It’s the season for giving and sharing in more ways than one ..And if anything, the time we are easily able to separate boys from men ...as we found out with week’s island rugby calendar. Colombo and Kandy buzzing and plenty for our much hallowed social media experts to ponder with delight.
Kandy at home in the Nittawela cauldron are the epitome of intimidation and fanatical home town support ..much to the dismay of visiting teams, especially their coaching staff.
The gremlin is the mental advantage that Kandy get from their raucous fans of all shapes and sizes.
Eventually it affects the opposing team, huddled in their changing room...and takes a good 15minutes for them to settle down after kick off...
Plenty of time for the home team to run in a good platform of 3 or 4 tries to thunderous applause that is deafening to say the least.
Coaches know that this is tough to counter ...and even the most seasoned players struggle to find their rhythm straight away. Ipso facto the invisible Nittawela force field, that is impossible to plan for.
Kandy at home are daunting ..and currently led by Gayan Weeraratne, with a sharp sense of efficiency and finish. I am hoping to see a fully fit ‘ Weerey’ by the final round just after Christmas D. He certainly steps up as the original warrior, with dozens of tours and plenty of bruises to show for it. I am looking forward to a fully fit Gayan and some clinical finishes to defend their Dialog league title in 2018 as well.
Beating Navy was a significant step and more bonus to clock up 35points as table leaders ..and very much the team to beat ..yet again!
Havelocks with 25 in second and Navy with 21 are the likely contenders.
Kandy vs Havelocks might just set the city on fire and become the most unforgiving and anticipated rugby match this season?
If by a decent quirk of nature and some old fashioned Martis wizardry...Havies manufacture a clever win...the drama that unfolds will be a joy to behold.
Can the Havelocks boiler house 8 hold their own against the likes of Udangamuwa, Dimitri and Soyuru Anthony ...line-outs might afford the Colombo boys some grace ...and my thinking is that the Lions will out muscle Havelocks in the loose.
On the other hand ...will a 6.30pm start under lights be that edge for the park team? Your guess is definitely as good as mine and if a Havies loyalist ..history might be in your half and a possible upset, quite delicious to savour.
I suggest a good early arrival at the stadium and time to settle for the big clash.
Sheer delight for us rugby hearts ..the match ups of opposite numbers...Dulaj v Marija, Sandun Herath v. Wiliwera, Gayan v Hirantha, Rahul de Silva v Roshan Weeraratne, Muthu v Udangamuwa and Sooriyabandara v Dabare or Nishon.
Dixon still recovering from a jaw injury will be hugely missed at the park and our best wishes from all his fans for a fully healed Kutty ..back in the middle.
The much hyped junior Asian international fixture for Sri Lanka, turned out to be pretty one sided and much on the unions platter of real concern.
We were accosted by the initial potential the Tuskers packed as a unit ..but Hong Kong were clinical, well drilled and able to outwit and outplay Sri Lanka in all departments.
The tries were well executed with clean running lines that shredded our mild defence ...hopefully a factor that will be sorted in Hong Kong for the return leg.
I am a firm believer in the old..well not that old, principle of a fit unit, both forwards and backs packing 85mins petrol to outrun the opposition for the duration....that’s our skills and strength upfront, powerful enough to wear the former British colony ...down, and push them back.
Let’s wish our lads a bigger fight back and some inspired defence across the big pond in Kowloon island...as they line up for the final leg.
It’s a biggish task to expect more than a competitive finish, to meet HK head on ...and push them for the 80mins. A win would be fabulous ...but happy to settle for a draw ...in whatever form that takes.
Junior rugby in our warm tropical enclave ...is definitely the way forward and our most capable path to Asian domination.
If there is any hesitation at entertaining such thoughts ..ask yourself and the powers that govern ...what we lack on the big stage?
Only last year we were Asian 7s champions at U18 and U20 ..sadly not to be reproduced in 2017...but a realistic dream to invest big and effective planning at home and plenty of consistent tours to intravenous enough experience as required.
The future is bright...but we need to make it brighter and bigger, better and faster for the boys graduating the school format ..
It’s our last round locally before Christmas and a well earned break for our local gladiators to recharge and recover muscle power after a bruising first round.
Perfect for injury management and a big hand to all physios, massage specialists, and all therapists, who help maintain player wellness all season long.
Teams should invest in mentors and psychological support to help guide players ...very much the way forward in better performance and bigger fans etc .. Perfect way to grow the game, enhance skills and quality much needed and player wellness as our no. 1 priority.
Let me wish the players and inspiring game weekend, with plenty of attacking rugby to enthrall us ...and tackles that have its own thumping audio..
Blessings island rugby hearts..
More is more for the 80mins in the middle.
Cheers to fans from 1 to 93...it certainly is the season for giving.
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