By: Ranil Prematilake

The prestigious Bradby Shield in its 78th encounter saw Trinity hit the 40th winning post. In retrospect, these were a set of boys who bore pain over the years to bring back the Holy Grail back to the precincts of its alma mater. However not before they had won the 2019 under-14 all-island championship and thereafter lost two lives and had their appointed captain incapacitated going into the last couple of games donning the red, golden, blue jersey. Samaka Bogahawatte, a young all ronder with a promising future bid adieu to life under tragic circumstances during the pandemic period. Master Shabeer Ahamed almost made it to the first match day squad and inspirational Skipper Anuhas Kodithuwakku could only make it to the Bradby on crutches. Yet a ‘Lion hearted’ 140 minutes plus injury time saw the execution of a melodramatic end through the golden boots of 17 year old Shan Althaf and the return of the shield to Trinity last seen a decade ago. 

Shan Althaf’s immortal 53 metre penalty at the death sparked wild celebrations. Not many would have noticed Coach Fazil Marija sprinting onto the field to hug his match winner, as the mastermind Nilantha Ratnayake made a rare appearance from the grandstand along with his comrades B.N.R. Fernando and Murad Ramzeen to rejoice a win that seemed a distant dream. Next to Manoj Jayatissa, the 1985 Bradby winning captain (Chief Guest) stood a visibly emotional Trinity Principal Fr. Araliya Jayasundera whose firm support to the Trinity Scrummage under testing circumstances had paid dividends. From amongst the crowd emerged the legendary Tyrell Rajapakse rekindling winning memories along with 1985 team members. Tyrell would go on to lead the all-conquering 1987 side.  

Lion warrior Thisanga Dissanayake, who himself had recovered from a preseason spinal injury stood in defence embodying the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ and marshalled his troops under tremendous pressure sans panic. The manner in which Udan Wijekoon operated from the base would not have gone unnoticed by a many. His well-timed high kicks and ability to change direction augurs well for Trinity rugby. The rest followed, true to their motto ‘Respice Finem’. The collective effort was symbolized with both Anuhas and Thisanga collecting the coveted shield from the chief guest. Words of celebration echoed at the lions’ den, one to the effect that ‘the curse is over’. An indication of the end of Royal’s golden Bradby era. In retrospect many of us have only heard of Trinity’s golden Bradby era spanning from 1952 to 1957.  

In the end what separated the two schools was Shan Althaf’s long range penalty, which speaks volumes of the resilient yet friendly rivalry that has made the Bradby Shield the blue ribboned event in the Sri Lankan schools rugby calendar.