Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

Homesick Kandy out to end away woes

- BY HARSHA AMARASINGH­E

Kandy Sports Club will be desperate to put an end to their woes away from home as the reigning champions face a stern challenge from their bitter rivals CR and FC in what promises to be a mouthwater­ing Dialog Inter-club League Rugby Tournament clash at Longden Place today.

Kandy SC, having lost twice this season, cannot afford any more slipups. They were beaten at home by Army Sports Club a few weeks ago at a venue where they have been almost unbeatable for many years, and since then they have not quite been the champion side they are known to be.although Kandy did get back to winning ways against Police Sports Club after the shock defeat to Army SC, their performanc­es have not been the same while many rugby experts believe that Kandy are vulnerable when taking on the top teams from Colombo away from home.

On the other hand, Kandy and CR have been bitter rivals at least due to the off-field dramas.the Red Shirts have not been able to challenge for the title in recent years while Kandy have been the most successful team in terms winning trophies during the last couple of decades. However, from Malika Samarawick­rama leaving CR to take over Kandy, to the controvers­ial transfer of Jason Dissanayak­e from Longden Place to Nittawela, the two clubs have had bad blood quite publicly. Which perhaps is why this fixture is going to be a significan­t encounter for both the teams as Kandy would dearly love to finish on top at the end of second round while CR are battling hard to secure a spot in the Cup Championsh­ip.

Kandy’s team manager said that Danushka Ranjan who has now been moved to wing three quarter could start today’s game, while the rest of the team remains unchanged from their defeat to CH last week.

Meanwhile, CR and FC have been given a huge injury boost with the captain Kavindu Perera returning to the starting line-up having missed most of the second round due to a foot injury. However, there is still no sign of Tarinda Ratwatte being called up for the first XV although he did appear off the bench in the last couple of games. CR management said that Stephen Sivaraj will once again start at fly-half.

 ??  ?? Kavindu Perera Danushka Ranjan
Kavindu Perera Danushka Ranjan

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