Royal skipper Naren Dhason - 10 Bradby appearances

Branu RAHIM

When Royal Skipper Naren Dhason takes the field in the Second Leg of the 65th Bradby Shield Encounter today, it marks a rare achievement. He becomes only the second Royalist after 1960 captain H. S. de Silva to figure in 10 Royal-Trinity Bradby Shield games.

Naren broke into the First XV in 2005 and his entry raised lots of eyebrows. Having been spotted by coach C P Abeygunawardena when being put through his paces in a junior side, the 15-year-old received his baptism of fire in the First XV in the match against St. Thomas'. His wonderful performance in this game as full back virtually cemented his place in the side. Being a utility player, he has played in all positions in the back division except as centre and his gutty performances on the field drew lots of admiration.

In 2008, an ankle injury kept him out in the first few matches. However, under the watchful eyes of Physician Dr. J. C. Fernando, who nurtured him through the injury and declared Naren fit to play. The young lad came back with a vengeance to spearhead Royal's 17-12 victory against the high-riding Peterites.

Dhason leads a talented side this year having taken the team through an unbeaten spell so far and they are the only side in the Schools' A Division to win all their matches this season.

Meanwhile, the 1968 Royal College rugby captain Chitta Ranjan de Silva, more affectionately known as Bulla, will be the Chief Guest at the match today. The 1968 team under his leadership is remembered for the record breaking 19-0 first leg triumph in Colombo. The team had, besides the skipper, four other de Silvas in C T, R S I, R G M and L A I. Other members included Malik Samarawaickrema, Harin Malwatte, Nirmal Hettiarachchi, Dilanjan Soysa, Jagath Fernando, D S Wickremasinghe, Manik Punithakumar, Fred Perera, Javed Yusuf, Prasanna Kannangara and Indra Jayawardena.

According to Bulla, although the First Leg was won by the record margin of 19 points, the second leg played in Kandy that year which Royal barely won 5-3, was one of the finest games he has figured in. With Flanker Indra Jayawardena being carried off within the first ten minutes with a broken arm, Fly-Half Harin Malwatte intermittently getting on and off the field in a daze due to concussion, Nirmal Hettiarachchi hobbling about with a cracked ankle and being reduced to a limping Full-Back, skipper Bulla marshalled a virtual 12-man team, in an era where no replacements were allowed, to stoutly defend Royal territory against a marauding Trinity side and win by a whisker to regain the Bradby Shield after two years.

Besides rugby, members of this 1968 team have also gone on to excel in their chosen fields. Bulla ended up as the Attorney General, Fred Perera is an eminent neuro-surgeon, Indra Jayawardena is an Engineer domiciled in Australia, siblings Sanath and Gihan de Silva went into the family business, Javed Yusuf who was one time Sri Lanka's ambassador in Saudi Arabia is a lawyer-cum educationist, Jagath Fernando is an entrepreneur and the largest exporter of strawberries, Nirmal Hettiarachchi was a mercantile executive and represented Sri Lanka at cricket, Prasanna Kannangara is a leading banker, Harin Malwatte and D S Wickremasinghe joined the Armed Forces as commissioned officers with the latter making the supreme sacrifice defending the motherland, Manik Punithakumar and L.A.I. de Silva are having successful careers overseas and finally, accountant turned businessman Malik Samarawickrema, whose acumen has enabled him to amass a fortune in the garment industry, especially in female garments.

A large crowd is expected at the sports complex today for this all important encounter and the organisers are expecting a full house.

Kick-off of the Bradby Shield game is scheduled for 4.30 pm while the Under-18 match for the Simithriarachchi Trophy will commence sharp at 3 pm. Spectators are advised and expected to comply with the strict security procedures which will be in place.

All Grandstand tickets have been sold-out and special precautions will be taken to prevent unauthorised persons from entering the Sports Complex premises.

Also, no person will be permitted to remain standing especially in the aisles. Except for the school bands performing on the day, no other band will be permitted inside the Grandstand. Lighting of crackers is strictly prohibited and the match organisers have decided to take prompt action to evict mischief makers from the grounds.