The Bradby Shield and the Royal-Trinity Rugby encounter
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The first Rugby match between the two Schools was played in 1920 and is one of the oldest School Rugby fixtures in Sri Lanka. (First School Rugby encounter was between Kingswood (1891) and Trinity in 1906, which ended in a 6-6 draw). The ‘Bradby Shield’ has been on offer since 1945. The 2017 ‘Bradby Fever’ is with us again now and it is a good time to recall the true age of the encounter itself, as against ‘The Bradby’.
Without question, the ‘Bradby Sheild’ encounter between Trinity College Kandy and Royal College Colombo is the “Blue Riband” of Sri Lanka Schools Rugby. All those connected with Royal and Trinity: two great Sri Lanka Schools, should be grateful to then Royal College Principal, E.L. Bradby, who, on his departure to England from Sri Lanka in 1945, offered the Shield. The Shield was to be decided on an aggregate of points from two matches: The ’1st Leg’ and the ’2nd Leg’. By his gesture, Mr Bradby intended to encourage school Rugby in general and the Trinity-Royal series in particular, at a time when the continuance of the sport was in doubt. Only Trinity (1906), Royal (1920), Zahira (1924) and St. Peters (1932) played the game then, at school level.
The writer recalls Mr Bradby as quite an old man by then, being the Chief Guest at a ‘Bradby’ at Longden Place in the late 1970s. Certainly, the Gentleman would have been delighted that, not only had his wish been fulfilled but also, ‘The Bradby’ had become an institution of its own in Sri Lanka sport. Whereas ‘The Bradby’ is on offer for the 73rd year and reference generally made to the 73rd in the Royal-Trinity series, let us not forget that, the encounter between the schools is much older, 97 years ago! That centenary will be celebrated soon.
Thereafter, other than for interruptions on 4 occasions in the 1920s, the series has continued unbroken since 1930. Interestingly, Royal beat Trinity only twice in the pre-’Bradby’ era but, came back with a bang since 1945, to win as many as 32 times, as against 39 by Trinity. The re-invigoration of Royal Rugby perhaps, owes much to Mr Bradby himself. The games played this year, therefore, reflects 93 years of the annual encounter. In terms of matches, the pre-’Bradby’ era counts 21 and the ‘Bradby’ series, 145, as only one game was played in 1971, due to the political unrest then prevailing in the country. That was won by Royal. The, then Trinity Principal, along with the Trinity Rugby Captain, visited a Royal College assembly the following week, to award the Shield to Royal, though the single match was not to be played for the trophy that year. In all, the tally now stands at 166 matches of traditional rivalry played in the best spirit of sportsmanship, over 97 years.
A record indeed! The present Boys of Royal and Trinity carry a heavy weight on their shoulders to keep this great game alive in its true tradition and spirit. More so, the “Old Boys” of the two schools owe it to their respective alma maters and to the present boys, to set an example of what this encounter is all about. Not to win at any cost, but play the game hard, in the true spirit of sportsmanship and friendly rivalry, in that unique ‘Bradby’ tradition.
Second Row
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