Second half surge helps Trinity sink Royal
Royal could not maintain their stronghold after the second half as Trinity enter the second leg of the 77th Bradby Shield with a three-point buffer
Proving the fact of unpredictability at the 76-year-old encounter Trinity College made an impressive comeback to record an unlikely 13-10 win against traditional rivals Royal College in the first leg of the 77th Bradby Shield encounter, also an official game of the Dialog Schools Rugby League 2023, at Pallekele yesterday.
Trinity were almost humbled by visitors Royal, who totally dominated the first half and transferred the pressure on the home side, in front of a packed Pallekele Stadium. They spent more time on the Trinity half, and were on the offensive, and led the halftime 10-0 through two unconverted tries, their only scoring possibility of the entire game.
Yet, a resolute game by 16-year-old flyhalf Shan Althaf, became the highlight of the Bradby Shield first leg game. The youngster was evidently under tremendous pressure, after kicking astray three possible penalty kicks. But it was he who helped Trinity most to reap the rewards of a memorable comeback in the second half.
Althaf missed an early penalty opportunity in the second minute itself, after Royal conceded an inane infraction, but the visitors made a strong comeback to retaliate with their trademark rolling maul. This obviously put the Trinitians on the back foot, as Royal continued their onslaught until fullback Philio Calyanaratne received a perfect offload from the forwards to land their first try in the 12th minute on the right flank. They were left to content with a slender 5-0 lead after scrumhalf Simak Shafeek failed with the conversion.
Althaf had his second opportunity to cut down the deficit with a penalty, offered for an offside offence, but he failed to put over a straightforward kick under pressure. With the mounting pressure on the home side, they were in the receiving end, when Royal capitalised through their trademark rolling maul as lock Buwaneka Senanayake crossed over after a pick-and-run move on the left. After Shafeek’s second kick attempt failed Royal were still leading 10-0 up until halftime. Trinity youngster Althaf missed his third penalty shot just before the halftime, making his Bradby debut a horrid one.
Soon after the turnaround Trinity indicated they are not pushovers and were on the attack until they found a breakthrough. Centre Rakingu Herath made a brilliant move to land on the left flank, challenged by the Royal flyhalf Thivain Perera, as referee Ishanka Abeykoon had no other choice than to refer the try to the Television Match Official, who ruled out the scoring opportunity. It was clearly visible that Herath failed to ground the ball clean.
Althaf, who was having a hard time, finally found his kicking boots when he was successful in putting over his fourth kicking attempt as Trinity trailed 3-10 in the 47th minute. Trinity, whose luck nowhere near until then, turned tables to breach the 54th minute after breaking all shackles of a solid Royal defence to score through third row forward Thisanga Dissanayake, as Althaf added the extra points to level the scores 10-all.
Royal missed out a simple penalty in the 64th minute when Shafeek failed with his third kicking attempt, which eventually proved costly, as his nemesis Althaf brilliantly put over a penalty that came three minutes later to put Trinity in the lead 13-10. Royal made inroads to retaliate but Trinity had changed their soft skin to thwart them and force errors, ending the game with a slight three-point advantage and an unlikely win for Trinity.
Royal would have to look into their on-field tactics, as they conceded as much as 17 penalties against the eight of Trinity. This will be a crucial factor for Royal, who will host the second leg of the 77th Bradby Shield encounter in two weeks at the Royal College Sports Complex.