Trinity win second leg, but Royal retain the Shield on aggregate
Royal College weathered a storm and clung on to the Bradby Shield, sealing the 79th edition of the two-leg contest on an aggregate of 18-13, despite losing the second leg 8-3 to Trinity College at the Royal College Sports Complex in Reid Avenue yesterday.
The match was a real arm-wrestle. Trinity drew first blood, hit hard in the opening minutes, and even managed to turn the tables on the home team, who stunned the league champions in the first leg a fortnight ago by 15-5. But when the dust settled, it was Royal who held their nerve, relying on the 10-point cushion earned in Pallekele two weeks ago to bring the Bradby Shield back to Reid Avenue.
Trinity came out firing from the first whistle. Their big prop, Achintha Jayasena, bulldozed his way over for a whitewash after a pick-and-go move in the fourth minute. The try was a statement of intent, but centre Sadeesha Weerawansa failed to add the extras, leaving Trinity with a slim 5-0 lead.
Royal, rattled by the early blow, had two chances to steady the ship. Flyhalf Shimak Shafeek lined up penalty attempts in the eighth and 10th minutes but both went astray. Those missed kicks came back to haunt Royal, who could have nudged ahead but instead found themselves chasing the game.
Trinity too left points on the field. Flyhalf Shan Althaf was handed a penalty in the 22nd minute, but his kick cruelly ricocheted off the left upright. At the breather, the scoreboard still read 5-0 in favour of Trinity — a half of missed opportunities and mounting pressure.
After lemons, Trinity looked to eat into Royal’s first leg advantage. Their forwards began to punch holes in Royal’s defence, and in the 61st minute they were rewarded. Althaf, who had earlier been denied by the woodwork, slotted a penalty with aplomb to stretch the lead to 8-0.
At that stage, Trinity had whittled Royal’s aggregate cushion down to just two points. The Bradby Shield, once again, was on a knife’s edge.
But cometh the hour, cometh the man. Royal flyhalf Edris Farouk stepped up in the 66th minute with nerves of steel, drilling over a 35-metre penalty to put his side on the board. That three-pointer not only reduced the second leg deficit but also widened Royal’s aggregate lead back to five (18-13). It was the kick that effectively nailed the Shield shut.
At the final whistle, Trinity had their noses in front, winning the second leg 8-3. But it was a bittersweet victory. The Bradby Shield, rugby’s most prized possession in the local schools arena, slipped through their fingers.
Royal, despite being outscored on the day, lifted the Bradby Shield thanks to the 15-5 win at Pallekele in the first leg. Their 10-point carryover proved golden, enough to withstand Trinity’s late surge in Colombo.
The match was decided by fine margins — a tale of missed chances and pressure kicks. Trinity’s missed conversion and penalty in the first half left them with too much ground to cover. Had even one of those gone over, the equation could have been different.
Royal too were guilty of poor goal-kicking early on, but their cool-headed composure in the dying minutes showed the mark of champions. Farouk’s penalty was the turning point, steadying the ship when Trinity were threatening to snatch the tide.
For Trinity, this was a case of ‘so near, yet so far’. They had the game by the scruff of the neck but failed to land the knockout punch. Their victory in Colombo will be remembered, but the Bradby Shield stays in Reid Avenue.