Havelocks, Navy, Kandy, CR are early frontrunners
The more things change, the more they remain the same. These words of wisdom (of horay antiquity) came to mind when reviewing Round one matches in the Dialog Division 'A' Rugby League Championship 2016. As expected, Havelocks SC, Navy SC, Kandy SC and CR&FC find themselves at the top of the pecking order. Two defeats have caused Kandy to slip from their perch and occupy the No.3 slot. The Havies and the Navy are the other two clubs that have serious title-winning aspirations.
By virtue of their remarkable record over the last two decades, Kandy deserve to be dealt with first. They have the finest talent going, so it is difficult to see how they dropped a game to the Airmen. The Navy match was also lost, but that was close, and the defeat was to a top tier team.
Since, they walloped the CR, thanks to a brilliant second half, and then in the battle of the giants, they were able to, at least, temporarily, snuff out Havies' hopes. The ominous sign for other clubs is that Kandy seems to have got their rhythm back and are playing more like a team. The forwards are more of a unit. Fazil Marija, when he plays, Danushka Ranjan, Richard Dharmapala, the Weeraratne brothers -- Gayan and Roshan, Suhiru Anthony, Buwaneka Udangamuwa and Thilina Wijesinghe play stellar roles in the team. A word about Ranjan. One feels that he's not taking the line-breaks as often as he did when he played for his former club.
Despite their first loss, the Havies are sitting at the top. The Kandy game was close, but there is a feeling they were hard done by. Their forwards were good, but the youthful back division needs to improve. They found it difficult to finish off the moves. Skipper Dushmantha Priyadarshana, Dulaj Perera, Madushanka, Sharo Fernando, Niroshan Fernando, Sudarshana Muthuthanthri and Nirosh Perera are some of their key figures. All is not lost for the Havies, as their Kandy match, which could be the decider, will be played at the Park.
In the early stages at least, Navy looked the one team that had a clear game plan. They performed consistently, and their young players (though not from elite schools) were up for the challenge. Their forwards were very strong, with the likes of Sajith Saranga, Roshan Ranasinghe, Dhanushka Perera, Satya Ranatunga, et al figuring prominently. They have a flier on the wing, Buddima Piyaratne, and a very experienced try scoring centre in Lee Keegal. Tilina Weerasinghe, the full back, is a rich resource. Navy's blockbuster will be the Kandy game at Nittawela, and it should come at the business end of the tournament.
CR has been a tad disappointing. They gave the Havies a good run and kept pace with Kandy till the break, only to fall apart in the second half. They played impressively to hand out a 57-20 thrashing to the Airmen, who had just pulled the rug from under Kandy's feet. But their wins over Army (25-24) and the Police (3126) were not convincing.
Versatile Tarinda Ratwatte is their guiding star. A thinking player, his decisions to kick, send the ball down the line or to make the move himself are usually spot on. He has grounded many tries and also made lots of conversions to underline his value to the side. If Belihul-oya born Rowan Perry recovers from his hand injury, he will be an asset. The wings are manned by two good runners and finishers in Sashan Mohamed and Kavindu Perera. Flanker Sasanka Ariyaratne, Ishan Noor and Omalka Gunaratne are the leading lights in the pack. The experienced duo of Ashan and Kavindu de Costa form an effective halves combination. It shouldn't be forgotten, however, that CR improves in the second part of the season.
Coach Leonard de Zylva certainly seems to have revitalised and re-invigorated a hitherto moderate Air Force side. They felled the local goliath in one of the early games, which sometimes, takes a lot of doing. That ensured the respect of the other teams. They don't have too many big names and have limited quality. But they are good in both attack and defence, keep the ball moving forward and to the corner.
Charith Seneviratane's contribution has been huge. An incisive centre, his forte has been his successful kicking. The backs are willing runners but are also quick to defend. Four wins in Round 1 see them in the 5th spot -- something they hadn't achieved in the recent past.
The Army is, probably, the unluckiest team. They have only two wins, but looking back, they could well be saying "what might have been". They lost to the CR and the Navy (24-25). It doesn't get much closer than that. The Airmen beat them by 3-points. The Army's fitness level is very high, and they have forwards who like to play power-Rugby. Skipper Manoj Silva and his predecessor Asoka Jayalal are well-nigh unstoppable when they start off on their powerful breaks. The Ariyapalas are the stars in the back division. Fullback Gayan Salinda could be more consistent with his kicking.
Frankly, the Police have been disappointing. It need not have been so. They have good centres in Muhsin Faleel and Chula Susantha, while Achala Perera and skipper Udara Suriyapperuma play a hard game. They also have the emerging talent of two former Kingswood College players -- Riza Rafaideen and Rajitha Sansoni. Schoolmate Mohamed Abzal has try-scoring ability.
The CH&FC lost all their games, some by big margins. Latterly, they have been able to put some points on the board. A club with a proud history, it is every Rugby fan's hope that this is only a steep learning curve and that, in a couple of years, they will be a force to reckon with.
Two reputed former Rugby players and coaches the Sunday Times spoke to were of the opinion that there wasn't too much quality in local Rugby. One cited as an example the pingpong battle that took place in the Kandy-Havies game, when kicks were traded from the back of the field. Possession was cruelly wasted.
The other tells that, there isn't much open play and the glamour is gone. Individual brilliance is there to a certain extent but, by and large, players use their weight and power to go through. The Sunday Times understands that there are only around four referees of some quality to control the Division 'A' games. Thus, when it come to a key game, it's Hobson's choice. This also leads to the charge that certain referees appear too often at matches of particular clubs.
It is also felt that some referees resort to the TMO facility too often. Quite apart from slowing down the game, this also points to a certain lack of decisiveness in the referee. The ball is in the Sri Lanka Rugby Union's court. A few more quality referees are needed. Too much dependence on a few, lulls the latter into a false sense of confidence.