Another week of hard competition coming our way and the Army are fresh off their good performance against Kandy last week at Galle Face which saw them almost do us the biggest favour in the world and beat the defending champions and narrowly went down 19-18. Unfortunately for CR they did not pull it off and CR will have to fully earn the league title without any assistance, although Kandy do have to play the Navy at Welisara this weekend and CR will be more comfortable at home against the Army side.

It will be a tough match against opposition who are fit and willing to push the best teams for the full 80 minutes and this week will not be an exception. CR will have to be fully focused to overcome the historically strong finishers and play structured rugby and stick to their guns if they are to win the encounter. The form of the side in recent matches has not been a reflection of what the team are capable of and the players will need to play a structured game plan to reignite the exciting, expansive flavour they have become famous for.

The backs have struggled to penetrate opposition defensive structures in the past couple of matches and we have been working on changing the players vision and intentions to ensure that they are continually manipulating the opposition defence every time we attack. We have been targeting more aggression at the breakdown out wide to ensure that the backs secure possession on the first phases of set plays. The players are desperate to pile on the tries this week to set up a friendly scenario leading into the final match next week.

Our forwards on the other hand will be looking to be more aggressive at the scrum and will be targeting winning the engagement more and applying more pressure at the scrum on their ball. Less mauling and more focus on attacking mid field and out wider will also be a major focus of the forwards in support roles. Overall our style of play has been compromised by the perceived need to keep the ball tight which doesn't disorganize defensive structure of the opposition.

As coach I will be disappointed if the spectators don't see a significant change back to our fast and expansive style of play this week. It will be a hard match and the players need to be at their best to ensure a good result.