CR and FC go out favourites against Air Force

CR and FC will go out favourites against Air Force while CH and FC and Havelocks will be eyeing another win in the third week fixtures being played for the Nippon Paint Sri Lanka Rugby Major League Tournament in Colombo.

Currently slated in the second position of the league points table and also the second team to be undefeated so far in the tournament, CR has a clear edge over the Air Force in this game which will be played at Longden Place today with the kick-off scheduled for 3.45 p.m.

Suhiru Anthony and his charges had a fine start when they defeated Amry by a massive margin later had to struggle to win over Police which ultimately they managed to win19-6. But in today’s game, they will be sans their regular prop forward Senura Perera who is nursing an injury. He will be replaced by another burly player Kaveen Madusha to strengthen the front row. The rest of the start up line remains unchanged which took on the cops last week. The red jerseyed men who took some time to settle and get into rhythm last week is fully geared up to go all out to notch up their third win and to obtain the bonus point too.

Their coach Dushanth Lewke who is their brainchild so far in their success stroy by building this squad since last three years was confident that his boys will continue to display a better performance than the previous two outings. “Well after the first game, we had a poor start against Police in the first half. But we bounced back we’ll to secure a win. We never underrate any team in this competition. All of them are working hard to settle as a team and get into winning ways. So today’s game is a another game for us. We have done our home work well rectifying out mistakes and are ready to play upto our potential. “Said Lewke. This will be CR’s first home game after playing the previous games away.

Meanwhile, their rivals Airmen are grappling to find their form from where they ended up last season. After losing several players, the new look Airmen team manged to edge out the Navy 17-15 in a nerve tingling encounter last week. They posses some big names in their ranks along with a fairly young set of players who are maturing with each game. Nevertheless, they intend to give their best against one of the best teams in this tournament Before the Men’s game there will be women’s game which is scheduled to kick off at 2.30 p.m.

Free entrance for CR Matches

Ceylonese Rugby and Football Club (CR & FC) executive committee headed by its President Tikiri Ellepola has decided not to charge a gate for their matches hosted at Longden Place effective today.

Speaking to Daily News Tikir Ellapola said that after discussion with his committee members they decided to make all gates open which is purely with the intention of attracting more spectator’s to witness their games and to support the teams.

“Well, with the intention of getting more spectators to witness our home matches we opted to open all gates free of charge. From the sponsor’s prospective we want to make sure we get more people to watch our matches.

CH out to maintain their winning streak

On Saturday, CH and FC will travel to Welisara to take on the Navy team. CH after their splendid performance last week which enabled them to overcome Havelocks 20-13 was quite sensational for them. After losing their first game to Kandy, the Gymkhana Club lads had a shaky start against the Park Club lads. But they changed gears through the influence of their head coach Sanath Martis who made some key positional changes while executing an aggressive pattern which helped them to win the game. According to him they only possess eight senior players from their squad of 30. The rest of them are school leavers and some recruited from other clubs. One stage it was a herculean task for him. Martis who likes to take challenges is in a bit to accomplish his vision of transforming them to a champion outfit. CH will rest few players who are nursing their injuries and will introduce some new players who were in the bench last week.

“We are concentrating match by match without cramping up for the whole tournament with a limited number of player. At the outset, the players didn’t have understanding. But with our progress they have gelled as a unit which is a commendable sign. There are immensely talented players in our ranks with the progress of the tournament we assure that they will spring some surprises.” Said Martis.

Navy on the hand is really struggling for survival. After ending up in tbe top four last season, their have been well below expectation. Their incumbent coach Viper Gunaratne has a huge task ahead to convert them to winning ways.

Havelocks aims another win

Havelocks will host their third match in a row when they take on Army on Saturday under lights.

After a 13-20 defeat at the hands of CH last week, the will have be rejuvenated as a unit if they are to bounce back to winning ways. They possess some of the best players in their ranks made a mockery of errors in their last outing which deprived them of certain victory. Their coach Saliya Kumara would have done the home work and his boys are expected to deliver the goods tomorrow.

Army on the other hand played a robust game against Kandy in the first half. They held the defending league champs at bay in the first half but lost the grip in the second. According to their team sources there had been several unfair decisions served against them by the on field referee which they have reported to the Referees Association for a review. Shamly Nawaz another great coach who believes in budding players and building teams said “We are in the process of building a team. With my take over, they are improving.”

The post CR and FC go out favourites against Air Force appeared first on DailyNews.