Trinity have the edge over Royal

63rd Bradby Shield encounter first leg

Dinesh Weerawansa

RUGBY: Trinity College, Kandy should have the edge over Royal College, Colombo in the first leg of their 63rd Bradby Shield rugby encounter to be played at Bogambara Stadium this evening.

Trinity's moral boosting win over Kingswood last weekend and injuries to two key Royal players have given the hill capital team the edge.

The Lions had an exciting 23-18 win over Kingswood in a match which was marred by unruly spectators. While Royal lost their crunch battle to Kingswood, Trinity pulled off that much needed win that has given inspiration to the Lions in the big 'un.

On the other hand, Royal will miss the services of two of their key players in this all important game due to injuries. Third year player Ishara Perera, who mans the last line of defence, and scrum half Rameez Rafeek will not take the field today.

Vinod Malwatte will come into the side to operate from the base of the scrum to pair off with fly half Naren Dhasson. Whether they could form an effective halves combination is left to be seen.

The other change in Royal side would see Shilendra Chandrasekera replacing Perera as the full back. Perera has been a tower of strength and Royal is going to miss his booming kicks and equally clever defence.

Nevertheless, the Reid Avenue boys are determined to make their presence felt and give Lions a good lesson in their own den. If Royal forwards could win the good ball and feed their backs through an effective halves combination, then their 'three' are capable of making some penetrative moves.

Royal was marginally ahead of Trinity on strength and on performance until last weekend but the injuries and Trinity's win against Kingswood could slightly turn the game in the home team's favour. Trinity are all out to make full use of their happy hunting venue under ideal home conditions to take an early lead in this year's Bradby Shield series.

Royal and Trinity's performance have been average this season. However, Royal has won three matches this season while Trinity has only a couple of wins. Royal beat Wesley, (35-12), Thurstan (25-7) and Ananda (19-0) while going down to Kingswood (12-29) and St. Anthony's (12-26).

Trinity too have had mixed fortunes this season after starting off with back to back defeats at the hands of S. Thomas' (15-19) and St. Anthony's (13-14). But they recovered quickly to beat Wesley (48-22) before suffering their third defeat to St. Peter's (23-48).

But Trinity pulled off that much needed win against Kingswood (23-18) in their final outing before the Bradby and that has really transformed the team into a fighting unit.

The Bradby Shield series is played in honour of the late Royal Principal, E. L. Bradby, who introduced the coveted shield in 1945. But the Royal-Trinity rugby series started 25 years prior to that - in 1920.

Of the 62 Bradby Shield encounters played so far since 1945, Trinity takes the lead with 34 while Royal has won the title on 27 occasions with one tie. Trinity are the present custodians of the 'Bradby' having won it last year with back to back 21-10 and 26-5 wins. Royal last won the title in 2004 beating Trinity 41-6 and 10-0 under Lakshman Dissanayake.

In fact, that was Royal's fourth successive win in the series since regaining the Bradby in 2001. The 'Bradby' is the annual meeting place for the Royalists and Trinitians, young and old, and recall sweet memories of their rich rugby heritage.

Whatever the result may be, the Bradby Shield series will dish out rugby at its best. Hence, the spectators who are expected to fill the picturesque Bogambara Stadium to capacity, are expected to another memorable day of fast and open rugby.

Trinity skipper Sean Wanigasekera who is in the injured list will walk to the field only for the toss

The teams:

Royal: Manil Abeyratne (Captain), Ayesh Rajapakse, N. Senanayake, Thushan Perera, J. Samarasinghe, H. Bandaranayake, Eranjan Punchihewa, Bilan Hassen, Vinod Malwatte and Naren Dhasson, Asif Hussain, Sujith Adihetty, Suvinda Leneduwa, Duminda Attygalle, Shilendra Chandrasekera.

Trinity: Fazal Zawahir, Mahen Wikremasiri, Ishara Singhalakshana, Pasindu Dassanayake, Naveen Perera, Milinda Gunawardena, Idiris Omar, Jazeer Hassen, Adeep Hameed, Cinci Siegertsz, Azwar Marzook, Vishwajith Wijesinghe, Shamrin Zaneer, Rangika Ailapperuma and Lasantha Samarasekera.

Referee: Dilroy Fernando