Well the inevitable is about to happen, a final showdown with the silvertails from up the hill. I am so happy that the club has come this far and even happier that the points difference has not been dictated by the bonus point system that is in place at present. I feel that the current points system is flawed due to the following reasons:

•  The leading teams are at the mercy of the lower standard teams due to their inability to defend against the better teams and therefore ruin any advantage that a good defensive team has

•  The SLRFU award bonus points for attacking play but cap the tries at 10 points so teams who score more than 10 in a match are not fully rewarded for their attacking superiority so this means CR and FC have been unrewarded for their 12 try outing v OZSC and this would have meant that CR in fact were going into the final match with a 1 try advantage, no other team has been able to score more than 9 tires in a match.

•  With the current points table out CR have only conceded 53 points for the season so far with 1 match remaining in the league, the nearest defensive team has conceded 139 points. What does this mean, it means that other teams have let us down due to their poor defence and the team who loses out is the top team because their defensive record counts for little

•  At the end of the day the current points system means that the best teams are at the mercy of the other teams and their ability to implement sound defence, in a game where attack is 50% and defence is 50% based on equal possession of the ball.

•  If the points system was based on win, loss and draw components it would mean that the competition would be closer and mean the points would tally as follows:

*Havies should have placed 4 th at this stage and Police may have placed higher if they had played out the last matches of the 2 nd round (based on a completed 2 nd round home and away basis including all teams)

I really feel that the current system is not helping the lesser able teams as at present the bigger teams are being rewarded for demolishing their weaker counterparts and we are trying to achieve a closer competition that gives the little teams some hope of keeping stride with the big fish. Enough said and some food for thought.

Back to the preview – What can I say it is the perfect finish to the League season and may the best team win! To make it this far and remain undefeated is a tribute to all of the players and the staff behind the scenes as this has played a significant part in the success of the team this year and the effort has reaped the rewards.

I am very confident in the team's ability to win this weekend and the players are as focused as I have ever seen them before and the intensity at training and the spirit is 2 nd to none so the indications are that we are ready to perform on Sunday. The hard part at the moment is picking the team as all of the players want to wear the Red Shirt this weekend and I can't blame them either, it will be a great opportunity for the club to go through undefeated and cap off a great League season.

The team has set a goal of winning the League and being undefeated so I want to say whole heartedly now that we are going to Kandy to win and will be looking to dominate from start to finish, we don't want to lose a game after all the hard work that has been put in and if we lose we don't deserve the title. The team has an all or nothing outlook for this weekend so the stakes are high and losing is not an option as the team feel if we lose this one we don't deserve the league title.

The club has overcome departures of a few key players and the combinations are getting better and players are learning to deal with changes in combinations etc so we are looking good for Sundays match. We have been focusing on Attack and defence this week and this will probably play a significant role in our success. Another important key area of focus is our continuity, keeping the ball and building the phases and not being guilty of losing ball control at the tackle contests. It has been an area that has let us down in the past games and we will have to ensure that we don't give up good possession and hand the ball over cheaply.

For our supporters who are making the trip to Nittawella, we thank you for your support. Please be assured the players are hell bent on being absolutely ferocious in defence during the match and will be looking to play flat out and bring the trophy back to Colombo .