Defending champions Kandy Sports Club bounced back from last week’s defeat with a strong 36–26 victory over Havelocks Sports Club in their Week 10 Maliban Inter-Club ‘A’ Division Rugby League 2025/26 clash at Nittawela.
Kandy, coming off their defeat to CR & FC last weekend, hosted Havelocks in a must-win encounter and the home side showed early intent. The Kandy backline carved open the visitors’ defence as Kavindu Perera cut in from the wing before timing a neat offload to scrum-half Heshan Jansen, who sliced through untouched to score under the posts. Hirusha Sampath added the simple conversion. (Kandy 07-00 Havelocks)
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The hosts struck again soon after, stretching the Havies defence with width and quick hands. The ball was worked to winger Dinal Ekanayake, who chipped ahead, won the chase, and grounded the ball despite pressure. Sampath nailed a difficult conversion from the corner to extend Kandy’s lead. (Kandy 14-00 Havelocks)
Havelocks struggled to settle early and were further hampered when Abdullah Faiz was yellow-carded for a late challenge on Srinath Sooriyabandara. However, the visitors slowly grew into the contest, holding possession through their forwards. Faiz made amends soon after his return, powering over to open Havelocks’ account, with Samuel Maduwantha converting. (Kandy 14-07 Havelocks)
Kandy responded just before the break after forcing penalties deep inside the Havelocks 22. From a scrum, Jansen switched play to the blind side, and skipper Sooriyabandara drew the final defender before offloading to Ekanayake, who finished in the corner to complete his brace
Half Time: Kandy SC 19 (3T,2C) – Havelocks SC 07 (1T,1C)
Havelocks struck early in the second half to stay in the contest, earning a penalty which they kicked to the corner. The rolling maul rumbled close to the five-metre line before the ball was worked wide to centre Amituanai Visesio, who powered through two Kandy defenders to score under the posts. Samuel Maduwantha added the easy conversion to reduce the deficit. (Kandy 19-14 Havelocks)
Kandy responded immediately through their powerful forward pack. A well-organised rolling maul proved unstoppable, with hooker Dilshan Fareed crashing over from the back to secure the bonus point, Sampath converting once again. (Kandy 24-14 Havelocks)
The hosts then made a strong statement as their forwards carried play from outside the 22 deep into Havelocks territory. From the base of the maul, the ball was released to skipper Srinath Sooriyabandara, who produced a sharp inside step before slicing through three defenders to score a crucial try.(Kandy 31-14 Havelocks)
Havelocks were handed a lifeline when Kandy were reduced to 14 men following the yellow card shown to Kenula Hettiarachchi. Making the most of the advantage, the visitors opted for a scrum and patiently built phases before spreading the ball wide. Hooker Azmir Fajudeen found space on the edge and stretched out to touch down, with Maduwantha converting to bring the margin back to ten points. .(Kandy 31-21 Havelocks)
The numerical advantage continued to aid Havelocks as they pressed hard in attack. Another penalty saw them kick to the corner, and although the maul stalled, Fajudeen broke blindside, barging through the final defender to claim his second try and set up a tense final ten minutes. (Kandy 31-26 Havelocks)
Kandy, however, sealed the contest after Havelocks knocked on inside their own in-goal area. From the resulting scrum, the home side kept it tight before shifting the ball wide for Hirusha Sampath to finish in the corner and put the game beyond doubt
Full Time: – Kandy SC 36 (6T,3C) – Havelocks SC 26 (4T,3C)
Swisstek Player of the Match: Dinal Ekanayake (Kandy SC)
Points Breakdown
Kandy SC 36
Heshan Jansen 1T, Dilshan Fareed 1T, Dinal Ekanayake 2T, Srinath Sooriyabandara 1T, Hirusha Sampath 1T,3C
Havelocks SC 26
Amituanai Visesio 1T, Azmir Fajudeen 2T, Abdulla Faiz 1T, Samuel Madhuwantha 3C
