Trinity win Bradby 1st ‘leg’ amidst confusion -28/16
By Ranjan Anandappa
A state of confusion prevailed among spectators and even players when
the 1st ‘leg’ of the 70th Bradby Shield encounter between Royal College
and Trinity College was brought to an abrupt halt by referee Dimithri
Gunasekera with still a couple of minutes to go during injury time.

Triniy’s Tharinda Ratwatte is being tackled by two Royal
players in the first ‘leg’ of the 70th Bradby Shield rugger
encounter which Trinity won 28-16 at the Royal College
Sports Complex grounds yesterday,. Pic : Thilak Perera |
Trinity won the first ‘leg’ of the coveted Bradby Shield by 28 points
( two goals, 1 try , 2 penalties and a drop goal)) to 16 (1 goal,3
penalties ) at the Royal College Sports Complex grounds.
Speculation was rife over the appointment of referee Dimithri
Gunasekera in this traditional contest. Some of his decisions were
debatable, specially the last try scored by Trinity, which many rugby
experts who witnessed the match opined as being questionable. Gunasekera
wilting under pressure developed cramps during the final stages of the
game and lay flat on the ground for some time. According to the
scoreboard clock the referee walked out and the match ended with Trinity
securing a hard-fought win.
At the beginning, in the fourth minute Royal received a rude shock
when a pass was intercepted by Trinity’s Lochana Girahagama in the Royal
‘25’ and he sprinted seventy five metres unchallenged to score under the
post. Skipper Tharinda
Ratwatte put over an easy conversion.
Ratwatte had a big hand in Trinity’s win when he put over penalties
and dropped a kick to keep the lead intact. However, Royal reduced the
deficit when skipper Nimshan Jayawardene made no mistake with a thirty
five metre penalty.
Then Trinity forged ahead when Sanchana Sheik gave the finishing
touches to a fine three quarter move, brushing several defenders while
Ratwatte added the extra points. Trinity playing with better cohesion
consolidated with another Ratwatte penalty. With about 15 minutes to go
in the first half, Royal got their act together and came back strongly
through a try scored by skipper Nimshan Jayawardena where he himself got
the much- needed extra points and also fired over a penalty.
Trinity led 17-13 at lemons. On resumption Royal continued their
style of play and kept the Trinitians at bay with some spoiling work.
Jayawardene’s unerring kicks brought his side another three points
with a thirty metre penalty. Trinity once again increased their lead
when Ratwatte dropped a kick and minutes later found the ball sailing
between the horizontal. Trinity virtually sealed the game in their
favour when Sanjaya Dissanayake picked the loose ball and darted through
to score. |