Kandy SC will look to bring the curtain down on a dream season by lifting the Clifford Cup for the first time since 2018 when they host CR & FC in the Inter-Club Knockout final in Nittawela this afternoon (6).
The undisputed League champions have swept all before them heading into the final and barring the glorious uncertainties of knockout footy, they are all but assured of completing the double for the 2024-’25 season.
Fazil Marija’s team have played like champions throughout the League Championship and the Knockouts, with all other teams facing the brunt of their fury as they remain unbeaten to date.
Therefore, unless the hosts underperform in telling fashion at the last hurdle, the country’s oldest rugby silverware is set to safely return to the Nittawela trophy cabinet.
The home team will likely be strengthened for the grand final with the return from injuries of regular skipper Srinath Sooriyabandara and inside centre Tharinda Ratwatte, respectively.
This game will also be the last hurrah for Kandy’s star fly-half Nigel Ratwatte after a 15-year-long service for his club, and the home faithful will no doubt be present in their numbers to support him and his mates all the way to a podium finish.
The men from Nittawela are fancied to put the icing on the cake with the Knockout title on the back of their League triumph and they will be determined to reclaim the prestigious cup, as they have not held it aloft for the past 84-month period.
Furthermore, on the evidence of their red-hot form through this season, only an utterly brave pundit would place his bets on an improbable CR success.
Last season’s League champions CR & FC have flattered to deceive for much of this season and although they have managed to secure their spot deservedly in the Knockout final, they are still not the finished article.
To their credit, they have disposed of both Police – last year’s Knockout champions – and this season’s League runners-up Havelocks in this tournament.
However, their inability to mount a serious threat to Kandy, as has been the case with all other sides as well, has more or less sealed their fate.
In Knockout footy anything can be possible, but the form book indicates that denying the hosts Clifford Cup glory at the very last time of asking in the ongoing season will require a herculean effort from the Red Shirts.
CR too will bid adieu to one of their stalwarts, former National Captain and lock Suhiru Anthony at the end of this match.
He is one of the few players in the history of the game here to have turned out for three club League champion teams namely Navy SC, Kandy, and CR.
(JK) photo dm
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