Tale of two scrum halves and Bradby fever
It is the time of the year when school rugby would have been consumed by Bradby fever as Royal and Trinity lock horns in Colombo and Kandy for the ultimate prize. However, just as the best laid plans of men and mice can go awry, the coronavirus pandemic has affected the blue ribbon event in the rugby calendar which has a rich history dating back to 1945.
The first leg of the 76th edition of the series was scheduled to be held on Saturday May 30 at Royal Sports Complex followed by the second leg at Pallekele Rugby Stadium on June 13. In a bid to relive memories and rekindle the spirit of the Bradby, the Sunday Times spoke to the two captains of the 1983 encounter Sriyan Cooray (Royal) and Ashan Ratwatte (Trinity) who were to be honoured as chief guests on the occasion.
It is a fascinating story of the scions of two great rugby families who played the game hard but in the true spirit, maintaining the highest tradition of the sport and the Bradby. In a strange coincidence their paths crossed in the field of play from a small age and their encounters in the Bradby only strengthened their bonds of friendship which has lasted nearly four decades.
Ashan Ratwatte had the unique honour of receiving the shield from the donor himself Mr. E.L. Bradby himself while Sriyan Cooray had the satisfaction of seeing Royal win the centenary clash after being denied the trophy himself when he was floored by a try-saving last-gasp tackle by Dushyantha Wijesinghe.It is also apt to remember the departed souls from the 1983 encounter who contributed to the rich heritage that is Bradby. Among them are Ruwan Gunasekera, Arjuna de Silva, Anjana Dissanayake and Dushyantha Wijesinghe from Trinity and Joshua Sureshkumar, Sisila Ratnayake, Sanjay Sigera and Sampath Agalawatte from Royal. May they attain Heavenly bliss just as they lit up this beautiful game.