Royal’s Bradby legend Fred Schoorman no more
View(s):Royal’s Bradby Shield legend Fred Schoorman passed away last Sunday at the age of 88. Schoorman was a part of the Bradby Shield Legend – the blue riband of schools rugby between Royal College Colombo and Trinity College Kandy.
Schoorman represented the Royal College rugby team in 1944 and 1945 and was the Vice captain to the late C.D.L. Fernando in the inaugural Bradby Shield encounter in 1945. Schoorman had the unique distinction of scoring the first three points in this acclaimed inter-school rugby match which has now gained international recognition too.
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The inaugural match in Colombo in 1945 was a closely contested game with both sides involved in a battle of attrition. Both teams exhibited some solid defense and were able to thwart all attacks on their goal line with the teams going into half time without scoring.
The pattern continued in the second half until the deadlock was broken by front row forward Schoorman who broke loose from a maul deep inside Trinity’s territory and crashed through Trinity’s defence to plant a historic try – the first points in the game and the series. The conversion was missed by Royal but they had a crucial 3-0 lead.
Trinity launched some fierce attacks in the last ten minutes but the Royal defence held strong and they ran out worthy winners by the solitary try and Schoorman was the toast of the College.
Unfortunately for Royal, Schoorman was injured in the last few minutes of the game and was forced to miss the return leg in Kandy. Trinity won the return leg 6-0 scoring a try and a penalty and thus was awarded the coveted Bradby Shield in the inaugural year with an overall aggregate of 6-3.
Schoorman was a keen follower of all Bradby Shield games and was an enthusiastic participant at the annual Old Royalists Rugby Dinner where he was always accorded a special place at the head table.Schoorman hailed from a sporting family and his two younger brothers Sam and Dick were the national champions in badminton and table tennis respectively. Sam won the national badminton crown twice whilst Dick set up a local record when he won the national table tennis title an unprecedented six times.
Reproduced below is an interview with Schoorman in 1997 conducted by a Sunday newspaper:
Schoorman scored first points in ‘Bradby’ series
When E.L. Bradby donated a shield for the winner of the rugby match between Royal and Trinity it was the first time ever that a trophy was at stake for a schools rugby football match.
In the historic first match in 1945, both sides were evenly matched and there was no scoring in the first half. The pattern continued in the second half with fine defences of both Royal and Trinity and it was only ten minutes before the end that the deadlock was broken.
A Royal three-quarter move was stalled by Trinity but in the ensuing loose maul the ball came Royal’s way and vice captain Fred Schoorman crashed through the Trinity defence and fell over near the corner flag.
The conversion was missed but Royal held on to their slender 3-0 lead till the final whistle.
The significance of his achievement hit Fred Schoorman only later. He had scored the first points in the biggest ever school rugby match.
We visited Schoorman, now 71, and the senior-most Royal Bradby player, in his home at Polgasowita and talked to him about the historic match.
“Memories have faded now but I recall we had one of the best sides those days with players of the calibre of Mahes Rodrigo – one of our finest scrum halves,” says Schoorman whose greatest regret was that he missed the return leg of that year when Trinity beat Royal 6-0 to take first possession of the Bradby Shield.
“I was badly concussed in the first game and had to miss the return”, said Schoorman.
“We were also fortunate to have the legendary B.C. Anghie as our Master in Charge of Rugger, Anghie would walk up and down the touchline shouting encouragement and he probably covered as much ground as any of our forwards,” said Schoorman, a former front row forward.
The game has seen many changes since that first match but it still retains that special magic about it that only a Bradby Shield can produce.
“We could barely afford rugby kits those days and had to put up with our injuries till they were attended to after the game. There were no luxuries like Salon Pas sprays for us, or even the ever popular ice and the injuries could not be attended to during a game” recalled Schoorman.
Schoorman tries not to miss out on the Bradby each year and has seen many great players in action. When asked who was the best player he had seen, Schoorman’s said that in his opinion he believed that former Royal skipper Jagath Fernando was probably the best ever schoolboy rugby player.
“He was a sheer joy to watch,” said Schoorman.