Sri Lanka’s top rated rugby team Kandy Sports Club nose-dived and crashed to its first defeat of the season as their closest rivals CR and FC pulled off an unexpected 38-26 win inside the latter’s well-fortified den at Nittawela on Sunday.
A packed and partisan Kandy crowd watched their adored team crumble under heavy CR bombardment as they trailed 7-26 with the final result a foregone conclusion at the end of the first half.
Before the match the Kandy SC officials who are having a continuous running battle with the parent body of the sport Sri Lanka Rugby, lodged a protest wanting a referee of their choice in what many in Colombo saw as a desperate measure to avoid an impending defeat.
But the Referees Society in Colombo put their feet down and refused to cave into pressure while declaring that the designated referee Gehan Yatawara was competent enough to handle a high-profile game.
Yatawara lived up to the expectations of his bosses and did a remarkable job with the whistle although he had to halt the match for a few minutes when his assistant patrolling the lines was hit by projectiles thrown at him by Kandy SC supporters.
The only time that Kandy SC were in the match was in the first five minutes of the second half when they came out all guns blazing to score and convert two tries that reduced CR’s lead to 21-26.
But the Red Shirts held their nerve and sealed the contest in the last 10 minutes of play with two tries one of which was converted
The defeat of the defending champs meant the League has been thrown open and Kandy’s one-horse race tag has been removed.
