| The Bradby Shield | |
| Sport | Rugby Union |
| Timeline | 19451 – present |
| Tournament format | Annual two-legged encounter |
| Participants | Royal College Trinity College |
| Current champion | Trinity College |
| Most successful | Trinity: 36 wins Royal: 30 wins |
| Biggest winning margin | Royal: 83 - 0 (2002) |
| Most consecutive wins | Trinity: 6 wins (1952 - 1957) |
| 1 Although played as the Bradby only from 1945, the series has been held uninterrupted since 1920. The 2008 Second Leg encounter was the 150th match between the two schools | |
The Bradby Shield Encounter - commonly known as "The Bradby" - is the blue ribbon of Sri Lanka's school rugby union season. It is played annually between traditional rivals Royal College, Colombo, and Trinity College, Kandy. The encounter consists of two legs, one being played in the Royal College Sports Complex in Colombo, and the other in Bogambara Stadium in Kandy. The winner is decided on the aggregate of the scores from these two matches, usually played a few weeks apart. The Bradby is generally played in late August or early September and is the most watched rugby match in the country, drawing more spectators than either inter-club or international fixtures.It is also an important social event of the Sri Lanka's elite.
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Royal College and Trinity College were the first elite schools in Sri Lanka to take up the sport of rugby union, and the first historic match between these schools was played on the 31st of July, 1920. This was made a yearly encounter, with Trinity College winning for the first 21 years, until the Royalists recorded their first victory in 1941. In 1945, the principal of Royal College, E.L. Bradby,[1] put forward the idea of playing an annual two-match series, to which the principal of Trinity College, Mr C. E. Simithraaratchy, readily agreed. To ensure the success of the series, Principal Bradby offered a shield which was to be held for a period of one year by the winner of the series. The series has been played annually and uninterrupted ever since.
The Shield itself, donated by Principal Bradby, is a wooden disk decorated with intricate traditional Kandyan metalwork. On winning the series, the shield is presented to the winning teams captain at an award ceremony held on the playing field immediately following the end of the second leg. The winning team is then privileged to hand the shield over to their school, where it is kept on display until next year, where it will again be up for grabs.
One leg of the Bradby Shield Encounter is played in Colombo and the other in Kandy. The venue for the game in Colombo had been Sugathadasa Stadium until matches were transferred to the Royal College Rugby Ground in the early 2000s. The Kandy venue is the Bogambara Stadium.
| Year | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC | TC | RC | TC | ||
| 1945 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 06 | Trinity |
| 1946 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 08 | Trinity |
| 1947 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 06 | Trinity |
| 1948 | 06 | 05 | 08 | 06 | Royal |
| 1949 | 05 | 03 | 08 | 08 | Royal |
| 1950 | 03 | 06 | 03 | 05 | Trinity |
| 1951 | 19 | 03 | 13 | 05 | Royal |
| 1952 | 00 | 12 | 00 | 12 | Trinity |
| 1953 | 00 | 13 | 03 | 13 | Trinity |
| 1954 | 00 | 05 | 05 | 06 | Trinity |
| 1945–1954 | Trinity 7 - Royal 3 | ||||
Matches 20
| Year | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC | TC | RC | TC | ||
| 1955 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 06 | Trinity |
| 1956 | 00 | 15 | 00 | 11 | Trinity |
| 1957 | 03 | 08 | 08 | 09 | Trinity |
| 1958 | 06 | 00 | 00 | 00 | Royal |
| 1959 | 05 | 00 | 06 | 00 | Royal |
| 1960 | 03 | 05 | 00 | 08 | Trinity |
| 1961 | 06 | 03 | 08 | 00 | Royal |
| 1962 | 05 | 00 | 00 | 09 | Trinity |
| 1963 | 06 | 06 | 00 | 05 | Trinity |
| 1964 | 03' | 00 | 14 | 06 | Royal |
| 1955–1964 | Trinity 6 - Royal 4 | ||||
Matches 20
| Year | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC | TC | RC | TC | ||
| 1965 | 08 | 03 | 03 | 03 | Royal |
| 1966 | 03 | 03 | 03 | 08 | Trinity |
| 1967 | 03 | 07 | 03 | 08 | Trinity |
| 1968 | 19 | 00 | 05 | 03 | Royal |
| 1969 | 00 | 08 | 03 | 09 | Trinity |
| 1970 | 03 | 19 | 12 | 16 | Trinity |
| 1971 | 22 | 03 | "-" | "-" | Royal |
| 1972 | 09 | 08 | 03 | 10 | Trinity |
| 1973 | 18 | 04 | 04 | 12 | Royal |
| 1974 | 03 | 18 | 09 | 12 | Trinity |
| 1966–1974 | Trinity 6 - Royal 4 | ||||
Matches 19
| Year | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC | TC | RC | TC | ||
| 1975 | 13 | 11 | 21 | 03 | Royal |
| 1976 | 36 | 00 | 25 | 06 | Royal |
| 1977 | 06 | 12 | 04 | 10 | Trinity |
| 1978 | 00 | 00 | 08 | 04 | Royal |
| 1979 | 03 | 04 | 18 | 00 | Royal |
| 1980 | 07 | 03 | 16 | 03 | Royal |
| 1981 | 03 | 16 | 10 | 03 | Trinity |
| 1982 | 06 | 09 | 04 | 06 | Trinity |
| 1983 | 18 | 04 | 04 | 12 | Trinity |
| 1984 | 06 | 00 | 06 | 00 | Royal |
| 1975–1984 | Trinity 4 - Royal 6 | ||||
Matches 20
| Year | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC | TC | RC | TC | ||
| 1985 | 09 | 18 | 04 | 03 | Trinity |
| 1986 | 03 | 06 | 03 | 07 | Trinity |
| 1987 | 03 | 07 | 03 | 19 | Trinity |
| 1988 | 24 | 00 | 13 | 00 | Royal |
| 1989 | 09 | 03 | 09 | 03 | Royal |
| 1990 | 23 | 08 | 06 | 00 | Royal |
| 1991 | 04 | 12 | 10 | 25 | Trinity |
| 1992 | 03 | 03 | 00 | 00 | Tied |
| 1993 | 03 | 00 | 10 | 03 | Royal |
| 1994 | 10 | 03 | 08 | 08 | Royal |
| 1985–1994 | Trinity 4 - Royal 5 Tied-1 | ||||
Matches 20
| Year | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC | TC | RC | TC | ||
| 1995 | 03 | 06 | 06 | 22 | Trinity |
| 1996 | 03 | 30 | 03 | 12 | Trinity |
| 1997 | 06 | 14 | 18 | 11 | Trinity |
| 1998 | 18 | 20 | 42 | 11 | Royal |
| 1999 | 10 | 19 | 07 | 13 | Trinity |
| 2000 | 25 | 32 | 20 | 17 | Trinity |
| 2001 | 12 | 06 | 16 | 00 | Royal |
| 2002 | 39 | 00 | 44 | 00 | Royal |
| 2003 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 08 | Royal |
| 2004 | 41 | 06 | 10 | 00 | Royal |
| 1995–2004 | Trinity 5 - Royal 5 | ||||
Matches 20
| Year | 1st Leg | 2nd Leg | Winners | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC | TC | RC | TC | ||
| 2005 | 06 | 36 | 07 | 33 | Trinity |
| 2006 | 10 | 21 | 05 | 26 | Trinity |
| 2007 | 20 | 12 | 15 | 11 | Royal |
| 2008 | 12 | 24 | 08 | 00 | Trinity |
| 2009 | 23 | 12 | 31 | 15 | Royal |
| 2010 | 38 | 37 | 34 | 17 | Royal |
| 2011 | 33 | 25 | 5 | 40 | Trinity |
| 2005–2011 | Trinity 4 - Royal 3 | ||||
Matches 14
Overall Bradby Shield Record
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The Interact Club of Royal College publishes the "Bradby Shield Souvenir" to mark the Colombo leg of the match.[3]
The Bradby Express is the normal intercity train service provided by the Sri Lanka Railways which was filled with students and old boys heading for the Kandy leg of the encounter hence the name the "Bradby Express." Originating from the 1950s it was continued annually until the mid-1980s when it was stopped due to security concerns with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War and the Insurrection 1987-89. The tradition was revived with the effort of the Royal College Group of 2007 who booked a special train exclusively for the Bradby fans.[4]