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Sports

Elmo new President of NCC
Elmo de Silva - the well-known architect, takes over the reins from outgoing president Leslie Hewage of the NCC for year 2002 - 03 at its general meeting held last week. All office bearers were elected without a contest.

De Silva, told The Sunday Times, that he will continue the good work of his predecessors for further uplift of the century old club which has maintained a tradition on and off the field. It has to be a concerted team effort even off the field, Happy to have a committee who are all committed and working under one umbrella.

Then nothing is possible. You were one of the architects for making the long-felt need - the swimming pool who made it a reality without club coffers. I had a hand, but it was inspired and encouraged by Chanka de Silva, who had a big hand to this effect during his tenure. It was Chanka's brainchild.

Today the swimming pool caters to the need of the club members under the guidance of internationlly famed Julian Bolling, who is also one of the trainers ffor wouldbe swimmers. - B.W.

'Fisticuffs' : a symptom of lack of fitness
Police Vs. CR&FC (CR Won 16-6)
A game of missed opportunities - mainly by the Police. Could the Police have won? Yes. That the CR won is history. They are playing within their limits. CR will be really tested on the 21st of June when they play the Army. Next week's game against the Havies should be evenly poised.

There were glimpses of brilliance by the CR when Kishan Musafer scored an excellent try off a fine three quarter movement. CR's place kicker Roshan Peiris must concentrate on direction, as many of his kicks were wayward. Far more practice. The CR needs to have more fluency between forwards and backs.

The CR's rolling mauls are a treat to watch but thereafter options are lacking.
The fact that only one try was scored in the whole game would indicate that continuity was lacking in both sides. It was not that the defence was extra- ordinary but too many mistakes were made at vital moments. At full-time the Police team looked as if they could have played another game!

With such a robust pack and an energetic set of three quarters I feel that the Police team need a little more match practice (practice game-situations) and also work on their mistakes (they gave away penalties at crucial situations and missed out on scoring opportunities. Also control your tempers and don't squander away penalties with rash decisions - taking unnecessary short-taps when an easy 3 points is yours for the asking.

Havelocks vs CH & FC (CH & FC won 20-18)
The Havelocks were unfortunate to lose after leading 18-13 up to the last minute! Veteran Ajith Upawansa scored two important tries to give CH victory. This player uses his weight and deceptive run to advantage - a scorer of many tries.

I was witnessing the Navy/Galle RFC game but from reports and first hand information it is clear that the fitness of both teams is questionable. The best movements are recorded within 25 minutes of the first half of the game.

Then again during the first 10 minutes of the second half poor ball handling and fumbling exposes lack of concentration, which stems from "lack of fitness''. These are talented sides and who are capable of producing exciting rugby.

Kandy Vs Air Force (Kandy won 74-11)
A very easy win for Kandy. But Air Force need not be disappointed. They were up against the best team in the Tournament. Kandy's secret is their replacements which are on par with their first XV players. For the Air Force - possession is the key.

From Scrums and the Line-out you must win your own ball. If your opponents are heavier, then acquire "quick-hall" from scrums. From a Line-out ensure that your thrower is 'spot-on'. Also watch for the opposition's "extra man" in their three quarter line. Finally, the third row must know their positional play and be at all break-downs.

Navy Vs Galle RFC (Navy won 31-0)
The Navy's first win for the season. A good win considering the tough teams they played against for the first part of the season and the injuries to players. Ball handling was very poor at critical moments with the goal line staring in front of them. They missed out on at least 4 more tries. In addition to this the Navy gave away too many unnecessary penalties - after knowing the rules and persisting in repeating such mistakes.

Possession was Navy's in the first half and shared in the 2nd half. Navy needs to get fit. Talented players such as No 8 Malewana, Flanker Jayasuriya and Centre Kolonna are not playing at their best - they need to be fitter! Galle FC are a plucky side. They played their hearts out. Coach Quentin Israel is moulding them slowly but surely, Galle's three quarters are a delight to watch.

They enjoy running with the ball and made a number of inroads into Navy territory. The Forwards are a tough bunch but plenty of practice as a cohesive unit is a must. I felt they were more 'individualistic'. I was impressed with their game.

Note: I was told by one of the finest School Coaches of the past that I was not very critical in my reports on games, unlike earlier. That is correct. During the earlier games one has to assess the strengths and weaknesses of all teams and then give them the necessary advice to overcome or hide their weaknesses and develop on their strengths.

My Assessment:
A number of players mostly in Club teams are just not fit enough. "Experience" is an advantage BUT if one is not physically fit for a game, then others in the team have more than their share of work to do, which has an effect on the overall performance of these teams. During a game it is sad to see reputed players with hands on hips lethargically ambling on the field.

If players of "repute" intend seeking National honours, then they must be 100% fit and prove themselves. Resting on their past glory is not acceptable! I feel for the coaches who spend so much time on game-plans, strategies and game situations etc. and then find it their plans misfiring! Players themselves must make every effort to get lnto "condition". This makes the task of the Coach much easier. Apart from poor ball handling 'fisticuffs' is another symptom of 'lack of fitness'. This was witnessed in the Police/CR game and reported in the CH/Havies game.

Football pundits' predictions go awry
By M.Ismeth
Last week's matches in the FIFA 2002 World Cup finals proved many a football pundit wrong. Many are those who predicted France,Argentina,Italy and England as likely winners and Brazil and Portugal as having an outside chance of going upto the finals.

But France was the first to be eliminated followed by Argentina,if Mexico would have won on Thursday, Italy too would have been out of the race.

England too had some very anxious moments until the final whistle was blown against Nigeria. First time since pre-tournament favourites Argentina failed to qualify for the second round since 1970. After France and Uruguay, Argentina became the third former winners to fall at the first hurdle France became the third defending champions to make a first round exit after Italy in 1950 and Brazil in 1966.

First time in the 72 year tournament history reigning champs failed to score a goal. France's knock-out in the first round was after 36 years. Meanwhile, Turkey had entered the world cup finals after 48 years, while England had not beaten Sweden in 34 years.The last time a team had gone goalless was Greece in 1994 world cup finals.

June 8 South Africa won against Slovenia,while Brazil toyed with China winning by 4 goals to nil,thereby making Brazil to be next to Spain to qualify for the second round. Incidentally, all the R's of Brazil scored, Roberto Carlos,Rivaldo,Ronaldhino and Ronaldo. But the goal of the tournament so far was the one scored by Roberto Carlos from 40 yards, a curling shot with his left foot.Croatia did upset all calculations when they beat Italy 2-1.

Turkey had to be satisfied with a one all draw against Costa Rica,Mexico beat Ecuador 2-1 and host nation Japan scored a great victory against the mighty Russians. they won by one goal to nil.

This match was punctuated by ridiculous free kicks. June 10 Portugal beat Poland by 4 goals to nil,Korea too got a point by drawing their match against United States,the final score one all draw. In the other match Tunisia held Belgium to a one all draw. On 11 June Denmark made it still unbelievable when they beat France by 2 goals to nil.

This defeat of France made them to be eliminated from the Group of Death after Saudi Arabia. Ireland defeated Saudi Arabia by three goals to nil and thereby making them qualify for the next round of 16.Senegal drew with Uruguay 3 all, while Germany beat Cameroon 2 nil, both goals scored in the second half. This match saw the most number of yellow cards shown to players and two red cards for one player from each team.,who were sent off the field.

Matches played on 12 June sprang a few surprises. Spain qualified for the top spot in their group by beating South Africa 3 goals to 2,Paraguay won against Slovenia 3-1,and the other matches were most important Sweden drew with Argentina one all, a match that was crucial for Argentina to stay in the tournament, if they would have won. The other match was a nail biter England vs Nigeria, it ended in a goalless draw,but the Nigerians gave the England a real fight.

If one would have seen Brazil at its best ,it was on Thursday 13 June when they took on Costa Rica, a match which Rupavahini should have telecast at least at 11pm. A star calls performance by the Brazilians, who scored 5 goals to 2 by Costa Rica.Brazil was the other team after Spain to qualify after two straight wins.But after this match they have a goal tally of 11 for and 3 against.

Ronaldo,Rivaldo and the rest were at their best. The Ecuador vs Croatia match was eagerly watched by Italians for that match was going to decide their fate.Ecuador won by 1 nil and thus gave Italy a opportunity to scrape to the next round. Mexico though they drew with Italy,it was a game of death for Italy, a loss would have seen them in the same flight with France and Argentina back home. Ecuador saved the day for the Italians and the goal by its substitute in the 85th minute. Meanwhile,Ecuador scored its first ever goal in a world cup.

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