CR sinks Navy to keep title hopes alive

CR&FC kept their hopes of winning the SLR Nippon Paint Club Rugby League Championship after making a strong second half comeback to pummel Navy SC by 37-17 at the Racecourse ground in Colombo yesterday.

The Sailors commanded in the first half, as they kept the Red Shirts in the hunt, by leading the halftime 12-10. Yet CR&FC made a strong second half burst to complete with a tally of six tries, two conversions and a penalty to score their points and earn crucial bonus points on the board. Navy SC, who scored from two tries and a penalty in the first half, were made to sweat for the solitary unconverted try of the second half, that too due to a handling error by the Red Shirts.

CR was early to break the silence with an unconverted try from centre Chamod Muthunayake in the eighth minute, but couple of minutes later Navy responded swiftly after flanker Adeesha Weeratunga braced a try. With fullback Thilina Weerasinghe’s conversion, they took the lead 7-5.

Muthunayake returned to action in the 20th minute with his second try of the game, which came in silimar fashion, and despite the try going unconverted CR took back the lead 10-7. Lock Nirosh Perera burst into action in the 30th minute with an unconverted try as Navy regained the lead 12-10 and kept it intact until halftime.

Soon after the resumption, CR was awarded a penalty and centre Chathura Seneviratne responded in style to put back his team in the lead 13-12, before losing fullback Murshid Doray for a yellow card offence in the 45th minute.

But that didn’t put CR in the backfoot as the Longdon Place club accelerated the pace even with 14 men to put the Sailors defending their territory. Eventually CR earned an opening in the 53rd minute as three-quarter Ruchira Ekanayake went over to post an unconverted try and expand the lead 18-12.

Still on the attack, CR found a way to break through the Navy defence in the 65th minute as prop Lahiru Pavithra completed a neat rolling maul on the far right. With Seneviratne’s perfect conversion, CR expanded their lead to 25-12, as Navy lost three-quarter Janaka Laksara for a yellow card offence.

CR made an elementary blunder in the next kickoff, failing to collect the ball, only to find forward Samith Dananjaya forged ahead to respond with an unconverted try to cut down the deficit 25-17. But CR added two more tries to their tally, in the 75th minute off No.8 Lasindu Karunathilake and moment before the final whistle, through flyhalf Thenuka Nanayakkara to complete a tally of six tries. Seneviratne was able to put over the final try of the game, a minute before Navy prop Harsha Maduranga was handed a yellow card.

CR will now live on hopes of an upset win by Havelocks against defending championships Kandy SC, when the two teams meet today at Nittawela. If, by any chance, Kandy suffer their first defeat of the tournament, next week’s encounter between CR and Kandy would become an open affair, which may give a ray of hope for the Longdon Place club that celebrates its centenary year to add a feather on their cap of celebrations.