KANDY : Kandy Sports Club reclaimed their lost title with a game to spare, securing a commanding 39-20 victory over CR & FC in the Mastercard Inter-Club ‘A’ Division Rugby League 2024/25 Cup Segment clash at Nittawela.
Kandy SC Reclaims League Title with Dominant Win Over CR & FC
The home team was determined to exact revenge by defeating the Longdon Place side and reclaiming the league title they had lost to the same opponent last season. They started with intent, capitalizing on CR’s sloppy defense early on. A quick pass from Nigel Ratwatte off a ruck near the halfway mark found lock forward Chathura Soysa, who sprinted past the CR defense untouched to score the first try. Tharinda Ratwatte made no mistake with the conversion, giving Kandy an early lead.
Kandy kept up the pressure, opting for a lineout from a kickable penalty. Their forwards executed the rolling maul to perfection, driving deep into CR territory before hooker Dilshan Fareed powered over in the corner. After the try, both kickers traded penalties—Mursheed Doray got CR on the scoreboard, while Tharinda Ratwatte responded for Kandy. However, Kandy suffered a setback when Malitha Wijesundara was shown a yellow card, temporarily reducing them to 14 men.
CR stuck to their strategy of taking points from penalties, with Doray slotting another three-pointer. But Kandy responded immediately from the restart, as Nigel Ratwatte’s deep kick caused confusion in the CR ranks. Scrum-half Chathuranga Perera misjudged the bounce, and with no one able to collect it, Dinal Ekanayake chased down the loose ball and touched down, dealing another blow to CR’s defense. Tharinda Ratwatte added the conversion to extend Kandy’s lead.
In the dying moments of the first half, CR finally built some momentum through their forwards. A well-structured rolling maul gained them valuable meters and forced repeated penalties from Kandy. Eventually, Omalka Gunaratne burrowed over from close range, capping off a strong maul effort. Mursheed Doray added the extras with a well-taken conversion, keeping CR in the contest heading into halftime. : PAPARE
March 10, 2025
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