Havies outfox Red Shirts after early scare
Title contenders CR & FC made an early rampage, hinting at a bigger fireworks display, but Havelocks Sports Club defused and dismantled them to completely outfox the visitors with a 28–14 victory in the opening Cup Championship game of the SLR–Maliban Club Rugby League 2025/26 at Havelock Park yesterday.
Coming in with high confidence after their first-round 33-14 victory, the Red Shirts flummoxed Havies with two early converted tries, leaving the home side short of ideas. Lock Niroshan Perera breached the Havies defence in the seventh minute to score the opening try, with fly-half Zubair Doray adding the extra points for a 7-0 lead.
Havelocks prop Abdullah Faiz crashes to score, as Saudi Arabian referee Aymen Jriji perfectly placed to confirm it - Pic by Eshan Fernando
Soon after, Havies flanker Udesh Madusanka was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on following a failed interception attempt in the ninth minute. Capitalising immediately, CR No.8, Fijian Emosi Waganisau, crashed through the Havies defence to score the second try in the 11th minute. Centre Chathura Seneviratne made no mistake with the conversion as CR extended their lead to 14-0.
But that was as good as it got for the Red Shirts. Havies flipped the game on its head with two stunning tries to draw level at 14-all by half-time. Scrum-half Mohamed Rifan stunned the entire CR defence with an incredible pick-and-go, offload and recapture to score in the 24th minute, swinging the momentum firmly in favour of the hosts. Prop Abdullah Faiz then powered over for a try in the 31st minute.
Full-back Samuel Maduwantha enjoyed a perfect day with the boot, converting all four tries, with two more scores to follow after the turnaround.
The entire second half belonged to Havies, who gave CR a torrid time and thwarted every attacking attempt. Havies extended their lead through Samoan centre Junior Viresio in the 52nd minute to make it 21-14, before the skipper and lock added the finishing touch with a perfectly executed rolling maul try in the 63rd minute, sealing a commanding 28-14 victory.