Police SC played their best game this season to topple the high-riding Havelock SC 21-19 in a thrilling SLR Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament first-round match played at Havelock Park.
Police SC, who went into this game as complete outsiders put up a stunning performance to hand Havelock SC their second defeat in the tournament. This success would certainly give Police SC some new life as they desperately attempt to recover from the bottom of the points table after having suffered four demoralising defeats.
In contrast, the Havies will be really disappointed with this shock defeat as it could also jeopardise their chances of regaining the league title. Before this setback the Park Club were on the rampage having notched up four successive victories and were threatening to topple the table leaders and the defending champions Kandy SC.
But with two defeats in the tournament, Havelock SC will need to rethink and start with a fresh mindset as they prepare to face their biggest challenge against Kandy SC this weekend.
Kandy SC v CH and FC
Kandy SC continued their unbeaten record for another week but not before they had been challenged by a spirited CH and FC outfit in another exciting encounter played at the Racecourse Grounds in Colombo. Not for the first time this season, Kandy SC were under tremendous pressure as they struggled once again to impress before pulling off a close 27-25 bonus-point victory.
Kandy SC, of course, scored four tries in this game but they were never able to dominate the proceedings as CH and FC continued with the good work to stay alive until the final whistle.
This was a splendid performance by CH and FC despite they were hampered with the absence of key player Avantha Lee for the last 10 minutes of play following a red card for an infringement.
In fact, CH and FC were able to score a last-minute try and reduced the deficit to a mere two points in a desperate attempt but they ran out of time with Kandy SC fortunate to get away with another narrow victory.
CR and FC v Navy SC
CR and FC had another close call, but they survived a few anxious moments and went on to snatch a thrilling 33-27 victory over Navy SC in another SLR Nippon Paint Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament match played at Longden Place.
Even then, CR and FC will be pleased with their effort as they were able to collect a bonus point by scoring four tries but in the same way they could not stop their opponents from crossing the whitewash on four occasions. The CR and FC back division once again produced a splendid performance with Chathura Seneviratne, Gemunu Chethiya, Marsheed Doray and Thenuka Nanayakkara all contributing to their success.
Scrum half Harsha Maduranga was the key player for Navy SC with another impressive performance as they made a vain effort with Nirosh Perera scoring an injury-time try, before they ran out of time.
Air Force SC v Army SC
Air Force SC bounced back into recognition with a morale boosting 27-19 victory over Army SC in their SLR Nippon Paint Inter-Club League Rugby Tournament match played at Panagoda.
The Airmen were trailing 0-5 at half time but came back magnificently in the second half with tries from Shamika Milinda (2), Dharshana Dabare (1) and Parakrama Rathnayake (1).
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