Royal draw first Bradby blood
Royal player Radesh Wijeratne attempts to make a breakthrough - Pix by Amila Gamage
Royal College put forth a brilliant exhibition of sustained rugby to thwart Trinity College ambitions and put themselves in the line for a possible double triumph when they beat a fighting Trinity outfit 22-17 in the first leg of the Bradby Shield at Pallekele.
Royal scored from two goals, a try, and a penalty, while Trinity got their points through a goal and two tries. For all the pre-match talk of Royal’s outsides, it was the pack that set up the triumph with a dominating performance. They had the better of Trinity in the line outs, and in the loose, they were quite ferocious and succeeded in tackling the latter to a stand-still.
Trinity was superb in attack in the last eight minutes or so, when they kept attacking the Royal line. They tried everything, inside passes, short taps, chips and crashes through the defence. Royal at this stage seemed to be playing for the whistle and attempting to preserve their hard-won five point lead.
Even at the start of the game, it was Trinity who made the moves. There was a lovely burst by the Trinity centre, but the ball was dropped. Trinity also made a hash of a penalty when they opted to kick upfield. When Royal were penalised for not releasing the ball, they took a line out.
Reshan Bandaranaike, the winger, broke the ice when he touched down deep left. This was after Trinity had worked the line, the last defender was drawn and Bandaranaike had the easy task of falling over. Wijesinghe failed to add the extra points.
Centre Dange, who started, was dangerous and Royal had their hands full containing his menace. He lent a cutting edge to their attack. On a couple of occasions, the winners failed to find touch and threw away their advantage. After about 18 minutes, the situation changed noticeably. Though Nawfer messed up a penalty, the forwards picked up and drove forward to send the defence scurrying.
Sabith Feroze on the move
Trinity employed a neat grubber to pressurise the lone Royal defender. But he was able hold his ground. Royal scored in the 13th minute when their go-to-man Hamza Reeza squeezed through a few defenders to go over. This was after the centres had made some impressive runs to go through the gaps. Full back Nawfer converted and Royal had taken the lead (7-5). Royal’s centres maintained the pressure, with Thulaib Hassan involved in a good break. A minute before the break, Nawfer made no mistake with a penalty to give his team the lead at the break 10-5.
Royal got stack in a bit late, but they made up for it by imposing themselves on their opponents. Forwards and backs combined effectively in their forays. Trinity looked a bit stronger at the start of the second half. They attacked with purpose, but centre Dilshan, in particular, came up with some vital tackles. Trinity got their second try in the 12th minute when Lashan Wijesuriya was able to touch down. Wijesuriya added the extras for the home team to go back in front.
Not for long however, Royal now had recourse to their main weapon, the rolling maul, which they tended to use a bit more often in this half. Off one of these, prop Ashen Fernando was able to touch down. Trinity resisted for a while. But Fernando broke off and sped for the line. Shaqir did not fail his team. Royal was back in the lead at 17-12.
Trinity was lucky that a dropped pass, which could have made them pay dearly, didn’t matter as Royal was penalised for being off side. Reeza, the prolific try-scorer, came to Royal’s rescue again when he found space among some defenders to touch down. Nawfer failed and Royal was ahead 22-12 at this stage.
Warren Weerakoon, the Trinity centre, gave his team some impetus and momentum by getting a much needed try. After a scrum then yards out, Boyagoda fed Weerakoon on the blind side. He was tackled on the line almost, but he had the presence of mind to roll over and touch down. The conversion was easy, but it was kicked astray.
Royal went through hell in the last few minutes in which their only ambition was to deny the Trinitians another score. They succeeded, but only just, as they endured several scary moments.
On balance, Royal deserved to win. However, the margin being a mere five points, it would be foolish to write off Trinity’s chances in the second leg. Yet, Royal could hold their heads high, having tamed the Lions in their own den.
Whatever happens on June 3, Royal have laid their hands on the League title, which seemed a daunting task at one period of time. They started slowly and almost slipped once or twice. But when it mattered, they delivered. Coach Sanath Martis’ calm, guiding hands was much in evidence. A rare smile, shortly before the end said it all.
Referee: Dinka Peiris