Royal win the shootout but Trinity drives back with the gold
An unrelenting offensive assault by a Royal unit determined to erase a 12 point deficit after they were broken down at the death in Kandy, helped them salvage a major measure of pride with a well-earned 13 (1 goal, 1 drop goal, 1 penalty) -9 (3 penalties) victory, but could not stop Trinity from marching home with the coveted Bradby Shield, after a tenacious battle at the Royal Sports Complex yesterday. It was the second leg of the 69th version of the series.
The Royalists dominated possession and in truth could have walked off with an even larger margin of victory but twice floundered while on the verge of scoring. For large portions of play they operated like a battering ram, hitting hard and frequently at a resilient Trinitian defense which refused to yield.
Royal held the upper hand to win the second leg, but failed to prevent Trinity from clinching the 69th Bradby Shield. - Pic by Amila Gamage
Royal registered their points through the boot of their talismanic skipper fly half Rimze Jamaldeen and a power drive by front rower Shuyab Muthalip. Trinity meanwhile were prevented from executing their fluent and speedy offense and had to settle for tricky penalty conversions by fly half Tharinda Ratwatte.
The beginning of the game offered a brief snapshot of the tinderbox atmosphere which existed at the ground as a Trinity attempt at a haka was abruptly, and rather physically, disrupted by the Royal team.
Royal though were immediately pegged back as Ratwatte converted on a difficult penalty with only three minutes on the clock. The Bradby had immediately slipped impossibly away from Royal but the match was still in the balance and they claimed their stake in it mere minutes after Trinity scored.
Jamaldeen, while tearing forward, displayed his prodigious kicking prowess with a laser-guided drop goal which evened things up at 3-3. Then ensued a period of Royal dominance, as their forwards bullied their way deep into Trinity territory on multiple occasions only to give the ball away when within striking distance.
Trinity helped them to some degree with clumsy handling, knocking the ball forward on several occasions thereby taking their threatening pace out of the equation. Nevertheless, against the run of play they struck a penalty through Ratwatte to take a three-point advantage into the half.
Jamaldeen once again tied proceedings up at 6 points apiece just two minutes into the second half and things picked off from where they were during the opening period with Royal holding the lion’s share of possession but failing to capitalise.
A shift in momentum seemed on the cards when Ratwatte struck a penalty in the 27th minute but Royal dug their heels in and dented all these hopes with sturdy defense and smart ball movement.
Ironically, right toward the end of the game, a period which saw a Royal collapse during the first leg of the Bradby, the boys from Reid Avenue made their breakthrough. Piling forward with numbers, Royal finally broke the will of Trinity’s defense as Shuayb Muthalip, thundered across the line to score the game’s only and ultimately decisive try.
Jamaldeen, as he usually does with straightforward attempts from the spot, knocked through the conversion to ensure that although bereft of silverware, Royal could walk off the field with their heads held high.
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