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.

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.