Royal College produced another unbeatable performance to beat Trinity College by 27 points to 19 in their 74th inter-school rugby match for the Bradby Shield at Pallekele on Saturday.
Although the margin was not as big as in the case of the first leg match in Colombo, Royal had the match well in control and their supporters were never in doubt of the result.
There was top action from the kick off which satisfied the Royal and Trinity fans until the very end.
Royal took a 13-5 lead at half time and owed much to their heavier and robust set of forwards who did most of the work while their backs too kept the Trinity defence on their toes with some pressing moves to be rewarded.
Most Trinity supporters had hopes that their side could make a match of the proceedings as they commenced play in the second half but Royal were always the better team and played to a set pattern although they made some mistakes which the home team could not capitalize on as they were up against a stronger foe.
Royal in the process ran down four tries two of which were converted to add to a penalty while Trinity fell tantalizingly close with three tries two of which were converted.
The result gave Royal their fourth successive Bradby Shield. Overall in the series Trinity stand out with 39 wins as against 33 by Royal. There have also been two draws in the series.
Trinity had a very good second half but they will rue some silly defensive errors. Rain also had a hand in the proceedings as it poured down before the kick-off which paved the way for slippery conditions in the opening minutes of the game.
Royal coach Dushanth Lewke praised him team for maintaining supremacy right throughout the game.
“I’m really proud of the team and the effort they put in. In this game Royal had the edge over Trinity. A heavier pack made things difficult for Trinity”, said Lewke a former Sri Lanka third row player.
In the first half Royal had more of the game by way of territory and Trinity did the same in the second half making the contest even. The Trinitians were good in ball-play but failed to drive home any advantage.
Trinity College Prefect of Games Shane de Silva said: “It was a tough game for us but I think the performance was not too bad. We played against a team with a lot of pressure. I think our play was much better than we did in the first leg”.
Royal’s tries were scored by S. Siyath (3) and Janindu Dilshan while Dulan Gunawardena did the goal kicking.
Trinity’s tries were scored by Pravinda Wijetilleke (2) and Vishwe Ranaraja with Akitha Sakalasuriya making two conversions.
Referee – Rohan Fernando
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