Bradby Shield Encounter

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.

The Bradby Shield

Royal College Trinity College
Sport	Rugby union
First meeting	1945; 79 years ago (1945) Trinity 6, Royal 3
Latest meeting	2024 Trinity 42, Royal 39
Next meeting	2025
Stadiums	Royal College Sports Complex Trinity College Rugby Stadium
Trophy	The Bradby Shield
Statistics
Meetings total	78
All-time series	Trinity leads, 40–36–2
Largest victory	Royal, 83–0 (2002)
Longest win streak	Trinity, 6 (1952–1957)
Current win streak	Trinity, 1 (2024)

60km
40miles

4

3

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Location Map

1

Royal College

2

Royal College Sports Complex

3

Trinity College

4

Trinity College Rugby Stadium

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 Kandyan silversmiths, 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.

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.

Locations and key abbreviations

As of 7 September 2024

Venues in Colombo Venue First match Abbreviated as University of Colombo Ground 1920 Thurstan Road Royal College Sports Complex 1923 Reid Avenue (1923–1949) RCSC (Since 2012) CR & FC Ground 1931 Longden Place Police Park 1943 Police Park Colombo Racecourse 1945 Racecourse Havelock Park 1960 Havelock Park CH & FC Ground 1973 Maitland Crescent Sugathadasa Stadium 1987 Sugathadasa

Venues in Kandy Venue First match Abbreviated as Bogambara Stadium 1922 Bogambara Nittawela Rugby Stadium 1958 Nittawela University Rugby Football Ground, Peradeniya 1960 Peradeniya Trinity College Rugby Stadium, Pallekele 1997 TCRS

Royal vs. Trinity rugby matches: 1920–1944

Results

As of 21 July 1944

Match	Year	Captains		Date	Venue	Score		Winner
		Royal	Trinity			Royal	Trinity
1	1920	C. G. A. Perera	H. Ellis	31 July	Thurstan Road	0	26	Trinity
-	1921	Not played
2	1922	G. H. Senarathne	A. P. Maralande	4 August	Bogambara	0	34	Trinity (2)
3	1923	W. P. L. Abeyratne	P. A. Buultjens	28 July	Reid Avenue	0	17	Trinity (3)
4	1924	J. R. Jayewardene	P.A. Buultjens	1 August	Bogambara	3	37	Trinity (4)
5	1925	D. W. L. Lieversz (Snr.)	A. N. Myanga	18 July	Thurstan Road	0	46	Trinity (5)
-	1926	Not played
-	1927	Not played
6	1928	H. S. Roberts	M. Khin Maung	4 August	Reid Avenue	6	23	Trinity (6)
-	1929	Not played
7	1930	R. C. W. Paulusz	J. Duncan	5 August	Bogambara	0	29	Trinity (7)
8	1931	G. A. K Rockwood	J. Duncan	25 July	Longden Place	0	27	Trinity (8)
9	1932	S. A. Dissanyake	S. Ratwatte	30 July	Bogambara	0	9	Trinity (9)
10	1933	M. S. Ahamath	E. W. A. Buultjens	15 July	Reid Avenue	0	19	Trinity (10)
-	1934	Not played
11	1935	W. B. V. Thiedeman	R. Breckenridge	13 July	Reid Avenue	0	19	Trinity (11)
12	1936	C. de S. Illesinghe	O. L. Izzadeen	11 July	Bogambara	3	11	Trinity (12)
13	1937	E. I. Grey	O. L. Izzadeen	17 July	Reid Avenue	0	16	Trinity (13)
14	1938	R. H. Aldons	W. Molegoda	25 June	Bogambara	13	14	Trinity (14)
15	1939	S. E. Toussaint	V. K. Vellayan	29 July	Reid Avenue	3	14	Trinity (15)
16	1940	R. Kadiragamar	S. B. Dissanayake	20 July	Bogambara	3	9	Trinity (16)
17	1941	M. N. Jilla	S. B. Dissanayake	12 July	Reid Avenue	11	3	Royal
18	1942	A. R. Demmer	W. Jenkins	25 July	Reid Avenue	0	22	Trinity (17)
19	1943	C. O. Foenander	W. Jenkins	11 July	Police Park	6	0	Royal (2)
20	1943	S. Navaratnam	W. Jenkins	24 July	Bogambara	5	3	Royal (3)
21	1944	N. Vancuylenberg	M. G. Wright	7 July	Thurstan Road	0	15	Trinity (18)
22	1944	N. Vancuylenberg	M. G. Wright	21 July	Bogambara	0	17	Trinity (19)

Statistics

As of 21 July 1944

Match statistics
Venue	Played	Won by		Drawn	Total points
		Royal	Trinity		Royal	Trinity
Colombo	13	2	11	–	26	247
Kandy	9	1	8	–	27	163
Overall	22	3	19	–	53	410

Bradby Shield series: 1945–2024

Results

As of 7 September 2024

Series	Year	Captains		Date	Venue	Score		Winner
		Royal	Trinity			Royal	Trinity
1	1945	C. D. L. Fernando	R. G. Sourjah (1L) S. B. Pilapitiya (2L)	13 July	Racecourse	3	0	Trinity
				20 July	Bogambara	0	6
2	1946	M. Rodrigo	S. B. Pilapitiya	6 July	Police Park	3	0	Trinity (2)
				20 July	Bogambara	0	8
3	1947	N. W. Karunaratne	G. Sanmugam	12 July	Bogambara	0	6	Trinity (3)
				9 August	Police Park	0	0
4	1948	A. A. Cader	A. R. A. Mohomed	3 July	Police Park	6	3	Royal
				17 July	Bogambara	8	6
5	1949	G. C. Weinman	K. Arumugam	3 July	Reid Avenue	5	3	Royal (2)
				16 July	Bogambara	8	3
6	1950	T. St. C. Anghie	S. S. Bambaradeniya	8 June	Bogambara	0	6	Trinity (4)
				24 July	Racecourse	3	5
7	1951	H. E. Wijesinghe	M. S. Panditharatne	4 July	Longden Place	19	3	Royal (3)
				21 July	Bogambara	13	5
8	1952	A. B. Van Twest	M. S. Panditharatne	5 July	Police Park	0	6	Trinity (5)
				19 July	Bogambara	0	12
9	1953	T. S. Almeida (1L) T. L. K. Mendis (2L)	D. Madugalle	4 July	Bogambara	0	13	Trinity (6)
				22 July	Longden Place	0	3
10	1954	K. W. W. Edwards	L. L. Vitharana	10 July	Longden Place	0	5	Trinity (7)
				24 July	Bogambara	5	6
11	1955	C. V. Gunaratne	M. G. Ratwatte	11 July	Bogambara	0	6	Trinity (8)
				20 July	Longden Place	0	0
12	1956	T. L. Almeida	D. N. Frank	4 July	Racecourse	0	15	Trinity (9)
				28 July	Bogambara	0	11
13	1957	R. Sivaratnam	K. B. de Joedt	6 July	Bogambara	0	8	Trinity (10)
				19 July	Longden Place	8	9
14	1958	D. N. Fernando	K. B. de Joedt	12 July	Longden Place	6	0	Royal (4)
				26 July	Nittawela	0	0
15	1959	M. L. Anghie	D. L. Kobbekaduwa	4 July	Bogambara	5	0	Royal (5)
				18 July	Longden Place	6	0
16	1960	H. S. de Silva	E. D. K. Roles	2 July	Havelock Park	3	5	Trinity (11)
				16 July	Peradeniya	0	8
17	1961	J. V. P. Samarasekara	J. W. Jayawardena	1 July	Bogambara	6	3	Royal (6)
				15 July	Longden Place	8	0
18	1962	U. L. Kaluaratchi	N. T. E. Brohier	14 July	Longden Place	5	0	Trinity (12)
				28 July	Bogambara	0	9
19	1963	M. Jayakumar	B. D. A. Piyasena	11 July	Bogambara	6	6	Trinity (13)
				27 July	Longden Place	3	5
20	1964	K. D. T. Paul	M. T. Sahayam	11 July	Longden Place	3	0	Royal (7)
				25 July	Nittawela	14	6
21	1965	U. P. Wickramasinghe	M. T. M. Zarook	10 July	Nittawela	8	3	Royal (8)
				24 July	Longden Place	3	3
22	1966	I. R. Thurairatnam	E. G. Van Langenberg	9 July	Longden Place	3	3	Trinity (14)
				23 July	Bogambara	3	8
23	1967	D. J. Perera (1L) N. B. L. Lieversz (2L)	A. L. Abeyratne	4 July	Peradeniya	3	17	Trinity (15)
				20 July	Longden Place	3	16
24	1968	C. R. de Silva	A. L. Abeyratne	9 July	Longden Place	19	0	Royal (9)
				24 July	Peradeniya	5	3
25	1969	M. H. C. Malwatte	M. S. Jainudeen	5 July	Peradeniya	0	8	Trinity (16)
				18 July	Longden Place	3	9
26	1970	C. J. Fernando	S. P. Samarasekara	4 July	Longden Place	3	19	Trinity (17)
				21 July	Nittawela	12	16
27	1971	F. R. Perera	Y. S. Ping	29 July	Longden Place	22	3	Royal (10)
2nd leg not played due to 1971 JVP insurrection
28	1972	G. D. S. Gunasekara	A. E. Unantenne	1 July	Longden Place	9	8	Trinity (18)
				15 July	Nittawela	3	10
29	1973	M. G. Muller	J. K. Yu	9 July	Nittawela	18	4	Royal (11)
				21 July	Maitland Crescent	4	12
30	1974	M. B. Akbar	C. Y. Ching	6 July	Longden Place	3	18	Trinity (19)
				20 July	Nittawela	9	12
31	1975	H. A. I. Hassen	M. R. Sourjah	12 July	Nittawela	13	11	Royal (12)
				19 July	Longden Place	21	3
32	1976	M. Weerakumar	S. V. Ranasinghe	3 July	Longden Place	36	0	Royal (13)
				17 July	Bogambara	25	6
33	1977	S. S. Hashim	R. N. Balasuriya	2 July	Bogambara	6	12	Trinity (20)
				16 July	Longden Place	4	10
34	1978	K. R. T. Peiris	J. R. Kiridena	3 July	Longden Place	0	0	Royal (14)
				15 July	Bogambara	8	4
35	1979	R. P. Gunasekara	J. V. Tissera	7 July	Bogambara	3	4	Royal (15)
				21 July	Longden Place	18	0
36	1980	S. Sujanthakumar	T. B. Ellepola	5 July	Longden Place	7	3	Royal (16)
				19 July	Nittawela	16	3
37	1981	N. S. Cooray	R. Bandaranayake	4 July	Nittawela	3	16	Trinity (21)
				18 July	Longden Place	10	3
38	1982	H. Muttiah	B. S. J. Fernando	3 July	Longden Place	6	9	Trinity (22)
				17 July	Nittawela	4	6
39	1983	S. Cooray	A. D. Ratwatte	2 July	Bogambara	6	14	Trinity (23)
				16 July	Longden Place	10	6
40	1984	S. Agalawatte	D. M. Wijesinghe	7 July	Longden Place	6	3	Royal (17)
				21 July	Bogambara	0	0
41	1985	C. Nanayakkara	M. Jayatissa	6 July	Bogambara	9	18	Trinity (24)
				20 July	Longden Place	4	3
42	1986	M. J. Peiris	S. N. Gunaratne	5 July	Longden Place	3	6	Trinity (25)
				19 July	Bogambara	3	9
43	1987	H. A. S. Madanayake (1L) R. de Z. Gunarathne (2L)	T. Rajapakse	2 July	Bogambara	3	7	Trinity (26)
				18 July	Sugathadasa	3	19
44	1988	L. W. de Z. Gunarathne	B. Dandeniya	2 July	Sugathadasa	24	0	Royal (18)
				16 July	Bogambara	13	0
45	1989	J. H. A. Dhammika	R. Ranaraja	5 August	Bogambara	9	6	Royal (19)
				14 August	Sugathadasa	9	8
46	1990	R. Jayasuriya	W. D. S. Premaratne (1L) R. Kalpage (2L)	6 July	Sugathadasa	23	8	Royal (20)
				21 July	Bogambara	0	6
47	1991	M. Dahanayake	M. A. Deen	6 July	Bogambara	4	12	Trinity (27)
				20 July	Sugathadasa	10	25
48	1992	H. Wijesinghe	H. M. Goonetileke	4 July	Sugathadasa	3	3	Draw
				19 July	Nittawela	0	0
49	1993	C. R. A. Abeysuriya	N. Muhandiramge	26 June	Nittawela	3	0	Royal (21)
				10 July	Sugathadasa	10	3
50	1994	R. Malalasekara	A. M. Rally	18 June	Sugathadasa	10	3	Royal (22)
				2 July	Nittawela	8	8
51	1995	A. Assen	M. A. H. Omar	17 June	Nittawela	3	6	Trinity (28)
				1 July	Sugathadasa	6	22
52	1996	R. Gunatilake	S. Amarasinghe	22 June	Sugathadasa	3	30	Trinity (29)
				6 July	Nittawela	3	12
53	1997	A. Yusuf	N. S. Fernando	21 June	TCRS	6	14	Trinity (30)
				5 July	Sugathadasa	18	11
54	1998	W. S. S. R. Perera	P. Jayawardena	20 June	Sugathadasa	18	20	Royal (23)
				4 July	Bogambara	42	11
55	1999	D. R. Rahim	R. Wickramasiri	19 June	Bogambara	10	19	Trinity (31)
				3 July	Sugathadasa	7	13
56	2000	S. Perera	H. A. Luchow	17 June	Sugathadasa	25	32	Trinity (32)
				1 July	Bogambara	20	17
57	2001	H. Kaluaratchi	T. Jayawardena	23 June	Bogambara	12	6	Royal (24)
				7 July	Sugathadasa	16	0
58	2002	Z. Hamid	N. S. A. Mendis	13 July	RCSC	39	0	Royal (25)
				27 July	Bogambara	44	0
59	2003	R. Jayasundara	M. Maddumapatabendi	19 July	Bogambara	13	11	Royal (26)
				2 August	RCSC	13	8
60	2004	A. L. Dissanayake	D. Senarath	7 August	RCSC	41	6	Royal (27)
				21 August	Bogambara	10	0
61	2005	V. Wijewardene	B. N. R. Fernando	10 September	Bogambara	6	36	Trinity (33)
				24 September	RCSC	7	33
62	2006	C. S. Gamage	I. Maddumapatabendi	9 September	RCSC	10	21	Trinity (34)
				23 September	TCRS	5	26
63	2007	M. Abeyratne	M. Wickramasiri (1L) S. Wanigasekara (2L)	9 June	Bogambara	20	12	Royal (28)
				23 June	RCSC	15	11
64	2008	S. Lenaduwa	M. N. Gunawardena	14 June	RCSC	12	24	Trinity (35)
				28 June	TCRS	8	0
65	2009	N. Dhason	V. Wijesinghe	30 May	TCRS	22	12	Royal (29)
				13 June	RCSC	31	15
66	2010	D. Attygalle	D. Dissanayake	12 May	RCSC	38	37	Royal (30)
				26 May	Bogambara	34	17
67	2011	S. Pathirana	M. Ramzeen	28 May	Bogambara	33	25	Trinity (36)
				11 June	RCSC	5	40
68	2012	A. Jamaldeen	K. Seneviratne	16 June	RCSC	11	34	Trinity (37)
				30 June	TCRS	20	36
69	2013	R. Jamaldeen	S. Singalaxana (1L) H. Wadood (2L)	1 June	TCRS	25	37	Trinity (38)
				15 June	RCSC	13	9
70	2014	N. Jayawardena	T. Ratwatte	10 May	RCSC	16	28	Trinity (39)
				24 May	TCRS	18	19
71	2015	B. Gamage	I. Rangala	9 May	TCRS	23	22	Royal (31)
				24 May	RCSC	49	0
72	2016	N. Gunadheera	R. Karunanayake	30 April	RCSC	22	17	Draw (2)
				14 May	TCRS	13	18
73	2017	O. Askey	N. Yee	20 May	TCRS	22	17	Royal (32)
				3 June	RCSC	13	8
74	2018	S. Feroze	A. Shiek	21 April	RCSC	39	7	Royal (33)
				5 May	TCRS	27	19
75	2019	T. Hassen	R. Bandaranayake	1 June	TCRS	34	17	Royal (34)
				15 June	RCSC	13	24
–	2020	Not played due to COVID-19 pandemic		–				–
–
–	2021	Not played due to COVID-19 pandemic		–				–
–
76	2022	H. Peiris	L. Moragoda	20 August	RCSC	29	0	Royal (35)
				3 September	TCRS	21	26
77	2023	R. Senanayake	A. Manzil	22 July	TCRS	10	13	Royal (36)
				5 August	RCSC	27	17
78	2024	T. Perera	T. Dissanayaka[lower-alpha 1]	24 August	RCSC	16	17	Trinity (40)
				7 September	TCRS	23	25

Statistics

As of 7 September 2024

Series statistics[lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 3] Played Won by Drawn Royal Trinity 78 36 40 2

Match statistics Venue Played Won by Drawn Total points Royal Trinity Royal Trinity Colombo 78 41 31 6 922 752 Kandy 77 31 41 5 789 824 Overall 155 72 72 11 1,711 1,576

Royal vs. Trinity rugby matches in other competitions: 1987–2024

As of 17 August 2024

Tournament	Year	Captains		Date	Venue	Score		Winner
		Royal	Trinity			Royal	Trinity
R. Premadasa Trophy Quarter-finals	1987	H. A. S. Madanayake	T. Rajapakse	30 August	Sugathadasa	6	10	Trinity
R. Premadasa Trophy Quarter-finals	1993	C. R. A. Abeysuriya	N. Muhandiramge	6 September	Sugathadasa	6	9	Trinity
Milo President's Trophy Quarter-finals	2014	N. Jayawardena	T. Ratwatte	3 July	RCSC	30	29	Royal
Dialog Schools Rugby League Game Week 3	2022	H. Peiris	L. Moragoda	8 July	RCSC	20	21	Trinity
Dialog Schools Rugby League Super Round – Week 2	2024	T. Perera	T. Dissanayaka[lower-alpha 1]	17 August	Sugathadasa	22	19	Royal

Statistics

As of 17 August 2024

Match statistics
Venue	Played	Won by		Drawn	Total points
		Royal	Trinity		Royal	Trinity
Colombo	5	2	3	–	84	88
Overall	5	2	3	–	84	88

Royal vs. Trinity – A head-to-head comparison: 1920–2024

Statistics

As of 7 September 2024

Match statistics
Tournament	Span	Played	Won by		Drawn	Total points
			Royal	Trinity		Royal	Trinity
Inter-school	1920–1944	22	3	19	–	53	410
Bradby Shield	1945–2024	155	72	72	11	1,711	1,576
Other competitions	1987–2024	5	2	3	–	84	88
Overall	1920–2024	182	77	94	11	1,848	2,074

Notable people who have played

Royalists J. R. Jayewardene (Pre Bradby Era) Rajan Kadiragamar (Pre Bradby Era) Harry Goonatilake (Pre Bradby Era) U.N.Gunasekera (Pre Bradby Era) C. V. Gunaratne C. R. De Silva Ken Balendra Ratna Sivaratnam[11] Daya Perera Norman Gunewardene[12] S. A. Dissanayake Lakdasa Dissanayake Maiya Gunasekara Ajit Gunewardene

Trinitians Michael Kagwa Snr. (Pre Bradby Era)[13][14] Michael Kagwa Jnr. (Pre Bradby Era)[15] Denzil Kobbekaduwa[16] Duncan White Lakshman Kadirgamar Jayantha Dhanapala Parami Kulatunga Kemal Deen

Community engagement programmes

The souvenir

Since 1977, the Royal College Interact Club has published the Bradby Souvenir to commemorate the encounter's Colombo leg.^[17]

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.^[18]

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.^[19][20]

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.[21]
	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.[22]
Longest winning streak	Royal	5 – From 2017 to 2023.[lower-alpha 3]
	Trinity	6 – The longest winning streak in the series, between 1952 and 1957.[23]
The highest aggregate score by a team in an encounter	Royal	83 points in 2002 is the record for the highest aggregate score by a team in the series over two legs.[24]
	Trinity	70 points in 2012.[25]
The highest margin of victory in an encounter	Royal	83 points in 2002 (83–0) is the highest recorded victory margin in the series over two legs.[24]
	Trinity	56 points in 2005 (69–13).[26]
The record for the highest score achieved by a team in a single match	Royal	49 points in 2015 2nd leg, is the highest recorded in a single match.[27]
	Trinity	40 points in 2011 2nd leg.[22]
The highest aggregate score achieved by both teams in a single match	75 points in 2010 1st leg, with Royal winning 38–37.[28]
The highest aggregate score achieved by both teams in an encounter	126 points in 2010, with Royal winning 72–54.[29]
Drawn encounters	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.[30]

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.^[31]
• 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.^[32]
• 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.^[33]
• 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.^[34][35]
• 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.^[36][37]

See also

• Rugby union in Sri Lanka

Notes

1. The regular team captain, A. Kodithuwakku, was sidelined due to injury. Trinity was led by the vice-captain.
2. Due to the JVP insurrection, only the 1st leg was played in 1971.
3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series was suspended in 2020 and 2021.

References

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3. "Mr. C. E. Simithraaratchy". Trinity College Kandy. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
4. "The Bradby Shield – Sri Lanka Schools' Coveted Rugby Encounter". Asia Rugby. 31 July 2020. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
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External links

• Royal College official website
• Royal College Union
• Royal College Sports Complex
• Royal Rugby
• Trinity College official website
• Trinity Digital History
• World Rugby Museum: Points scoring through the ages