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.[1]
History
Royal College and Trinity College, two distinguished institutions of Sri Lanka, were among the pioneers to embrace the game of rugby union, with their maiden match held on the 31 July 1920 (104 years ago) (1920-07-31), 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, Mr. E. L. Bradby, the Principal of Royal College,[2] extended an offer to Mr. C. E. Simithraaratchy, the Principal of Trinity College,[3] 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.[4][5][6][7]
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.[8] 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.[9][10]
The Shield
The Shield, a product of Kandyansilversmiths, was bestowed upon the series by Principal E.L. Bradby before his departure from Ceylon in 1945. A wooden disk of exquisite design, it is embellished with intricate, traditional Kandyan silverwork, serving as a symbol of victory and an enduring testament to this encounter.
Following the conclusion of the second leg of the series, the Shield is ceremoniously presented to the captain of the triumphant team in an award ceremony conducted on the playing field. The winning team is then afforded the privilege of retaining possession of the trophy until the following year's contest.[11]
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.[11]
Since 1977, the Royal College Interact Club has published the Bradby Souvenir to commemorate the encounter's Colombo leg.[18]
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.[19]
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.[20][21]
Notable moments in Bradby Shield history
Match and series records
As of 7 September 2024
Winning the encounter after losing the 1st leg
Royal
3 (1979, 1998 and 2023)
Trinity
5 (1945, 1946, 1962, 1972 and 2011)
Winning the encounter after drawing the 1st leg
Royal
1 (1978)
Trinity
2 (1963 and 1966)
The biggest comeback win
Royal
Lost the 1st leg 18–20 in 1998, but won the 2nd leg 42–11 and the encounter by a margin of 29 points.[22]
Trinity
Lost the 1st leg 25–33 in 2011, but won the 2nd leg 40–5 and overturned a deficit of 8 points to win the encounter by a margin of 27 points.[23]
In 1992, the Bradby encounter ended in a draw as both legs concluded with scores of 3–3 in the 1st leg and 0–0 in the 2nd leg. This marked the first time such an outcome had occurred in Bradby history.
The second drawn encounter took place in 2016, with Royal winning the 1st leg 22–17 and Trinity winning the 2nd leg 18–13.[31]
Other interesting events
1971 – Due to security concerns stemming from the 1971 JVP Insurrection, only the 1st leg of the 27th encounter was staged between the schools. The Shield was awarded to Royal College as a result of the 1st leg at an assembly by Mr E. L. Fernando, the then-principal of Trinity College.[8]
1983 – Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Bradby travelled to Sri Lanka as guests of The Royal College Union for the 2nd leg of the 39th encounter.[32]
1987 – J. R. Jayewardene, the President of Sri Lanka at the time, attended the 2nd 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.[33]
2013 – The 1st 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.[34][35][36]
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.[37][38]
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.[9][10]
2024 – The 1st and 2nd 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.[39][40]
