Bradby Shield Encounter

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 two of the most prestigious schools in the country and 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 Trinity College Rugby Stadium in Pallekelle. 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 drawing over 20,000 spectators and watched live on television by millions more.^[1]

History

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,^[2] 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

The Shield, designed and made by Kandian silversmiths was donated by Principal E.L. Bradby on his departure from Ceylon in 1945. It is a wooden disk decorated with intricate traditional Kandyan silver works.

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.

Venue

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 was the Bogambara Stadium, but the second leg of the 68th Bradby would be played in Trinity's home ground; Pallekelle Stadium

Past winners

Matches 20

• Trinity 11
• Royal 7
• Drawn 2

Matches 20

• Trinity 9
• Royal 8
• Drawn 3

Matches 19

• Trinity 11
• Royal 6
• Drawn 2

Matches 20

• Trinity 7
• Royal 12
• Drawn 1

Matches 20

• Trinity 8
• Royal 9
• Drawn 3

Matches 20

• Trinity 9
• Royal 11
• Drawn 0

Matches 18

• Trinity 9
• Royal 9
• Drawn 0

Overall Bradby Shield Record

• Played 137
• Trinity 64
• Royal 63
• Drawn 11

Notable persons who have played

^[3]

The Souvenir

Since 1977, the Interact Club of Royal College publishes the "Bradby Shield Souvenir" to mark the Colombo leg of the match.^[4]

Bradby Express

The Bradby Express was the name given to the normal Intercity Express train service provided by the Sri Lanka Railways which was filled with students and old boys from both schools 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 Royal College Group of 2007 booked a private train, and named it The Bradby Express for the Royalists traveling up for the encounter. It should be noted that the current train is not the traditional Bradby Express in that it is neither the normal intercity train, nor does it cater to an equal number of passengers from both colleges, as did the old train.^[5]

Trivia

• Old Boys of both schools use the Bradby as a convenient time to organize get-togethers, and to engage in much revelry...
• The record for the largest margin of victory was set in 2002 by Royal College, winning on an aggregate of 83-00.
• In 1983, the Principal and Mrs. E. L. Bradby visited Sri Lanka as the guests of The Royal College Union for the Second Leg match - this was the centenary Rugby Football match between Royal and Trinity.
• The 2008 Second Leg encounter in Kandy was the 150th match between Royal and Trinity.
• In 67 Contests so far, Trinity leads the series having won the shield on no less than 37 occasions. Royal have won the shield on 30 occasions. Both Bradby encounters in 1992 ended in draws, 0-0 in Kandy and 3-3 in Colombo, thus creating history as the first and so far the only "Tied" Bradby.
• The highest sequence of wins in the series is 6; by Trinity, between 1952-1957. Royal won the shield 4 years back to back from 2001-2004.
• In 2010, a total of 126 points was scored by both teams(Royal 72 - Trinity 54) which is a series record.
• Only 1 encounter was played between the schools in 1971 due to security reasons. The Shield was presented to Royal College on the result of the 1st leg, at an assembly by the then principal of Trinity College; Mr E.L.Fernando.

See also

• Royal College
• Trinity College

References

• Royal College Website, Interact Club

External links

• Bradby Shield Encounter
• The team that made history for Royal