Archives

By Dinesh Weerawansa

Will the underdogs Trinity perform that giant killing performance which Wesley displayed against Royal a couple of weeks ago? This will be the question asked by rugby fans when Royal College scrums down with Trinity College in the first leg of the 59th annual Bradby Shield rugby encounter to be played at Bogambara Stadium, Kandy this evening.

Royal have been impressing in every match as undisputed schools premier league champions this season until Wesley performed the near impossible task of bringing down the Reid Avenue boys to earth. Whether Trinity could display the qualities of a true lion and make the favourites eat humble pie would only be known today.

Nevertheless, Royal will go out firm favourites to win the first leg of this year's Bradby Shield with a handsome margin. They have all reasons to be confident and look forward to put the icing on the cake of a highly successful season this year. There again, they could expect stiff resistance from Trinity, who have proven their fighting qualities in the series even as underdogs. Royal, who have the 'Bradby' is their custody for the last two years, would be looking forward to complete a triple and win the coveted shield.

All what matters for Royal would be to go on the rampage right from the kick off and get off to a psychologically advantageous early lead. Royal have a well-knit side, which could easily pose a big threat to any top schools team this season. Despite suffering a shock 18-22 defeat in a thrilling game against Wesley, Royal have already proven what stuff they are made of.

Their forwards have combined effectively with their backs to make a successful recipe this season. Royal opened the season with a smashing 45-0 win against Dharmaraja before winning two close games against St.Peter's 8-6 and St.Anthony's 10-7.

Then came the bang from Wesley to bring an end to Royal's unbeaten record. But Royal's impressive 19-8 win against Isipatana in the last game gave tremendous confidence to the Reid Avenue boys, especially after losing to Wesley.

In contrast, Trinity have experienced a poor season. Despite opening the season on winning note against Vidyartha 22-3, the quality of Trinity rugby deteriorated match by match. In the second game, they were held to a 20-all draw by St.Peter's before losing the last three games in-a-row to put their morale on a low ebb - losing to Isipatana 16-27, S.Thomas' 10-27 and St.Anthony's 10-22.

Leading Royal this year will be Sri Lanka centre three quarter Rajith Jayasundara, son of DIG Daya Jayasundara, the former national selector and reputed Police SC coach who produced many champion sides. Jayasundararepresented Sri Lanka rugby team during last year's Asian Games in South Korea, along with his winger Lakshman Dissanayake. The presence of the two Sri Lanka rugby union Test players puts much power to the Royal line, which also include Kasun Wijesekera and Dilushan Sivalingam.

Royal has a distinct advantage in back division moves as well as in line outs. Trinity backs have not been that penetrative, as much as their skipper and No.8 Migara Maddumapatabendi would like to. But they are determined to give of their best performance and spring a surprise. The Trinity captain said they would fight back till the end try to give Royal a good run. Trinty have a few things to iron out in their final line up.

Royal finalised their team after the last work out yesterday. Royal skipper Jayasundara said they would go all out for a convincing win. "We are confident of winning. But at the same time, we would not take any chances and underestimate our opponents," he said. He noted that defeat at the hands of Wesley was a blessing in disguise. "That was an eye-opener and we came back even better after that. Our win against Isipatana put us back on the right track and shape up well for the Bradby," he added. Royal coach and ex-Sri Lanka national coach, C.P. Abeygoonawardena said he is looking forward to a good game of rugby.

The Royal-Trinity rugby series started way back in 1920, though the shield was introduced in 1945 in honour of former Royal principal, the late E.L. Bradby. Of the 58 two-leg encounters players so far, Trinity tales the l ead in the series with 32 wins to Royal's 25 with one tie in 1992. There was only one leg in 1971, which was won by Royal under Dr. Fred Perera, a reputed neuro surgeon. Incidentally, the present chairman of national rugby selectors, Dr. Maiya Gunasekera, a general surgeon, too played in the same team under Fred.

The teams:

ROYAL COLLEGE: Bashana Abeywickrema, Bimal Herath, Ravindra Abeywickrema,Ruwez Jiffrey, Danushka Rajapakse, Awais Rasheed, Palinda Wickremasinghe,Prabath Udugampola, Nirmal Siriwardena and Varun Wijewardena, Dilushan Sivalingam, Rajith Jayasundara (Captain), Kasun Wijesekera, Lakshman Dissanayake, Shihab Bahudeen.

TRINITY COLLEGE: Manoj Vidanagamage, Mohamed Muthalib, Nalaka Thilinakumara, Michael Manikam, Eranga Senenanyake, Buddhika Jayakody, Dhammika Senerath, Migara Maddumapathabendi (Captain), Sumeda Jayasundara and Ayaz Ainaff, Sanjeewa Nirosh, Mufthi Muneer, Hasantha Jayasuriya, Isuru Jayasena, Saliya Kumara.

Referee: Dilroy Fernando

www.crescat.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries

Produced by Lake House
Copyright © 2003 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager