The CR planted 13 try s and goaled 11 of them to reign supreme over a hapless opposition that seemed to run out of ideas by half time. The only spark on display for the losers was that of the bright lights that beckoned from the adjoining motor show at the BMICH, on this Vesak weekend where the glamour boys from Longden place seemed to illuminate the ground by running riot almost at will.
The CR as always took a wee bit of time to settle down as the opposition was more bent on spoiling work rather than smart rugby. Additionally the referee too, seemed to be caught on the wrong side of things on more than one occasion and his positioning at key periods of the game left much to be desired. The referee' s society should look sharp on these factors, as with crunch games coming up, the performance of the official in the middle will have a lot to do with the quality of play that is produced by the teams on the field. The CR onslaught began by accident when Shamly Nawaz, the veteran of many a battle was smart enough to pounce on the loose ball after the scrum had almost turned a full circle. All Shamly had to do was pick up and sprint to score under the posts.
Five minutes later Asanga Rodrigo made a daring break to converge under posts followed by the skipper for the day Mushtaq who put the finishing touches to a sensible three quarter move. Pushpakumara was having a simple job in converting these efforts and twenty minutes into the first half the CR had indicated their superiority to lead 21 nil. They took lemons after the speedy wing Ravindra Wekadapola planted another under the posts and with Pushpakumara obliging with the kick a 28 nil platform was laid for more mayhem to take place. In the midst of all this OZSC missed two penalties, each one from about 30 metres out.
Came the second half and the CR seemed to have changed their mode of attack possibly with the coach' s advise to pile on the points and use the threes more often. The running rugby produced was vintage stuff and within fifteen minutes after the break the CR were further ahead 49-nill through tries by Shamly Nawaz, prop Swarnatileka and Pushpakumara. The CR threes were far too superior and churned out move after move to completely demoralize an already defunct defense. Veteran Asanga Rodrigo seems to be using all his experience and his ball distribution and decisive running gave secure openings for centres Rajith Jayasundera and Mohamed Sherif to launch out attacks in plenty.
With news that the fleet footed Harin Kaluaratchi is back in the island and billed to play from mid June onwards, is certainly more sweet music for the already flamboyant CR line. Full back Pushpakumara is now coming to grips with what the team requires of him and his attacking potential at various points of play has given the CR good impetus at crucial times. The most noteworthy aspect in this game was that the handling overall of the ball, amongst the forwards and backs seems to have improved tremendously. Skipper Mushtaq and Pushpakumara continued with their devastating runs to score at will, whilst rookie Ashen Karthelis [who has the makings of becoming a top flight open side wing forward also got into the score sheet midway in the second half.
By the 70th minute the CR had run up an imposing 68 points and Coach Grant Dwyer started to use his bench with strategic substitutions. Three more try 's followed in the last ten minutes of play to give the CR an emphatic 87 nil win. The margin of victory is noteworthy considering that the CR rested its big guns in the likes of skipper Pavithra Fernando, Viraj Prasanna and Dhanushka Boteju, whilst injuries to Dilan Abeygoonewardene, Hasitha Perera and Mohamed Rinaz were barely felt. A cause for concern would be that of young Hasitha Perera the giant lock who has torn knee ligaments. This ex Ananda College lad was almost certain to don the National jersey in his first full year of top flight rugby and the club Rugby board is watching his progress rather carefully.
A welcome return to the fold was the battle scarred Savantha De Saram, who proved his worth by his mere presence on the field. A fully match fit 'Sava' will certainly give the forwards the confidence and thrust when the bigger battles loom ahead against the Havies, CH and finally Kandy. Players of his caliber and experience are a virtual godsend and together with Viraj Prassana,Pavithra Fernando,Asanga Rodrigo,Shamly Nawaz,Anuranga Walpola, ex cop Anuradha Dharmatilleke and Zulki Hameed, the CR most certainly have in their midst a bunch of experienced players to guide and groom the younger crop into potentially bigger things. The battles with the CH and the Havies are going to be much more physical and rib bruising. The line must have other options to come out with when posed with ruthless defenses that come up fast, most often from offside scenarios with the intent of upsetting their rhythm early on in a game. Teams such as the CH and Havelocks always play with a rare passion when confronting the CR, most often to compensate for the lack of skills and talent they possess as against their erstwhile opponents.
Intimidation will play a key part in the game plan of these two team's and if one takes last years second round CR/CH encounter, no one needs elaborate what it could do to a well drilled team adept and content on playing clean hard Rugby. This is where the vast experience of the senior players would warrant tenacity in times of a physically robust game. Let us hope that coach Dwyer has a plan to counter same.
History was also created [I think] when for the first time twins took the field in the same game for the CR in the guise of our young props the Swarnatileke brothers. The chief guest for the match was none other than Ibrahim 'Tanker' Hameed an old boy of Zahira College , who's son is young Zulki Hameed - our present scrum half. It certainly was a proud moment for 'Dadda' to wish his talented son the best against Old boys of his alma mater. Final Scores: CR & FC 87 – OZSC 0
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