Sports

Havelock’s Sports Club who went down to Kandy by 11 points to 13 have reasons to be proud. Having been at the bottom last year and with no big names to boast of they have done well this season. Despite a severe beating by Kandy in Nittawela in the first round the young side did very well to hold Kandy in this second round game.

The park club boys had all the chances of beating the hill country team and they almost did. It was a performance of determination and courage that kept the Havelock side within reach of a victory till almost the end. Kandy on the other hand put up another lacklustre performance. They played much below the standard one might expect from a champion side. They through with this victory keep themselves in contention for the league title as an unbeaten side with a draw dropping some vital points. With two more weeks of rugby of the league they will have to come up with a better performance in the future if they are to keep the title.

This week they play the CH in Kandy. It was with CH that Kandy drew in the first round. With a psychological drawback hovering over, they take to this game knowing well that a victory is a must. Just as much as they did in the first round they will have to come up with the required performance when it comes to final battle.

CR beat CH in Maitland place keeping the cup hopes alive. It seemed the side had more determination to succeed and did so to the joy of their supporters. CH on the other hand did not sparkle as expected and went through the motions required to be in the game for 80 minutes. The game itself produced little rugby to be spoken of. CR being little more organized took victory in a game that was inconsistent with the performance expected from two leading clubs. There seemed to be too much chatter in this game with every body trying to have his say on the field. The cohesive play one might expect to keep the game flowing was not seen. Most of the time one saw players not staying on their feet. The tendency to fall over at the tackle and ruck situation seemed to plague most Sri Lankan ruby players. CH seemed guiltier than CR on this score.

The next game for them will be against Kandy followed by the game against Havelock’s. Victory will not bring them any closer to the cup. The contenders for the title have narrowed to just two contenders. The outcome of the matches that have been left for Havelock’ and CH will determine the 3rd and fourth positions. This will help them when it comes to the knock out stage. The games left for Havelock’s are against the CR and CH.In segment B of the Division 1 matches the Army team seems to be continuing with the downward trend they experienced. Having taken part in segment A and not making to the final four in the league the Army performance within segment B does not seem to do justice to their capabilities. The draw against the Police may not be what they expected. In a game that did little to display rugby capabilities police may be happy that they managed to force a draw. The quality of the game was such nobody deserved to win. It seemed the two teams are resigned to suffer their fate with the supporters too abandoning them. The police park stand which carried numbers in the past was empty other than for the few diehards. Maybe some of them had to be there as they were officials.

Air Force who continue to win their matches together with Old Zahirians is in the front of this segment. However it seems the Air Force side has the edge to top this segment.

As has been and will be, the request for a foreign referee has surfaced again as we approach the end of the second round. This is an issue that comes up every year and with certainty. The request is now public knowledge and will be talked about by the team members. The issue is whether these pronunciations contribute to a conditioned attitude of the players who enter the field with bias in their minds. An open mind and a positive approach can be more beneficial to make your mark than to enter battle even with a minute particle of doubt.