The second leg of the all-important Bradby was always going to be a tense affair with Royal only having a 5 point cushion after winning the first leg 22-17.
Trinity College played host to Royal this evening and a humdinger of a game ensued. Trinity came back from behind to win the second leg 18-13 but Royal managed to force a draw on aggregate with a penalty conversion in the last minute leaving the aggregate 35 points all.
With overcast conditions and a slight drizzle prevailing throughout the day in the hill capital, the open, fast paced rugby everyone hoped for seemed unlikely, but the boys in the middle had other ideas. Lashan Wijesysooriya who had taken the place of Trinity’s deputy skipper kicked off the proceedings with referee Rankothge’s whistle and the Lions showed great intent in the opening minutes, playing some good attacking rugby pressing Royal deep in their own half.
Photo Album – 72nd Bradby 2nd leg – Royal College vs Trinity College
Trinity got their first chance of the game when they were awarded a penalty 10 meters away from the Royal goal line and opted to take a quick tap which was defended well by the Royalists who held their nerve to defuse the early Trinity threat.
A rude reminder of the first leg was on the cards for theTrinitians when their Center S.K Sangasinghe’s kick was charged down and collected by the Royalists but scrambling cover defense by Trinity fullback Abeywickrama denied the visitors from getting the first points on the board. Both teams opted to use their kicking game as the underfoot conditions and the constant drizzle made highball collection all the more difficult.
Royal got the first chance of putting points on the board when they received a kickable penalty and Ovin Askey made no mistake kicking Royal into an early lead of 3 points to nil. (Royal 03-00 Trinity)
It was no brainer that Royal will look to keep the ball close to their forwards, however Trinity’s interim coach Sean Wijesinghe who assumed the responsibility of marshalling the team just a week before the second leg, had done a lot of work with the forwards who were much more organized in the set pieces and came out on top.
Trinity fans rejoiced when Geshad Pethiyagoda scored after some great work by the forwards in turning over a scrum but their celebration was short lived when the referee ruled that the last pass to Pethiyagoda had traveled forward. Erroneous play from Trinity cost them valuable momentum and Royal made the best use of this by slowing the pace of the game down and keeping the ball close to their forwards. They were rewarded when the Trinitians were found offside and Askey’s kick to touch gave Royal an attacking line out 15 meters from the Trinity line. It was time for the famous Royal maul to grace the occasion and a desperate effort from the Trinity skipper was found illegal by referee Rankothge. Royal decided to kick the ball into touch and resort to the maul which this time was sacked by Trinity defense but they could not stop Ayesh Maduranga from crossing the line, Askey added the extras to take the lead to 10-00 and the aggregate lead to 15 points. (Royal 10- 00 Trinity)
After the restart Trinity dished out some good open rugby while playing to their strengths and using their backs and were rewarded with a try through S K Sangasinghe, Wijaysooriya failed to add the extras.
Half Time – Royal 10 – 05 Trinity
The Royalists were guilty of being complacent with the 10 point lead on the aggregate that they had, as the Trinitians looked like a totally revamped outfit playing with hunger after the change of sides. The red, gold and blue front eight were determined in the scrums where they managed to out muscle their much-fancied counterparts. The hard work paid off when the Royal front row was found guilty of collapsing the scrum, Wijaysooriya was second time lucky for the Lions kicking the 25-meter penalty. (Royal 10 – 08 Trinity)
The visitors were once again guilty of being offside and deciding to kick at goal Wijaysooriya put Trinity in front for the first time in the game. (Royal 10- 11 Trinity)
Royal still had the upper hand in the overall aggregate with a 4 point lead. Sensing that the boys from the hills were gaining momentum, the Royalists turned to their trusted forwards who kept the ball close to each other hitting the Trinity defense for 15 + phases close to the breakdown. Trinity’s defense managed to keep their nerve as they successfully defended the Royal onslaught and managed to turn the ball over. Unlike Royal, Trinity were not shy to use the width of the field as they used their forwards and backs in unison which made way for the scrum-half Rashane Bandaranayke to slip through the defense to score. Wijaysooriya was spot on with the kick and Pallekele erupted with joy as Trinity now had a lead of 3 points in the overall aggregate. (Royal 10 – 18 Trinity)
Royalists finally looked like they woke up from their slumber when they mounted waves of attack through their forwards who were inches away from the try line. Referee Rankothge had to refer the TMO as they came inches away from the try line but a decision could not be made as the replays were inconclusive resulting in Royal receiving an attacking scrum 5 meters out tried for a pushover try, but the Trinity forwards held their ground to deny the Royalists.
In the dying minutes of the game, Royal received a penalty and the decision was made on the field to kick the ball into touch. However after Royal had kicked to touch and set for the lineout, the referee was informed by his assistant that the kicking tee had been sent to the ground and brought play back to the original penalty. According to the law, “If a kicker indicates to the referee the intention to kick a penalty kick at goal, the kick must be taken within one minute from the time the player indicates the intention to kick at goal. The intention to kick is signalled by the arrival of the kicking tee or sand, or when the player makes a mark on the ground.”However, an argument can be made that since Royal had already kicked the ball into touch and prepared for the lineout, the penalty was over and should not have been retaken. Askey held his nerve under the all-important kick and bisected the posts with his kick and referee Rankothge blew the long whistle to mark the end of an enthralling encounter with both teams leveled on aggregate at 35 points apiece. (Royal 1 3 – 18 Trinity)
In the 72 year history of the Bradby shield, there has only been one draw on aggregate prior to this which was in 1992 where both teams shared the honours. The tally now stands at (Royal – 31 Trinity 39 Drawn 2)
However, an incident broke out at the presentation ceremony which witnessed the players fighting for the coveted shield instead of sharing it as it was supposed to be. The tussle that ensued spilt over to the spectators and such a well-contested and prestigious game was forever marred by its ending.
