Week 08 of the Nippon Paint Club Rugby League 2023/24 began with Havelock SC hosting the unbeaten CR & FC in the first game of the Cup segment. This game also had more on the line being the 02nd leg of the Matthysy Trophy. In a closely contested bout, CR & FC managed to edge out the Havies 12-09.
During the first few minutes, both teams tried to gain the early advantage, but none were able to score points due to errors. The Havies received the opportunity to get on the points table after an offside penalty, and Samuel Maduwantha kicked it through to give the hosts the early lead. (HSC 03 – 00 CR)
11 minutes later, CR & FC managed to go deep into Havies territory with a good phase of play which included some slick passing and good running. The visitors were then awarded with a penalty just a few metres away from the whitewash, and Zubair Doray took the quick tap and the Havies defenders were caught off guard as Doray just ran in between two opposition defenders to give his team the lead. The conversion did not go through as their lead stayed at just 2 points. (HSC 03 – 05 CR)
After the try by the visitors, the Havies received a huge boost receiving the numbers advantage when Naveen Marasinghe was sent to the naughty chair for 10 minutes, but even with 1 less man on the park, CR managed to hold on without conceding any points.
Half Time :- CR & FC 05 – 03 Havelock SC
A few minutes into the second half, the Havies received a penalty after Marasinghe booted the ball away from the ruck and Maduwantha managed to add the 3 extra points and give his team the lead back by just 1 point. (HSC 06 – 05 CR)
The discipline in defending from the visitors was put into question once again when the Havies were awarded with a tackler – not rolling away advantage, the Skipper decided to go for points and Maduwantha obliged with a successful kick to increase their lead to 4 points. (HSC 09 – 05 CR)
During the 2nd half, CR & FC spent a lot of time inside the Havies 22, but somehow the home team defence managed to keep them in bay without conceding any points. The pressure was building for the unbeaten boys in red and the breakthrough moment finally arrived for them when Amith Gunasinghe found the whitewash. Manilka Ruberu extended their lead by converting the try. (HSC 09 – 12 CR)
The Havies were in a race against time after that last try by CR & FC, and they simply could not get the job done. The Havies will be heavily disappointed about not being able to end the unbeaten run of CR & FC after coming so close and leading for the majority of the game, but they only have themselves to blame as, while not letting CR off the hook, they themselves were unable to find the whitewash when they had clear cut chances. Although they got the win, CR definitely will not like how they turned up and performed with so many mistakes.
With this result, CR & FC managed to clinch the Matthysy Trophy with a total aggregate result of 37-19.
Manilka Ruberu was adjudged the Black Knight Player of the Match for being the silver lining for the visitors in the game as he directed traffic terrifically and was always there for his team, whether it was offence or defence.
CR & FC 12 (2T 1C) beat Havelock SC 09 (3P)
Black Knight Player of the Match :- Manilka Ruberu (CR & FC)
Points Breakdown
CR & FC : Zubair Doray 1T, Amith Gunasinghe 1T, Manilka Ruberu 1C
Havelock SC : Samuel Maduwantha 3P
