The two blockbuster sides in the Maliban Interclub Rugby League 2025/26, CH & FC and CR & FC, clashed today (13th December) at the Longdon Place in front of a packed crowd. Since the start there were many twists in the game, and by shattering the predictions, the visitors came up with a breakthrough victory after a thrilling encounter.
CR & FC started the game with a misjudged kick-off, and the game restarted with a central scrum as the initial drop kick went out of the field of play in full. Without wasting any time, the foreign player of CH & FC announced his arrival with a fine break and made some good territory.
Then the Turuva made another vital break, and CH advanced near to the try line. While CH was searching for their first blood with a pick-and-go passage, CR gave away penalty after penalty. Suddenly Janith Chandimal slotted a drop goal while a penalty advantage was following. (CH 03 – 00 CR)
Then the CH skipper made a break with a marvellous sidestep by deceiving three defenders right on the 22-metre line of their own half. With the same momentum, he sprinted into the opposition half and made a chip kick over the final defender. But an awkward bounce didn’t favour CH, and CR managed to ground the ball for an own try. Hence, CH got a 5-metre scrum, and the heavy CH forwards bulldozed their way by pushing the scrum for a try as Jushua De-Lile planted the first try. (CH 08 – 00 CR)
Later, CR had a good opportunity to score when the TMO spotted a high tackle. Then, CR earned a line-out near the tryline, and CH put their maximum effort into stopping the CR’s iconic rolling maul. But the mammoth player Omalaka Gunarathne had some other plans and crossed the scoring line by pushing all the defenders on his way with his pure power. (CH 08 – 05 CR)
Straight after the restart kick, CH was in hot water as the CH sweeper tackled a player who was without the ball. Hence, CR turned a 5-metre line-out into a rolling maul. There, Omalka again stood on top of everyone and plated his second try by breaking from behind and clearing his way to the try line. (CH 08 – 10 CR)
Later, CH got a penalty as CR tried to turn over the ball after a ruck was made. At the moment the genius halfback Maliksha Perera came into the act and made a quick tap. Then he ran through the defence of the hosts to plant the second try for the visitors by highlighting the power of the brain game over the power of the muscles. Janith Chandimal made the first conversion of the encounter to the try planted under the post. (CH 15 – 10 CR)
After the resurgence, CH lost a key player, Lahiru Thilakarathne, as the referee sin-binned him for a late charge which was executed in a brutal manner. Later CH got possession, and without wasting any seconds, the ball was sent to the big Turuva, who was acting as a wing, and he ran all the way to score a try from their own half by reminding the Pacific Islanders of their flair in this magnificent game. Janith Chandimal nailed his second conversion to put some extra pressure on the hosts. (CH 22 – 10 CR)
CR struck back immediately and advanced near to the opposition’s 22-metre line. Then the Red Shirts brilliantly worked the ball in sideways, and the winger Pasindu Bandara made the final break at the far left corner and made a diving try to cut the deficit. Dinesh de Silva of CR made an outstanding conversion from the hardest angle on the ground to add the extras. (CH 22 – 17 CR)
The rest of the play in the first half went without a score, and CH happily went for the lemons with a five-point lead. Halftime: CH & FC 22 (3 T, 2 C, 1 DG) – CR & FC (3 T, 1 C)
CH & FC started things in the second half, and the hosts had an early attack on the visitors. The Red Shirts inch by inch advanced deep into CH’s territory, and suddenly the ball had been sent wide, and with brilliant work by the line, Pasindu Bandara made another break at the corner to plant his second, which almost looked like a replay of his first try. With this eye-catching play, the host not only managed to square the game again but also secured a valuable try bonus point. (CH 22 – 22 CR)
Later there was over a ten-minute silence in terms of points, and the determined CH broke the hoodoo with a penalty, which was followed by an offside play by a CR & FC player. (CH 25 – 22 CR)
CH & FC carried their fine rhythm to the next passage of play as well and kept asking numerous questions from the CR defence. While a pick-and-go attack was executing, CR made another crucial mistake by being offside at a ruck. The boy on song, Chandimal, made a fine and curved conversion by adjusting well with the wind factor to give valuable three points as far as the context of the game is concerned. (CH 28 – 22 CR)
Later, the skipper of CR made another crucial error by tackling the ball carrier without placing his arms around the player. The trusted boot of Chandimal never broke the hearts of CH fans as he nailed a 30-metre penalty to extend the lead beyond the margin of a converted try. (CH 31 – 22 CR)
While visitors were extending the lead with penalties while the game was heading to the final phase, the Red Shirts never let the game slip out of their hand. Instead, they launched a fine and organised attack on the Maitland Crescent boys. The back of CR was up to the task and made good yardage for the hosts, but suddenly the former Josephian flanker Naveen Marasinghe delivered a masterpiece by breaking from three tackles to plant a much-needed try for CR. Dinesh de Silva made no mistake with the conversion. (CH 31 – 29 CR)
While the hosts were trailing by just two points, CR invaded CH territory with a fine kick and recovered the possession. While the game momentum was with the hosts, the overseas player went to turn over the ball, but the referee decided that there wasn’t a clear release on the player. Hence a penalty was awarded, and Nanayakkara nailed the crucial kick to regain the lead in favour of the hosts. (CH 31 – 32 CR)
When the visitors attacked into opposition half the game turned into a thriller, by keeping spectators at the edge of their seats. Later, CR was guilty of an offside play which eventually cost them the match. Chandimal again made a curved kick against the strong wind, and the assistant referees raised their flags. But there was an anticlimax when the match referee, Ishanka Abeykoon, went for a review. After reviewing, the referees were satisfied with their original decision, and CH regained the lead with only a couple of minutes remaining to play. (CH 34 – 32 CR)
Finally, CH manages to hold their nerves to resist CR’s final attack to post a spectacular victory. More importantly, the winners failed to secure the try bonus, while the losers, CR, bagged both the try and losing bonus points.
Fulltime : CH & FC 34 (3 T, 1DG, 2 C, 4 P) – CR & FC 32 (5 T, 2 C, 1 P)
- AWISSTEK Perfect Player of the Match – Janith Chandimal
Points Breakdown
CH & FC – 34
Jushua De-Lile 1 T, Maliksha Perera 1 T, Turuva Serupipeli 1 T, Janith Chandimal 1 DG 2 C 4 P
CR & FC – 32
Omalaka Gunarathne 2 T, Pasindu Bandara 2 T, Naveen Marasinghe 1 T, Dinesh de Silva 1 C, Thenuka Nanayakkara 1 C 1 P
Match Referee – Ishanka Abeykoon
 at the Longdon Place in front of a packed crowd. Since the start there were many twists in the game, and by shattering the predictions, the visitors came up with a breakthrough victory after a thrilling encounter. ){kind=link}