• TCK to break 10-year hoodoo, or RC to go six-in-a-row?

Trinity College Rugby Stadium in Pallekele, surrounded by the lush Digana mountains, will be the epicentre of the historic decider of the 78th Bradby Shield with the all-important return leg (2nd leg) set to kick off tomorrow (7). Winning the 1st leg 17-16 in Colombo, the hosts with a slender 1-point lead are eyeing for the Holy Grail since Tarinda Ratwatte’s 2014 outfit’s triumph at the same venue, whilst the visiting Tuskers are just within reach to equalise the all-time winning spree (six in a row) set during Trinity’s golden era 1952-1957. 

Interestingly, the referee for the game, Brayden Hudson – Australian by way of Qatar – will go into history books to be arguably one of the youngest to officiate a Bradby Shield game at the age of 20. Manoj Jayatissa, the Trinity 1985 skipper, will grace the game as chief guest.

The Shield has been resting at Reid Avenue since Royal victory (Captain Bhanuka Gamage) in 2015. Sans the second drawn encounter of the series in the memorable 2016 second leg dramatic end, Royalists have come out victorious from 2017 to 2023 (2020-21 encounters not played due to Covid-19), thus maintaining a five-in-a-row streak.

In the meantime, there are students who have entered Trinity and gone up to their O/Ls and  A/Ls now, who wouldn't know what winning the Bradby Shield is all about, or would have experienced an assembly where their 1st XV heroes show off the holy grail – the ultimate prized possession for any Royalist or Trinitian. They’ve won the 1st battle, but will they win the war? That will be answered after 70 minutes on Saturday (7) evening, with the chilly breeze hovering around the Lions Den. 

Bradby Shield History at Pallekele (Lions Den)

• Trinity leads the win tally at Pallekele, clinching seven games against Royal’s four
• The very first Bradby Shield game at the Trinity Stadium in Pallekele was played in 1997
• Trinity won the maiden game under Nuwan Fernando, beating Royal, led by Abdellah Yusuf, 14-6 in a heavily physical battle 
• Previously, most of the Bradby encounters in the hill capital were played in Bogambara, with some at Nittawela, and a very few at University Grounds Peradeniya 
• After 1997, the Bradby saw its return to Pallekele in 2012, where Kaneel Seneviratne’s Lions beat Arshad Jamaldeen’s Tuskers 36-20 in the 2nd Leg to win the Shield with a 70-31 aggregate recording Trinity’s highest points in history 
• Royal tasted their maiden Pallekele Bradby win in 2015 by the tiniest of margins (23-22) under Bhanuka Gamage 
• Trinity, under Shahim Singalaxana, scored the highest points at Pallekele 37-25 in the 2013 1st leg (2nd leg was captained by Halique Wadood)
• Royal’s highest score at Pallekele came in 2019 under Thulaib Hassen, when they beat TCK 34-17 in the 1st leg
• Pallekele has seen some very close games: In 2014 TCK won (19-18); in 2015 RC won (23-22); in 2023 TCK won (13-10)

Minimum requirements for Royal and Trinity to retain/regain the Bradby?

• Royal just needs a draw on aggregate points to retain the shield
• Trinity’s minimum requirement would be to draw the game (by virtue of the 1st leg 1-point win) to savour the silverware after a decade-long wait.

End of the day, it's all to play for and the winner takes it all in what is poised to be arguably one the most looked-forward games in the island nation’s schoolboy rugby history. Ultimately, the team who’ll stage manage their most important 70 minutes of rugby lives will take home the holy grail.