foundations early last season when the unheralded Airmen edged out (24-21) a multi-talented Kandy Sports Club outfit that seemed to have taken victory for granted. That seismic shock was followed by another when the Navy also ran out winners in their match against Kandy SC.
Continued domination by one team is not good for a sport. It breeds jealousy and anger. Many Rugby followers were dwelling on the prospect of a new winner in the club Rugby stakes.
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”. This is clichetic, but opposite. The Kandy team got going at this stage and produced championship-winning Rugby. Some of the games were close, and every match had to be won. They couldn’t afford to drop another. And they didn’t.
Tournaments are not won by clubs that operate on “Teddy” budgets, but by those who invest in ‘champagne’ ones. Over the last couple of years, the pageant of stars has unfolded at Nittawela. The entry of Richard Dharmapala was a major boost. A brilliant player who can fit into two or three positions, Dharmapala, a lad from Science College, has repaid the club for its seeming extravagance.
Another significant signing was that of the Sri Lanka Sevens skipper Danushka Ranjan. A marked man, Ranjan, somehow finds a way past the clutching tentacles of the opposition. He has delivered at international level, too, as his feats in the various Sevens tournaments suggest.
Jason Dissanaike, an excellent third row player, had to sit out the last season as his inclusion was opposed by the CR and FC. If this has a salutary effect, it will be welcome. There is too much poaching going on. This is not limited to clubs. Schools have unashamedly followed. The malaise continues. To come back to Dissanaike, he’s had a very good run in the Sevens Tournaments. But his talent is not limited to the shorter format.
From brother to brother – that is the story of the Kandy SC captaincy. Roshan Weeraratne, the younger sibling, the scrum half, led the team last season. He has passed the mantle on to the elder, Gayan. The new skipper is also a national player and a very experienced one, at that. He takes a lot of stopping and is a fairly explosive centre.
Kandy’s back division comprises Sri Lanka players Fazil Marija, Ranjan, Dharmapala, Weeraratne and Danushka Dayan. A terrific assemblage of talent. Marija is set to wind-down his glittering career. He has spoken of this season as being his last. Not the gazelle he was ten years back, Marija can still turn a game Kandy’s way with his tactical nous and Rugby brain.
Kandy must be embarrassed by their accumulation of scrum halves. Roshan Weeraratne is the man in possession. Srinath Sooriyabandara, a wonderful Sevens player, is available. Kandy has wisely invested in Kingswood’s scrum half Heshan Jansen. A quick, thinking, linkman, Jansen is surely headed for higher honours.
Marija will get “the first bite of the cherry” as far as the pivotal flyhalf’s berth goes. Damian Ratwatte and Arshad Jamaldeen will have to exercise some patience. Josephian Chathura Seneviratne is also in the mix. Thilina Wijesinghe, the ex-Rajan, was quite fantastic last season. Thus, there’s no reason ‘to paint the lily’, or to gild refine gold.
The Kandy pack was serviceable and delivered the goods. Hooker Damith Dissanaike did a good job. So, also his namesake Ganuka, who crossed over from the Havelocks. Prop Ashan Darling has taken a leaf from Ganuka’s book.
Suhiru Anthony, a lock forward, has played a very influential part among Kandy’s forwards. But the palm must be handed to Bavantha Udangamuwe, a battling, rampaging No.8. Udangamuwe was in the thick of things last season. One expects him to continue in the same vein.
Kandy SC performed the Triple in 2015, and the Double in 2016. For starters, they have their sights set on the 2017 Dialog League.
Coach: Sean Wijesinghe
Manager: Kapila Silva
Chairman, Rugby Committee: Lasantha Wijesuriya