The 78th Bradby Shield played between Royal College and Trinity College – the quintessential school rugby fixture in Sri Lanka will see the return of a Foreign Referee at the helm of the Match Officials after 11 years.
UAE-based, World Rugby Level 3 Referee Jaco de Wit will be in charge for the 1st Leg which will be played on the 24th of August at Royal Sports Complex in Colombo. As per sources, there will be a different foreign Referee for the 2nd Leg which is scheduled to be played on the 7th of September at Trinity College Rugby Stadium, Pallekelle.
Jaco often serves as the ‘man in the middle’ for major rugby matches in the UAE and West Asia, where he excels at maintaining the game’s flow and ensuring that exciting and entertaining rugby is played in the Gulf region.
In 2013 – renowned World Rugby Referee Jonathan Kaplan blew the whistle at the Bradby Shield – the last instance of a foreign referee being used for the Blue Ribbon encounter.
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The Match Organizing Committee has also decided to appoint two Alumni from the two schools to give their services as Assistant Referees for the 1st Leg.
Former Royalist Aaqil Jamaldeen, who is also a World Rugby Level 3 referee, who has previously refereed in many Schools and Club matches in Sri Lanka before moving to the UAE will be an Assistant Referee.
Former Trinitian Clement Isack, a member of the UAE Rugby Referees Society will be the other Assistant Referee. He is currently retired from active refereeing but serves in numerous capacities across the UAE.
There won’t be a Television Match Official (TMO) to support the referees on the field. However, Jaco will receive assistance from ThePapare Television Director, who will use over 10 high-definition cameras and a high-quality live TV production setup to provide the best available camera angles for review. The Match Referee will then make decisions based on these camera angles as soon as they are replayed after a referral.
The Sri Lanka Society of Rugby Football Referees (SLSRFR) was not engaged to provide their services for either the 1st or 2nd Legs of the 78th Bradby Shield.
ThePapare has arranged to broadcast the 78th Bradby Shield, starting at 3:30 pm local time, on ThePapare TV (available on Dialog Television Channel 126), Dialog ViU app, and ThePapare.com website.
