The score line of 37 to 05 certainly bellies the contempt the CR had for their opponents as they ran down 5 tries in total , to take a commanding 20 nil lead at the breather. Whatever the Havelocks envisaged at this stage, only a miracle in the form of God almighty could have got them back into some sort of a contest thereafter. For the CR, it was a turning point in their gameplan, as for the first time in almost 15 years the red shirts played minus Viraj Prassanna or the mentoring figure of Savantha De Saram in their midst. These two stalwarts had decided to hang up their boots after the league season this year in a bid to let the club introduce more youth into the team and more so give their aching bones a resounding rest after the pounding it would have taken for such a long period of time. Tributes to these two rocks of the CR appear elsewhere in this site.

The CR started like a house on fire and within minutes saw their famed rolling maul take place and push away a feeble Havies defense for big boy Henry to smile and plant the first try. Ten minutes later Dinesh Kumar - the winger who saw more space in this match than the whole season - showed a stunning pair of heels galloping over 30 meters to touch down far left. Senthil Kumar had actually put on his kicking boots and goaled this try for CR to make their intentions clear taking a 12 to nothing lead in the first quarter. The CR dominance was enhanced further with a series sweeping moves being seen on either flanks and off one such move saw a major infringement by the Havies which resultantly saw skipper Pavithra Fernando displaying mature captaincy and opting to kick at goal the penalty which saw Senthil Kumar oblidge from 30 meters out, extending their lead to 15 nil. Asanga Rodrigo then stole the thunder in the dying stages of the first half when he outran a mediocre Havies defense to score a peach of a try to take the CR to a commanding 20 nil lead at lemons.

By this time the "papare" band sponsored by the Havelocks members swung their allegiance towards the CR supporters and their decision could not be faulted either, judging by the performance dished out by the team they had come to spur on. The SLRFU then spectacularly brought in the Clifford cup amidst a plethora of dancers and perched inside a canopy was the handsome Caltex star trophy on offer for the first time.

The Havies showed signs of some resistance after the turn around but were shattered in what was to me the try of the match. Centre Sheriff sliced thru the park club defense, and when challenged off loaded superbly with an inside pass to the ever present Ashen Karthelis who simply ran and cavorted under posts to the strains of go CR, go prior to planting their fourth try. Senthil Kumar was on target and the score read 27 nil. He was on target ten minutes later with another penalty to make the score 30 nil. A massacre was imminent, and by now the order for champagne had grown two fold as the Clifford cup had apparently just crossed the gates of the CR after 17 years. For their worth, the Havelock s showed some spark and suddenly produced some venom as the CR understandably seemed to pull off from the accelerator and after some spirited play erased a nil scorecard with a workmanlike try by their forwards. This was their only try against the CR this year [after conceding 104 points] in three outings. Dinesh Kumar put the icing on the cake, when off a sleek three quarter move he outran the defense over 50 meters, to plant CR's final try quite fittingly under posts in front of the proposed new grandstand. The conversion made and at long last a trophy was brought into the periphery of Longden Place. Needless to say Kandy's absence robbed the tournament of some gloss but a win is a win and the CR deserved it like no other. The celebrations continued way after dark culminating with the hallowed tradition of champagne served from the Clifford cup to everyone present at the club around 11 pm, by the victorious team members. The style of play dished out by the CR that evening was a refreshing change to their play during the season and credit should go to Abdulah Yusuf [the understudy to Grant Dwyer] who marshalled his troops well with the versatile Ajith Abeyratne helping out with some knowledgeable inputs. The win was surely a tribute to the entire CR structure of rugby that had gone thru lean times after heady results and dashing play had been dished out over a period of time. Well done boy s, you deserved it and thanks to Grant and the coaching staff under him in true CR caliber, CR played open rugby which was enjoyable to watch and gave a good indication of what was to come in 2007.