Royal defence silence Trinity roar
The encounter had been billed as a clash of titans, and it lived up to its billing. Royal, labelled the underdogs against the newly crowned league winners, dug deep into their reserves of courage and showed nerves of steel. They led 15-5 at half-time and then defended like warriors in a scoreless second half, refusing to concede even a single point. Their tally came through two tries, a conversion and a penalty, while Trinity managed only a solitary unconverted try.
Defence was the deciding factor, where Royal outsmarted Trinity to hand the Dialog Schools League champions their second defeat of the season and gain a 10-point buffer for the second leg
From the kick-off, Trinity had a golden chance to settle early nerves. In just the second minute, fly-half Shan Althaf had a straightforward 22-metre penalty in front of the posts, but he pushed it wide, stunning the home crowd. It proved a sign of things to come, on a day when Trinity’s boots went cold and Royal’s grit shone.
Royal skipper and winger Amika Samarasinghe opened the scoring in the seventh minute after a sequence of slick passes. He sprinted down the left corner and touched down for an unconverted try. Royal drew first blood, leading 5-0, and their confidence grew.
Their forwards thundered forward like battering rams, while the backs ran with purpose. Trinity’s defence began to crack under the relentless pressure. Four minutes later, No.8 Disas Pathirana smashed through the midfield channel with brute force to score Royal’s second try. Centre Shimak Shafeek added the extras, stretching the lead to 12-0 by the 11th minute.
At this stage, Royal were rampant. But winger Dinuka Perera was sin-binned in the 12th minute for foul play, reducing them to 14 men and testing their resilience.
Trinity finally found their rhythm in the 28th minute. From a scrum deep in Royal territory, Althaf released winger Amaan Manzil, who offloaded perfectly to full-back Abdul Malik. Malik carved through with a dazzling run to score, but Althaf missed the conversion. Trinity were on the board at 12-5.
Just when Trinity threatened a comeback, Royal struck again. In the 31st minute, Shafeek coolly slotted a 22-metre penalty to give Royal a 15-5 lead and silence the roaring Lions’ Den. At half-time, Royal held a commanding 10-point cushion. Their forwards dominated the breakdown, their lineouts were sharp, and their wingers full of running.
The second half was about survival. Royal were reduced to 14 again when flanker Ishen Hiran was sin-binned in the 45th minute, and worse followed when full-back Yuwan Pathirana received a yellow card in the 55th. Even so, with a one-man advantage, Trinity were unable to break through.
Pic by Shane Seneviratne
For much of the half, Royal were pinned inside their own territory, but their defence was rock solid, an area Trinity had mastered all season. They tackled low and hard, refusing to yield an inch. Every Trinity surge was repelled with ferocity.
The Lions enjoyed possession and territory but lacked killer instinct. Their attack was blunt, their handling erratic, and their kicking wayward. By the 60th minute the score still read 15-5, the pressure mounting as the minutes ticked away. Royal, however, would not crack.
In the final ten minutes, Royal introduced fresh legs. Their replacements carried strongly, slowed the tempo and starved Trinity of quick ball. In the 67th minute, Royal’s forwards nearly barged over again, only to be held up just short, another reminder of who asked the questions on the night.
When the final whistle blew, Royal had not scored a single second-half point, but they had not needed to. Their defence had done the talking. Against all odds, and despite three yellow cards, the Royal Tuskers tamed the Trinity Lions in their own den.
The 15-5 victory gives Royal a valuable 10-point cushion heading into the return leg at the Royal Complex in a fortnight. Trinity, the league champions, will have to scale a mountain if they are to reclaim the Bradby Shield.
Royal’s triumph was not about flair but about heart, grit and discipline. They rolled up their sleeves, absorbed everything thrown at them, and stood tall. As the old saying goes, rugby is played not only with the body but also with the heart, and last night, Royal showed theirs was the biggest in Kandy. Credit, too, must go to South African referee David Jacobus Brouwer, who controlled the game smoothly and flawlessly.