It was one of those days which would be engraved in the books of Sri Lankan rugby in gold. It was a day which everyone awaited, a day which every single person looked forward for in the sporting calendar. It was the 69th Bradby Shield.
They say the most fearful battles are fought on field and so was the 1st edition of the 69th Bradby Shield when Trinity ended up jubilant at the end of play at Pallekelle over their counterparts Royal College after a much anticipated fearful battle with the scoreline ending 37-25. For any Trinitian or Royalist, a Bradby Shield victory is all what they intend to achieve which exhibits the greatness of this battle. The Overcast conditions prevailing at Pallekelle gave implications of ruining this spectacle event but the weather gods decided that it would have been a misery to ruin this great fixture.
The game went on to an impressive start from the very first kick-off whistle with Tarinda Ratwatte kicking a penalty in the very second minute. Both ambitious men of both sides were exploiting their armor in all forms of defending at attack realizing the grave fact their final motive would be to take hold of school rugby’s greatest and finest prize.
The Royal camp being much bigger in size found the rolling forwards to be their advantage over their counterparts this evening were in a favorable stand when they drew the first shed of blood in the 20th minute of play through their forwards. The two point lead which they gained was much reason celebrate but adding to that great attempt was blunder by the visitors as they gifted the home team a try when the ball put in right in to the hands of Sanchana Shiek who comfortably went on to cross the tryline for the first. Ratwatte failed to convert the try but it regained the lead to the hosts.
Later on in the closing stages of play, Royal and Jamaldeen took advantage of the prevailing gaps of the Trinity defense to change direction in the 5 meter scrum they received off an infringement to score the first try for the visitors blindfolding the entire Trinity line. This was a whole twist of events which the 20k + crowd gathered at Pallekelle never imagined.
The score line read the home team trailing behind but everyone had the intense feeling that this affair did not end here. The first half saw some remarkable defending by skipper Shahim Sinhalaxena and Sajith Thalgahagoda together with Umesh Samarasekara and the locks giving in their fullest in defending the score line.
At the point when referee Kaplan called for lemons, the Royalist were on the verge of victory with a solid 10 point lead over the home side with the scores standing 18-8.
In comparison the two halves were two different story in fact. If one was to write an essay on this, he might have had to change the topics for the two halves. The second half was one separate affair. It began with a odd note for Royal with their winger Udesh being sin-binned during the first few phases. Trinity has always been the resilient team who has always fought back hard even at the death to bring in victory. It was the time in which the hefty senior man Basu Karunathileke took control of countering the Royal pack lead by the fierceful Muthalib. Less than five minutes from the restart, stand-off Ratwatte pulled off a ripper through the defense to score under the posts.
It followed the series of tries which came up with through the three-quarters which include the efforts of Dureka Aluwihare and Lakwin Gunesekara. Wityh twenty minutes elapsed, it was another gameplay observed on the field with the Lions taking charge of the situation but hope did not evade the Blue & Gold’s. With some impressive clearence from the skipper Jamaldeen, Royal were in the 5 meter line showing a forward maul to the try line eventually. Miraculous the Royalist had reduced the lead to just one singe point. But the Royal resistance was not enough to hold the inbound Trinity attack.
Ratwatte who had been playing key in every possible instance repeated his stance to extend the lead by three. With the passage of time came two more tries on board, both by the Lock forwards Umesh Samarasekara and Isuru Rangala at the closing stages which closed the game at 37-25 extending the Trinity winning streak to four successive wins. Trinity outclassed Royal in their first conquest at the Lion’s den with a deficit of 12 points.
It was a full house at Pallekelle with crowds seeping through from all parts of the ground and a clear professional game of rugby was witnessed on the field. With the likes of the great Kaplan refereeing it showcased the proper gentlemen’s game the way it needs to be played. “ The game was very competitive. The standard and discipline shown in Sri Lankan school rugby was good. I m indeed stunned by the atmosphere “ added Kaplan in our post match interview.
The tantalizing atmosphere gave a clear indication of this valuable fixture’s greatness and its value. The battle has been won but the war has not come to a cease as yet. The question that runs in everyone’s minds is what they would experience at Reid Avenue in a fortnight. We’ve got to sit back and relax to see what happens.
