Spirit of Bradby is just amazing – Sriyan Cooray
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E.L. Bradby being introduced to the Royal team at the 100th match of the Bradby
“Bradby is the ultimate pinnacle. The culmination of everything is Bradby. It is much bigger than just two games. It’s not one moment in time. It is something you experience right through from your younger days. Even at the youngest under 10 age group you often find players and parents saying with pride ‘Mage putha Bradby Gahanewa’ (my son is playing the Bradby). The Bradby is only played by the 1st XV, all other age groups play the Royal-Trinity game. But from a young age boys have the feeling ‘I am playing Bradby’,” said 1983 Royal captain Sriyan Cooray on the significance of the Bradby.
“We put the same effort to play any other school but for us the Bradby is the blue riband of rugby. That is what is most important to us,” said Cooray who led Royal to victory in the 100th match between Royal and Trinity.
“Wearing the blue and gold jersey and playing the Bradby Shield is every Royalist’s dream. It is THE game for us. We give it all on the field absolutely no quarter taken or given. But the spirit we played with is just amazing. For instance, we may tackle a Trinitian hard to the ground, but when we get up we give our hand to pick him up,” said Cooray.
“A lot of my friends are Trinity rugby players. We have special respect for Trinity. In my opinion from all the schools, Trinitians are absolute gentlemen,” he said.
“Ashan and I played against each other from under 10 all the way up to 1st XV. I played 1st XV when I was 15 years old, so did Ashan. We just kept moving right through and then captained the 1st XV against each other,” said Cooray.
He recalls the spirit and the sportsmanship in which it was played though unfortunately today it is eroding in general.
“Today, that sportsmanship has gone to a large extent, whereas in our time it was very different,” said Cooray who comes with a rich pedigree with his maternal uncles Mahes Rodrigo (a Sri Lanka double international in cricket and rugby) and Devaka Rodrigo having played the game at the highest level for school and country. Sriyan himself came under the tutelage of the icon of the sport Summa Navaratnam when he was just seven.
“From a very small age we used to have a rugger ball somewhere in the house. Every Sunday all the families used to meet at my grandfather’s. We used to just play around there with the ball. I think it was Mahes mama who took me to my first rugby practice with Mr Summa Navaratnam at CR&FC. My first rugby was under Summa Sir,” said Cooray who captained the Royal athletics team in 1982/83.
“My introduction to club rugby in 1984 was also special as about six schoolboys Asanga Seneviratne, Ajith Weeratunge, Janaka Lenaduwa, Ajith Gunasekera, Dilroy Fernando and myself played the knock out tournament for CR&FC. I scored a try on the wing at the last minute to win the inaugural Premadasa Trophy tournament,” he recalled Sriyan.
Talking about the year he captained, he said: “We were unfortunate to lose in Kandy 14-6. I believe we were the better side. We shouldn’t have lost. We were all smarting from the loss and determined to come back strong and give it our best in the 2nd leg. That year the Colombo leg was very special because it was the 100th Royal-Trinity game and the donor of the shield past Principal of Royal, Mr. E.L Bradby came to Sri Lanka. Playing in front of him was special to us. Even though we didn’t win the Bradby, winning the Centenary game 10-6 was a great achievement for us.”
That match will also be remembered for a try-saving tackle by the late Dushyantha Wijesinghe on Cooray. “I was diving over the line and got tackled by Dushyantha and unfortunately got injured. If I had scored that try, we would have drawn the Bradby and possibly won it if the late Sampath (Agalawatte) had converted. It was a great game,” said Cooray who played in the Bradby for four years.
“The first year (1980) under the captaincy of Sujanthakumar was memorable because I scored a try and Royal won the Bradby. 1981 was a special year for me because my brother Sujeeva captained. That year, we lost in Kandy and won in Colombo but lost the Bradby. In 1982, under the captaincy of Hiran Muttiah, we lost the Bradby. In 1983, we lost only to Dharmaraja narrowly in Kandy and to Trinity. The 2nd leg of the Bradby was special to me. I was very fortunate to have a fantastic team, though sadly four of them have passed away,” said Cooray.
Looking to this year’s encounter, Cooray cautioned Royal to be wary of Trinity who have not won the coveted shield since 2014.
“This season is very unpredictable because the teams haven’t been able to do their training. Even if they get back into season, it will be difficult. They are not going to be as fit and up to the standard that normally could be expected. Having said that, the same applies to Trinity. I am confident that (Dushantha) Lewke and the Royal team will come out strong and confident ready to take on the challenge,” he said.