Anyone who walked into the Royal College Sports Complex to witness the 2nd Leg of the Bradby Shield Encounter would have know that Royal did have a mountain to climb, and by no means would that climb have been an easy task. Many may not have expected the Boys in Blue and Gold to even bag the home win, but the doubters were proven wrong when the final whistle blew, with the scores at Royal 13 – 09 Trinity. The final aggregate score was Royal 38 – 46 Trinity, a mere 8 points was what separated the two Schools’ Rugby giants in 2013.

Click on the link to view the complete album – 69th Bradby Shield Encounter – 2nd Leg

The tale of the 160th Royal – Trinity Rugby Encounter will be one full of what could have been, as Royal missed out on the overall win due to a handful of mistakes that occurred at vital points in the game. Both teams defended well, evident from the low scores, and a major positive for the Royalists to take from the game was preventing Trinity from scoring a single try. Royal did claim the game’s only try, Royal easily missed out on scoring at least three times after coming very close to the try line. A couple of careless knock-ons and a very unfortunate slip for Udesh Ranaweera sealed the deal for the Trinitians.

The game was undoubtedly a fierce one, which is a very positive point, as we saw the Royalists give there all and that effort is highly appreciated. But the 69th Bradby Shield will be remembered for Trinity’s attempted “Haka” before the kick off. The planned display of the Trinitian dominance which was specially written and choreographed for the team was not welcomed by any means by the Royalists, who would not accept an attempt to demean their pride on their home ground and retaliated aggressively, causing some commotion even before the game began, much to the dismay of the many Trinity supporters who had made their way to Colombo. This would also have been a very memorable game for Match Referee Mr. Dilroy Fernando who was officiating his final game after an illustrious career as a match official.

For those who were thoroughly disappointed by the end result, there were many positives to be taken from the game. Royal did win the game, overcoming a three game losing streak to Trinity, although the all important Bradby Shield will remain at Kandy for another year, Royal prevented the Trinitians from scoring a even a single try, Royal did show that while Trinity may be the Kings in Kandy here in Colombo Royal reign supreme, and last but not least, the Under 18 game for the Sumithriarachchi Trophy which give us an idea about the future stars of Royal Rugby was won by the Royalists.

Click on the link to view the complete album – 69th Bradby Shield Encounter- Sumithriarachchi Trophy

While it was a painful day for Royal College, in the words of Coach Mr. Bilal Yusuf, “You may not always get what you want, but we are so proud of your achievement.” The First XV of 2013 have come a long way as a team and as individuals, and we at Royal are truly proud of what they have achieved in this year and applaud their unwavering efforts to bring glory to their Alma Mater.

On a final note, let us keep in mind that there is yet a big game to be played against our traditional rivals S. Thomas’ College, and we hope to see an outstanding victory when the two teams meet to play for the Michael Gunaratne Trophy on the 22nd of June.