Bradby Shield Encounter

Infobox SL Interschool Tournaments
Tournament name = The Bradby Shield


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Sport = Rugby Union
Organizers =
Timeline = 1945¹ – present
Tournament format = Annual two-legged encounter
Tournament participants = Trinity College

Entrants =
Teams participated =
Winner = Trinity College (24 - 20)
Most wins = Trinity: 35 wins
Royal: 28 wins
Biggest win = Royal: 83 - 0 (2002)
Consecutive wins = Trinity: 6 wins (1952 - 1957)
Footnotes =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 highlight 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 stadium in Colombo, and the other in Bogambara stadium, 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.

History

Royal College and Trinity College were among the first 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 [http://www.rootsweb.com/~lkawgw/rcbradby.htm] , 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 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.

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 will be the 150th match between Royal and Trinity.

*In 64 Contests so far, Trinity leads the series having won the shield on no less than 35 occasions. Royal have won the shield on 28 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.

*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.

Past Winners

Matches 19
*Trinity 11
*Royal 6
*Drawn 2

Matches 20
*Trinity 9
*Royal 11
*Drawn 0

Matches 8
*Trinity 5
*Royal 3
*Drawn 0

Overall Bradby Shield Record
*Played 127
*Trinity 59
*Royal 57Drawn 11

See also

*Royal College
*Trinity College