The 77th Bradby Shield is almost upon us! The 1st leg of this most prestigious encounter is set to take place tomorrow (22nd July) at Trinity College Rugby Grounds, Pallekelle from 4.15 pm onwards.
Royal College are the clear-cut favorite heading into the game, however, the Bradby Shield game takes its toll on even the best, with a huge amount of pressure to contend with. This game is also a part of the Dialog Schools Rugby League.
Trinity College hasn’t really had it all their way this season, winning just 2 out of their 4 games in the Dialog Schools’ Rugby League 2023. The two wins came against Vidyartha College and Science College while a surprise loss in Week 1 to Dharmaraja College and a defeat to the high-flying St. Peter’s College sees them sitting 3rd on the table.
Coached by Fazil Marija, Trinity College are well aware of the task at hand. The hosts of the 1st leg will look up to their captain, full back Attab Manzil for his direction and leadership while 16-year-old fly-half Shan Althaf will aim to direct the ship. Thisanga Dissanayake will be the man to watch out for from the forwards.
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On the other hand, Royal College fell short in only their first game against the Peterites. This defeat, however, spurred on the Royalists as they have not dropped a game since, going on to win their remaining 4 games against Science, Vidyartha, Zahira, and Dharmaraja.
Dushanth Lewke will no doubt be asking pretty much the same from his charges as they go head-to-head with their fiercest rival. From the Royal Point of view, Philio Calyaneratne will be the man to watch out for as the young fullback has been in sublime form when he has got on the paddock.
Skipper Randul Bandara has had a massive impact as Centre along with Hooker Akram Faruk. Scrum-half Simak Shafeek has contributed immensely as a place kicker, scoring 24 points while three players in Disas Pathirana, Charuka Senevirathne and Kavinash Srikanth have scored 4 tries each.
The most prestigious Schools Rugby encounter brings with it decades of memories and with it also comes a chance to shine and create new moments of glory. Royal come in as favourites, but the Bradby always brings out the best from both teams, so you can’t count Trinity out!
Watch the encounter LIVE on ThePapare.com. Dialog TV Channel 126 and Dialog ViU app from 3.30pm onwards.
 at Pallekelle Rugby Stadium from 4pm onwards.){kind=link}