CR machine
at full throttle
* Win Clifford Cup in grand fashion after seventeen
years
CR & FC 37 Havelocks 5
By Harry Jayachandra
CR and FC can attest to how sweet is revenge.
They completely outclassed giant killers Havelocks by 37 points
(3 goals, 2 tries and 1 penalty) to five (1 try). Thus winning the
Clifford Cup trophy after 17 years and annexing the inaugural Caltex
Star trophy at Longden Place yesterday.
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A CR forward looks out for a break but is held back by two
Havelocks defenders - Pic by Dinuka Liyanawatte |
The pre match hype was all about the two sides
meeting in a final after 32 years. Much was also made of the fact
that Havelocks had beaten Army and CH and FC to get into the final.
Unfortunately for the Park Club they came up against a side who
were on top of their game. No scribe can accurately predict the
result of a hypothesis. But had Kandy been in the final they too
would have tasted defeat.
CR and FC last won the title way back in 1989
under Shyam Siddeek.
From the kick off CR went on the offensive. It
took only eight minutes for the winners to cross the line. A rolling
maul saw hooker Anuja Perera touch down far right. Senthil Kumar
missed the conversion and fluffed a penalty a couple of minutes
later. Obviously it did not prove costly. CR kept working their
line and going through the phases. This resulted in Avantha Hettiarachchi
and Asanga Rodrigo crossing the line. Kumar converted one try and
also put over penalty in front of the posts. This gave the home
side 20 nil lead at lemons. CR’s dominance in the first half
was emphasized by the fact that Havelocks managed to get out their
territory only twice.
The Caltex Star trophy was unveiled at the break
amidst much pomp and pageantry. Perhaps C. S. Lewis could have described
the proceedings correctly. All this writer can say was that it appeared
to be a fusion of Arabic and Asian fusion.
It took only three minutes after the break for
CR to put the issue beyond doubt. Winger Mohommad Sheriff intercepted
a pass to send a delighted Ashan Karthelis under the posts. Kumar
converted. Havelocks to their credit did start fighting back, but
bad ball handling and poor judgment cost them dearly. After the
20 minutes they finally managed to string a few phases together
which resulted in number eight Tyronne Harrison touching down by
the left corner flag for a consolation try. CR replied with arguably
the try of the game. A Havelocks player knocked on and winger Sheriff
quickly pounced, collected and passed to Dinesh Kumar. Winger Kumar
raced down the line for more than 60 metres to literally put the
icing on the cake.
All in all it was very polished and professional
performance by the home side ably led from the front by Pavithra
Fernando.
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