By A Special Sports Correspondent

Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR&FC) will be hot favourites to win the knockouts when the ‘Clifford Cup’ unfolds another chapter with seven out of the eight A Division teams battling for honours. The knockout tournament is scheduled to start today (February 28) with a quarter-final match between Police SC and Air Force which is scheduled to take place at Longden Place this evening. The other quarter final matches are: Havies vs Navy (February 29) and CH&FC vs Army (March 1). CR&FC receives a bye and moves to the semi finals.

This year’s runners-up at the league rugby tournament, Kandy SC, has pulled out of the tournament citing disagreements over venue arrangements for the knockout tournament. Kandy SC wanted all their matches in the Clifford Cup to be played at Nittawela, but the organizer of the tournament- Sri Lanka Rugby (SLR)-was not in favour of this request. This was the same scenario at the tournament last year too with Kandy SC pulling out of the tournament due to a similar disagreement.

Kandy SC could end up being the ‘looser’ for the decision taken to hold the SLR to ransom. They are not the champions this season and fans and the team’s sponsor would have received a golden opportunity to see the Nittawela side bounce back from two defeats had they opted to play in the knockouts. This Kandy SC side is a young outfit and the players need match practice and exposure at top level games. Given that most of the Kandy SC players also shun national duty, playing in all domestic tournaments would be just what the ‘doctor’ ordered for the players based in the cool climes of central province.

The Clifford Cup will now have to proceed without Kandy SC. CR&FC has taken over the slot that Kandy SC occupied as ‘kings of local rugby’. The second and third best teams in the knockout tournament will be planning their game around CR&FC, which has raised their game many notches with hard work, commitment and discipline. Changes like this in the top spot of rugby serves the game well. This writer is not writing with malice directed at Kandy, but there is now a breath of fresh air in the domestic rugby scene with a team from Colombo breaking Kandy SC’s dominance in the game played with the oval shaped ball. It would have been good for CR&FC if Kandy SC played in this tournament because that would have presented them with an opportunity of beating them thrice in a row and apart from giving western province the feel that there is a rugby kingdom here as well.

This concept of ‘the enemy or rival’ at sport is an interesting one. The Kandy-CR&FC rivalry began during the early 1990s when several players from Longden Place left Colombo and headed for Kandy SC over a captaincy dispute. Since then, these two teams have made their traditional encounter one hell of a contest; akin to a cricket big match like the Royal-Thomian. Despite whatever disagreements Kandy SC should have played in the knockout for the sake of playing against their arch-rival, CR&FC. Kandy’s absence is surely going to make CR mourn the loss of a much looked forward to battle at rugby; akin to a quarrel by two lovers.

By the way, the last week of matches at the league tournament was hectic and rugby analysts and statisticians at SLR probably had to work on their calculators and recall lessons on arithmetic to make the final points table. Interestingly after the first and second slots were decided it would have taxed the brains of SLR’s recorders of the game to find the third and fourth place finishers of the league tournament. Now, we are told by the SLR that Havelocks SC finished third and the fourth place was taken by Police SC (The eventual Plate Championship winner in the league) despite the ‘cops’ not booking a slot in the Cup Competition of the tournament. Only the teams finishing among the top four places in the points table after the first round of the league tournament were pooled into contest the Cup Competition. The rest of the teams contested the Plate Championship and Police did well to win that tournament despite losing to Air Force in the 10th and final week of the tournament. The surprise is that CH&FC, despite playing in the Cup Championships, finished fifth in the league tournament. A cursory look at the rest of the places in the points table reveals the following: Air Force Sports Club (sixth), Army Sports Club (seventh) and Navy Sports Club (eighth).

Havies can find itself being rated as the ‘dark horse’ at the upcoming Clifford Cup tournament; given the fact that they have improved with every game this season. Led by hooker and playmaker Azmir Fajudeen the players from the ‘Park Club’ have given CR&FC a run this season; losing 25-10 in the first round of the league tournament and then going down fighting 12-9 in the second-round game in the league tournament. However, CR&FC will receive a bye in the quarter finals of the knockout and move to the first semi finals scheduled for March 5. The second semi final of the tournament is scheduled for March 6 and the final on March 9. Both semi finals and the final are scheduled to be played at Race Course.

CH&FC can pat themselves on the back for a ‘well done’ this season, because they finished a hopeless eighth (Last) during last year’s league tournament. But it must be commended that the Gymkhana Club players have decided to stay in contention for more honours this season and contest the Clifford Cup. Last season (2022/23) even CH&FC pulled out of the Clifford Cup knockouts.

The Clifford Cup is one of Asia’s longest used pieces of silverware given away during presentation ceremonies at sport. The trophy came into being on September 2, 1911 when Lady Clifford presented this trophy to be given away at the game between All Ceylon and United Services and played in Kandy. The cup later served as the trophy given away in a quadrangular tournament. It was later on offer for the winner of the domestic inter-club league rugby tournament. Rugby records show the huge fan following for rugby when teams contested for the Clifford Cup. The cup was then used to be presented to the winner of the inter-club knockout tournament in 1985 and served this purpose for many years.