Marauding Kandy expected to drown Sailors even at home
Can the rugged Navy SC playing in their backyard stall Kandy SC’s triumphant march when they meet today? Welisara does not quite have the daunting reputation of Nittawela. Yet, Kandy has struggled at this venue and even lost a game.
Richard Dharmapala’s team has now hit their straps good and proper after starting off with two unimpressive wins against the current bottom half teams the Police and the Air Force. It is the nature of champions to rise to the challenge when things get difficult. Kandy SC has done just that. CR, CH and the Havies – three of the best clubs around – tried to knock them off their perch and failed. Kandy is now out on a limb.
A lot of credit for this happy situation has to be apportioned to their rugged, roaring ‘eight’. Buvaneka Udangamuwe is, right now, in the form of his life. A hat-trick against the Havies testifies to his superb attacking qualities. Shehan Pathirana has not really excelled in the last two games. Yaqoob Ali is a fighter. Suhiru Anthony has done good work in the lines out. Powerful Heshan Kalhara has delivered a lot of hits and attracts two or three defenders, thereby causing gaps for his team-mates to exploit.
Lastly, to the unheralded Tharindu Chaturanga, who has played so well that the talented Jason Dissanaike has, at times, been forced to the bench.
Scrum half Roshan Weeraratne has used all his experience to put his team into advantageous positions. Having combined so well with Fazil Marija, Weeraratne is now forging a successful link-up with Nigel Ratwatte.
The speed, sleekness and good understanding among the backs is a given. The highly effective pairing of the skipper and Danushka Ranjan has helped the wingers to deliver. It was good to see speedy Anuruddha Wilwara back from injury. He did score once against the Havies. Wilwara will be put to the test by the presence of another ‘flier’ in the Navy team.
Full back Thilina Wijesinghe’s kicking excellence has been much in evidence. His forays into enemy territory have caused consternation.
Navy’s 50 percent record does not impress the rugby fraternity all that much. The Police, the Army and the Air Force were beaten by them. But they were brought down to earth by these top contenders – the CR, CH and the Havies.
However, Navy does possess some quality players who can make a difference. Buddima Piyaratne is certainly a handful with his speed and ability to change direction. On the other wing is another dangerous player, Saliya Handapangoda. Mushin Faleel and Mohamed Absal, ear-marked for big deeds, are now showing what they are capable of.
Ritchie Dharmapala will be doing his best to derail his brother’s plans. Harsha Maduranga is an exciting player. The Navy back division is neither lightweight, nor a pushover. Skipper Thilina Weerasinghe’s kicking has not been as good as it was last year. This being a crunch game, every point will be vital.
Among the forwards, Adeesha Weeratunga, Janith Laksara, Radeesha Seneviratne, Kasun de Silva and Amith Gunasinghe have caught the eye.
Man for man, the Sailors may not count for much. But they can’t be written off. They will be on home ground and vocal support can drive them to go that extra yard or two. But will that be sufficient?