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Can CH turn giant killers against Kandy today?
By Rangi Akbar
Giant killers CH and FC face Kandy SC in the final of the Caltex sponsored Clifford Cup knock-out rugby final at the Nittawela Stadium today.
CH’s awe inspiring win over the CR and FC is still the talk of the town despite losing their crack third row forward Dushanth Lewke to Kandy SC. Nittawela is known to be a hot bed for unruly crowd behaviour. The reason being that the Kandy crowd is partisan and do not like their side to lose. As a schoolboy I too have thrown stones at opposing players whilst cheering for Kandy SC when players such as Jayantissa Ratwatte, Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Y.C. Chang donned the all white Kandy SC jersey.

One thing that I cannot help noticing is that security personnel too follow the proceedings on the field whilst it would be better if they keep their backs to the game and watch the crowd to spot the miscreants who toss bottles at players and officials and take swift action.

Kandy SC are bursting at the seams with talented players. But they came a cropper against CR in the league played at Longden Place and got their own back when they confronted the red shirts in Kandy. CH have not had too good a season but came into their true form with a stunning win over the CR in the semi-final. Their forwards even without Lewke jostled the CR pack while the outsides handled the ball well.

It all points to a do-or-die battle at Nittawela today and the game is worth going a long way to see. The Army who lost a close battle to Kandy SC in the semi-final at Nittawela are annoyed at Dushanth Lewke’s cross-over and had sent a strong letter to the SLRFU Tournament Committee stating that they would seek legal action as Lewke has gone against tournament rules. Meanwhile CH too were perked that repeatedly the Nitttawela Stadium is the venue for Kandy SC for crucial matches where Kandy SC are concerned giving the home team the venue advantage.

CH led by that hard running centre Saranga Jayakody possesses a set of hardy forwards. The powerfully built Berty Jayasekera is sure to gain possession in the lines out. Others who will bear the brunt of the attack are hooker Sameera Wijesinghe, Shashika Cooray, Senaka Bandara, Duminda de Silva, Dilan Ekanayake, Dilanka Wijesekera, Jayantha Ranaweera and Dhanushka Perera.

CH last won the Clifford Cup in 1990 when Imran Sally skippered the Maitland Crescent Club. That year was memorable for CH as they ended up as triple champions. This time they are taking a tilt at the coveted Cup after 13 years! Will they succeed?

Kandy SC has some exciting players and their strong point is their back division. Skipper Sanjeeva Jayasinghe, Chamara Withanage, Sajith Mallikarachchi, Pradeep Liyanage and Nalaka Weerakkody are experienced and exceptional runners with fine ball handling. Will they continue their good work?

The Kandy forwards though having some outstanding players hit peak form when they beat CR in the key match of the league. Their forwards seem to play below expected norms despite the return of Pradeep Basnayake to the second row. It was the outstanding play of winger Chamara Withanage, full back Nalaka Weerakkody and the hard work put in by Dileep Selvam in the second half which helped them to tilt the game in their favour.

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