67th Bradby Shield Rugby Second Leg :

Royal out to make it three in-a-row

DINESH WEERAWANSA

Royal College, Colombo is well set for a hat-trick of wins unless Trinity College, Kandy come out with a vastly improved performance when the two teams scrum down in the second leg of the 67th Bradby Shield rugby encounter to be played at Royal Sports Complex ground, Stanley Wijesundera Mawatha this evening.

With an all-important eight-point lead they enjoy for humbling the Lions in their own den, the Reid Avenue boys will hold key for this year’s ‘Bradby’.

The eight points they enjoy for defeating Trinity 33-25 at Bogambara Stadium a fortnight ago is no indication of the dominance of the Reid Avenue boys have had, especially in the first half. If they could dish out that red hot rugby once again before their home crowd, we see no reason why Royal could not complete their third successive Bradby Shield victory.

Royal had an ideal warm up for the ‘Bradby’ second leg by thrashing Katugastota Antonians 40-13 last week. That should be a morale booster for the Reid Avenue boys to perform even better. In contrast, Trinity could not come out of their losing mentality and went down to Isipatana 18-23 during their last weekend’s outing.

The Royalists are the current custodians of the ‘Bradby’, beating their traditional rivals in style during the last two successive years – under Naren Dhasan (22-12 and 31-15) in 2009 and under Duminda Attygalle (38-37 and 34-17) last year.

If the Royalists play true to form, No.8 Shehan Pathirana could be the third Royal captain today to win the Bradby Shield in-a-row since 2009. But Trinity has the honour of recording the highest sequence of wins from 1952 to 1957 while Royals best is four in-a-row from 2001 to 2004.

Royal should not take things for granted as the Lions could explode at any moment with their fast and attacking rugby.

They have all the ingredients to do so and they displayed this to a greater extent during the second half of the first leg game in Kandy.

If they can repeat that fast and open rugby once more in Colombo, Royal will face the tough task in their endeavor to complete the hat-trick of Bradby victories.

If Trinity could swing into action early and wipe off that eight-point deficit and hold on to a slim lead by the half time, they would be in a position to dictate terms. At the same time, if Royal could capitalize on their vital lead from the word ‘go’ and double it before the short whistle, Trinity will have to let Royal keep the ‘Bradby’ in the Reid Avenue trophy cupboard for one more year.

Whatever the outcome would be, today’s Bradby Sheild second leg game too should be filled with fast and open rugby. The enthusiasm and excitement that is generated in Bradby series even surpassed premier league club games or even international matches of Sri Lanka team. Hence, those who make their way to Royal Sports Complex are in for a great treat of rugby at its best.

Both teams looked even on paper but Royal have proved that they are the better side after their superb win in the first leg. With Royal enjoying home advantage, they could well make merry on their eight-point lead.

Once again, Royal’s heavy and mobile pack should hold the key to the second leg. Vice captain Adil Jabbar who occupies the all-important hooker’s berth, should strengthen the Royal pack which has done most of the hard work this season. Their halves combination of Dilipa Jayatillake and Arihad Jamaldeen proved their effectiveness in the first leg too.

Trinity ‘eight’ too are geared to take the challenge head on! Captain Murad Ramzeen who plays as a prop forward is determined to make his presence felt. Much would depend on how his fellow pack members produce to keep the ball with them.

Royal have remained unbeaten this season, winning all eight matches they have played. Besides their exciting 11-10 thriller against Isipatana, Royal have beaten St. Joseph’s (38-31), Wesley (33-32), Kingswood (33-25), Thurstan (72-0), Dharmaraja (48-5), Trinity (33-25) and St. Anthony’s (40-13).

In contrast, Trinity has lost three games while winning the balance matches of the season. Despite losing to Science College (11-12), Royal (25-33) and Isipatana (18-23) Trinity has wins over St.Anthony’s (10-3), Kingswood (41-0), S.Thomas’ (75-6), St.Joseph’s (38-10), Wesley (48-13) and St. Peter’s (34-10).

The Reid Avenue boys are the current custodians of the coveted Bradby Shield, named after the late Royal principal E.L. Bradby, who donated the shield to the Royal-Trinity rugby series in 1945. The winners of the shield are determined on aggregate of points after two legs played in Kandy and Colombo. The Royal-Trinity rugby series began way back in 1920 but the Bradby Shield was introduced only in 1945 after which it turned out to be a two-leg affair.

The first ever inter-school rugby match between the two teams in 1920 was won by Trinity which beat Royal 26 points to nil. The first leg of the inaugural Bradby Shield encounter was won by Royal 3-0 but their joy was short lived as Trinity won the second leg 6-0 and with it became the first holders of the ‘Bradby’. Of the 66 encounters since then, Trinity takes the lead with 35 wins to Royal’s 30. The only tie in the series was witnessed in 1992.

The teams:

ROYAL: Yasin Yousuf, Adil Jabbar, Iroshan de Alwis, Lahiru Pavithra, Wasim Bawa, Andrew Siriwardena, Madusha Kularatne, Shehan Pathirana (Captain), Dilipa Jayatillake and Arshad Jamaldeen, Ijaz Bohoran, Damien Ratwatte, Taraka Wijesuriya, Anjana Kudahetty, Rimzie Jamaldeen.

TRINITY: Murad Ramzeen (Captain), Kevin Bandara, Inzanam Mubarak, Hasintha Perera, Randika de Alwis, Uchintha Weerakoon, Savinda Unamboowe, Sean Foster, Sanjaya Somasiri and Rehan Weerakoon, Mohamed Sashan, Dilshan Kelaniyangoda, Kanil Seneviratne, Thisura Karunatilleke, Sanchana Sheik or Dinuk Nayakaratne.

Referee Dilroy Fernando