Roar by ‘Kandy Lions’ deafens Sri Lions

By A Special Sports Correspondent

Kandy Sport Club started the season with a bang by beating Sri Lions SC, a new entrant to division 1 rugby, in a keenly contested encounter of the 2024/24 inter-club league tournament played on Sunday at Nittawela. The result was a thumping 61-14 win for Kandy SC which ran down eight glorious tries, out of which six were converted by that ever reliable place kicker and attacking back division player Tharinda Ratwatte.

This win was a morale booster for Kandy; give that the side is in a team building process. Also the Nittawela side underscored that there cannot be two ‘lion kings’ in one rugby jungle. In a more raw term ‘Kandy SC put the ‘decorated’ visiting team in their place’.

Sri Lions SC came for the game with medals pinned on their profile; the latest feat being the victory gained in the ‘Mens’ International Open’ of the Dubai Rugby Sevens which they won quite convincingly. Sri Lions SC, for that overseas tournament, was reinforced with the skills of foreign players. This side also has in their ranks some of the most promising Sri Lankan players who learned the rudiments of rugby here in the island; especially at their schools. Sri Lions SC, while playing in Dubai, had the opportunity to borrow muscle power from players who came from Australia, South Africa, Tonga, Fiji and USA. But that facility of propping the side with foreigners was not afforded to them when contesting the domestic league tournament here because tournament rules restricts all teams to fielding only locals. May be if the tournament allowed teams to field foreigners, then the outcome of the game played in Nittawela would have been quite different. But then such hypothetical thought would only land us all in a rugby fantasy. The reality is that Sri Lanka has to face the outside world in terms of playing in the Asian circuit with players who are eligible to represent Sri Lanka. Hence the rugby authorities here not allowing foreigners to represent domestic clubs in the league tournament and work their way towards earning national representation at rugby. Sri Lanka’s rugby selectors select the national pool taking into account the performances of the players in the Inter-club league tournament. Players born overseas can also represent clubs and make themselves eligible for national team selection if they could prove that at least one of their immediate ancestors (father/mother/grandparents) was born in Sri Lanka.

But Sri Lions SC cannot be taken lightly. They have the backing of sponsors and foreign exposure. The side is backed by a think-tank, Dr. Kelum Sujith Perera, the brainchild behind this team and the founder president of Sri Lions SC. Their next game is against Ceylonese Rugby & Football Club (CR) scheduled for next Sunday in Colombo under floodlights. Sri Lions SC is led by former Peterite and ‘stepper’ Kevin Dixon.

Kandy SC would not let any side just walk in and take their place. The side from Nittawela are smarting from last season’s defeats at the hands of CR (Kandy SC were beaten twice in the league). Kandy under the leadership of utility player Srinath Sooriyabandara resembled a bullet train; speed and power written in all their moves in the season’s opener against Sri Lions SC. Their forwards were like hungry wolves and displayed the power to ‘bite’ and wound the opposition. A set of forwards which has the weight, speed and some of them having the intelligence to know what mauls and rucks to contest is dangerous and a treat to watch. That seems to be the stuff Kandy SC is made of this season. Mention must be made here about fly half Ratwatte who contributed 19 points through his kicking boots and chipped in with a try as well. He could easily stake a claim as being the best player Sri Lanka possesses at the moment.

Havies, like Kandy SC, had a wonderful outing in the first week of domestic rugby demolishing Navy SC by 43 points to 25 at Welisara. The Park Club players, donning the pink and chocolate jerseys, came to dominate the second half and ran down six tries out of which five were converted. Navy responded with three tries, but the best of the Sailors was seen in the first half. Navy even enjoyed taking the lead for a brief period in the first session, but Havies quickly took grip of the game.

The other side to impress in week one of the tournament was Air Force Sports Club which demolished Colombo Hockey & Football Club (CH&FC) at Ratmalana. The ‘airmen’ grounded CH with a score of 36 points against 15 and ran down five tries. CH responded with two tries. Air Force finished last season as ‘Plate’ championship winners in the league tournament. This side has showed much improvement over the years. Air Force is a side that can go places this season and even upset some of the much fancied sides this season. The other two teams in the tournament are Police SC and Army SC. Their match last week was called off when poor weather conditions forced the game to be halted after an exciting first half. Army was leading 8-5 at the ‘breather’.

The tournament is conducted by Sri Lanka Rugby and sponsored by Mastercard.