Bradby Shield

The Bradby Shield Encounter, colloquially referred to as The Bradby, is an event within Sri Lanka's school rugby union season. This annual fixture takes place between two renowned boys’ schools in the country, namely Royal College, Colombo, and Trinity College, Kandy. The encounter involves two legs, with one currently held at the Royal College Sports Complex in Colombo and the other at the Trinity College Rugby Stadium in Pallekele. The winner of the competition is determined based on the aggregate of scores from both matches, typically played a couple of weeks apart.

This rugby fixture garners significant attention from spectators across the country. It is considered the most widely viewed rugby match in Sri Lanka, drawing larger crowds than both inter-club and international fixtures. This important event serves as a social gathering for the current and past pupils, their families, extended families and well-wishers with near-capacity attendance at venues and a significant viewership for the live broadcasts, both domestically and internationally.

History

Royal College and Trinity College were among the pioneers in embracing the game of rugby union in Ceylon, with their maiden match held on 31 July 1920, marking a historic milestone. Subsequently, this encounter evolved into a yearly tradition, where Trinity College maintained an unbeaten streak for the first two decades, until their first defeat to Royal College in 1941. Notably, in 1945, E. L. Bradby, the Principal of Royal College, extended an offer to C. E. Simithraaratchy, the Principal of Trinity College, proposing the donation of a coveted Shield. Mr Simithraaratchy accepted this proposal. The Shield was to be contested annually, with the victor being the college that achieved the highest total score over the two-leg series, one leg played in Colombo and the other in Kandy, as initiated in 1943.

This annual event has persevered through the years, with the exception of the year 1971, where only the first leg was played due to the 1971 JVP insurrection. The Shield was presented to Royal College, the victors of the first leg. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the event in both 2020 and 2021, marking the only other time in which this event could not take place.

The Shield

The shield, crafted by Kandyan silversmiths, was presented to the series by Principal E. L. Bradby before leaving Ceylon in 1945. It is a wooden disk adorned with traditional Kandyan silverwork, symbolising victory.

After the second leg of the series, the shield is awarded to the winning team's captain during an on-field ceremony. The team retains the trophy until the next year's competition.

Venue

The Bradby Shield encounter is generally played in two legs, one in Colombo and the other in Kandy. Historically, the Colombo match was played at Longden Place, and since 1987, at the Sugathadasa Stadium. Matches were relocated to the Royal College Sports Complex in 2002, where they have been hosted ever since. Meanwhile, the Kandy leg of the tournament was held at the Bogambara Stadium or at the Nittawela Rugby Stadium. Since 2012, this event has been contested at Trinity College's home ground, Trinity College Rugby Stadium in Pallekele.

Locations and key abbreviations

Royal vs. Trinity rugby matches: 1920–1944

Statistics

Results

Bradby Shield series: 1945–present

Statistics

Results of the last encounter

;78th Bradby Shield (first leg)

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;78th Bradby Shield (second leg)

Results

In other competitions: 1987–present

Statistics

Results of the last match

;Dialog Schools Rugby League Super Round – Week 2

Results

Head-to-head summary: 1920–present

Notable people who have played

;Royalists
* Ken Balendra
* C. R. De Silva
* Lakdasa Dissanayake
* S. A. Dissanayake
* Harry Goonatilake (Pre-Bradby era)
* C. V. Gunaratne
* Maiya Gunasekara
* U.N.Gunasekera (Pre-Bradby era)
* Ajit Gunewardene
* Norman Gunewardene
* J. R. Jayewardene (Pre-Bradby era)
* Rajan Kadiragamar (Pre-Bradby era)
* Daya Perera
* Ratna Sivaratnam

;Trinitians
* Kemal Deen
* Jayantha Dhanapala
* Lakshman Kadirgamar
* Michael Kagwa Jnr. (Pre-Bradby era)
* Michael Kagwa Snr. (Pre-Bradby era)
* Denzil Kobbekaduwa
* Parami Kulatunga
* Lohan Ratwatte
* Tharinda Ratwatte
* Duncan White

Community engagement programmes

The souvenir

Since 1977, the Royal College Interact Club has published the ''Bradby Souvenir'' to commemorate the encounter's Colombo leg.

Bradby express

The Bradby express was the name given to the regular Intercity Express train service offered by the Sri Lanka Railways that was packed with students and old boys from both schools on their way to the Kandy leg of the encounter - hence the name Bradby Express. It started off in the 1950s and was held yearly until the mid-1980s, when it was halted due to security concerns resulting from the intensification of the Sri Lankan civil war and the Insurrection 1987-89.

Since the end of the conflict, a chartered train dubbed as The Bradby express has served this role, transporting Royal supporters to and from Kandy for the event.

Bradby golf

Former Royal and Trinity students compete for the G. C. Wickremesinghe Challenge Trophy, a golf tournament hosted at the Victoria Golf & Country Resort since 2016 before the Kandy leg of the Bradby Shield encounter.

Notable moments in Bradby Shield history

Match and series records

Other interesting events

* 1971: Due to security concerns stemming from the 1971 JVP Insurrection, only the first leg of the 27th encounter was staged between the schools. The Shield was awarded to Royal College as a result of the first leg at an assembly by Mr E. L. Fernando, the then-principal of Trinity College.
* 1983: Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Bradby travelled to Sri Lanka as guests of The Royal College Union for the second leg of the 39th encounter.
* 1987: J. R. Jayewardene, the President of Sri Lanka at the time, attended the second leg of the 43rd encounter as the chief guest. He had previously captained the Royal College team in 1924 against Trinity College, where they lost 3–37.
* 2013: The first leg of the 69th encounter, held on 1 June 2013 at the Trinity College Rugby Stadium, was officiated by Jonathan Kaplan, a renowned international rugby union referee with four Rugby World Cup appearances to his credit.
* 2019: The 2019 encounter marked the 75th anniversary of the series. The matches were postponed numerous times in the aftermath of the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings and was played under heightened security.
* 2020 and 2021: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series was suspended in 2020 and 2021, marking the first time in its history that the Bradby series was totally halted.
* 2024: The first and second legs of the 78th encounter, held on 24 August 2024 and 7 September 2024, respectively, were officiated by UAE-based referees Jaco de Wit and Brayden Hudson.

See also

* Rugby union in Sri Lanka

Notes

;Match reports

References

Further reading

*
*

External links

Royal College website

Royal College Union

Royal College Sports Complex

Royal Rugby

Trinity College website

Trinity Digital History

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradby Shield Encounter
Royal College, Colombo
Trinity College, Kandy
1945 establishments in Ceylon
Recurring sporting events established in 1945
Domestic rugby union competitions in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan sports trophies and awards
University and college rugby union competitions
Student sport in Sri Lanka