80th Bradby Shield: Trinity outclass Royal to open 23-point Bradby lead

Trinity College produced a scintillating second-half display to overwhelm Royal College Colombo 33-10 in the first leg of the 80th Bradby Shield rugby encounter played at the Royal Sports Complex this evening (11).

The Trinitians, who trailed early in the game, crossed the line five times while restricting the hosts to a solitary try to establish a commanding 23-point advantage ahead of the return leg in Kandy in two weeks.

Dominant Royal

It was the Royalists who started the game on front foot, startling the Trinity’s defence line through physical play.

Their persistence paid off as Royal was awarded a penalty in the 13th minute of the encounter. Senuja Ranasinghe slotted in the penalty with ease much to the jubilation of the home team supporters.

Trinitians trailed the Royalists in the first quarter and they got on to the scorecard only in the 23rd minute. Kevin Weerakoon scored a try by finishing the move initiated by Trinity skipper Shan Althaf who chipped over the Royal defence line to gain valuable meters. Captain Althaf also slotted the conversion through for Trinity to lead 07-03.

Both teams then fluffed several scoring opportunities before the half-time whistle and went into the break with the game still wide open.

At lemons, Trinity led 07-03. Despite the score-line, the Royalists looked the better side during the opening half.

A Tale of two halves

The second half got underway in similar fashion to the first where Royal came hard at the Trinitians.

Five minutes into the resumption Royal took the lead for the second time in the fixture. Senuja Ranasinghe completed a move started by his skipper Disas Pathirana who kept the visitors on edge throughout the game. Kavindu Hewage added the two points for Royal to lead 10-07.

With the game on a knife-edge, both sets of fans wanted their respective schools to be more clinical. As the game ticked away, Trinity’s experienced players rose to the occasion.

In the 51st minute of the game, winger Minula Yaddehige gave the Trinitians the lead for the second time after completing a beautifully worked a try which was converted by Althaf. Evin Jayasena, Udan Wijekoon and Nisith Kumarasinghe all played a part in the build up to that try.

Turning Point

The turning point came in the 60th minute when Hamza Abdeen produced the try of the match, collecting the ball inside the Royal half before sprinting 56 metres to score and extend Trinity's advantage. The try not only gave a commanding lead but also broke the resolve of the Royalists led by Pathirana.

As the pulsating game headed to an expected finish, Trinity had other ideas as they kept attacking the Royal line. Trinity continued to pile on the pressure as Bilal Nazeer capitalised on a blocked ball to score their fourth try in the 64th minute.

Mathisha Jayasinghe inflicted further damage on the home side scoring the fifth try of the game in the last minute of the Bradby first leg as the Royal Complex felt the roar of the Trinitians.

Skipper Shan Althaf added two more points which gave the unbeaten Trinity side a commanding 23-point advantage heading to the second leg of the Bradby Shield in Kandy in a fortnight’s time.

Commanding Lead

The comprehensive victory reflected Trinity's clinical finishing and superior second-half execution, with the visitors scoring five tries while restricting Royal to a single converted try and a penalty.