Having beaten St. Joseph’s College in the Quarter – Final of the President’s Trophy knockout tournament, Royal found themselves head to head with the Lions from Kandy once again, as the Semi – Finals of the tournament between Royal College and Trinity College which concluded on the 7th of July 2014, was an absolute thriller, in which Royal managed to come out on top as a result of the determination displayed on the field.

A nostalgic feeling surrounded the Royal College Sports Complex, as it was not the first time that Royal and Trinity met this season, which got both the supporting crowd and the players excited.

The game began with Royal scoring immediately, through a conversion of an awarded penalty, which saw Trinity responding promptly as well, by scoring through the Wing Three Quarter. The scoreboard read 07 – 03 in favour of the Trinitians, in what was a sight which was unpleasantly familiar for the home fans.

Skipper Nimshan Jayawardena had a fairly good game, as his boot was instrumental in bridging the gap between Royal and Trinity, as he managed to put over a penalty which saw the scoreboard reading 07 – 06, after which, the Trinitians were awarded two back to back penalties, which were converted with ease. 13 – 06 was the score, much to the delight of the Trinitians, however, just before half time, Skipper Nimshan was able to convert another penalty, which reduced the margin to 4 points. At the half time break, Trinity were leading Royal 13 – 09.

After some inspirational words from both coaches, the second half began with Royal kicking off and immediately scoring through Skipper Nimshan, whose moment of brilliance saw him piercing through the Trinity line of defense and scoring. The conversion being successful saw Royal leading Trinity for the first time in the game, with the score on 16 – 13.

However, the lead was short-lived, as Trinity were once again awarded two back to back penalties which saw them leading Royal by 19 points to 16.

In the dying stages of the game, Trinity were 2 men short as the Prop Forward (3) was awarded a red card after being awarded 2 yellows, and the other,(1)  was awarded a yellow card and sent to the sin bin. However, Trinity managed to score and put the game further away from the Royalists, despite being short on players, and extended their lead by making the scoreboard read 26 – 16, to which Royal responded with a fierce attack, by scoring through Hooker Supun Warnakulasuriya, which reduced the margin to 3 points, as Trinity were leading 26 points to 23 with 5 minutes to play.

To the utter disappointment of the Royal supporters and players alike, Trinity were awarded yet another penalty, which was converted and saw the margin increasing to 6 points, with Trinity leading 29 – 23, which shattered a hint of hope for the Royalists.

However, in a quick turn of events, Royal managed to enter the Trinity half and relentlessly shove through the forwards, which saw the Number 08 Nikila Gunadeera diving over for a much needed try! The 40 minutes of the second half was already over, and the score before the conversion was 29 – 28 in favour of the Trinitians. All eyes were on Skipper Nimshan, as the kick he was to attempt was to either make or break and define the Royalists on that day.

With immense pressure on his shoulders, and with the knowledge that if the conversion was to be unsuccessful, Royal would lose by one point, Nimshan attempted the conversion, and to the delight of all Royalists, the conversion was successful, and the entire stadium erupted, so much so that the final whistle could not be heard by anyone in the crowd surrounding the grounds.

The post game atmosphere at the Sports Complex was simply fuming with joy and thrill, as the hard work and the dedicated sessions of practice paid off, as Royal beat Trinity having lost the Bradby Shield earlier on this season.

Royal advances into the final stage of the President’s Trophy Knockout Tournament, as they will face Isipathana College for the championship, on Sunday, the 13th of July at the Royal College Sports Complex.

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