New club rugby season kicks off today..

Havelocks SC could be in for a trying time against a new look Police SC team fervently bent on stamping their presence as the two protagonists put the finishing touches to prepare their best bets for today’s Dialog Premier League rugby match under lights at Havelock Park.

Going by the crossovers, new entrants and exodus of players from club to club, Police perhaps have stood to gain more as they look to deploy a star cast of exponents that rival teams may grudge or need to buckle up to challenge.

Like it or not, Havelocks will have to bear the brunt of a Police backlash and face hardcore players like Sharo Fernando, Bilal Hassan, Reza Mubarak and Chamara Dabare who have crossed over from Navy, Mohamed Sheriff and Chula Susantha who quit Army.

“We are expecting our new intakes to take us to the next level with their experience”, said Police Rugby secretary and former Sri Lanka prop Hafeel Marso.

“With these players we are capable of competing against any team in the League and our target is to finish in the top three and that’s not to say we cannot win the title.”

Police have also enlisted a new trainer in former Sri Lanka Number Eight Dushanth Lewke while the team is coached by Lalith Weeraratne with fly half Lahiru Gurusinghe as captain.

Besides facing up to a Police juggernaut, Havelocks will also have to find their feet as they set about to convince their supporters who have had very little to brag about since the Park Club won the League in 2012 after a 31-year lapse.

Flying winger Sandun Herath will have more than just a role to play as he captains Havelocks who have re-enlisted their former charismatic coach Tulagaese Tawita, a Samoan better known as Laga who guided them to the League title in 2012.

Laga will have to be the main driving force behind the scene if Havelocks are to go places and regain lost pride in a season that offers nothing to the lesser mortals and is being touted as anyone’s playground.

“This side is different from 2012. There is more balance and it’s only a matter of motivating them”, said Laga. But while the Havelocks-Police clash is expected to draw most of the fans, Navy and Air Force will actually raise the League curtain on the same day at Welisara in a match that both teams will look to gauge their strengths and weaknesses.

Navy will have to depend on a high element of schoolboys to overcome many voids following the exit of the elite of their players to Police and Kandy.

Among their new faces are former Isipathana College play-maker and Number Eight Omalka Gunaratne and St. Joseph’s College prop forward Steven Gregory.

Apart from Police opening their doors to Navy’s battled hardened players, Kandy have also enticed Srinath Suriyabandara, Soyura Anthony and Wishwamithra Jayasinghe to leave the Welisara club rendering it a team on rough seas under coach Nilfer Ibrahim.