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.

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.

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, 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, extended an offer to Mr. C. E. Simithraaratchy, the Principal of Trinity College, 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.

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. 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.

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.

Notable people who have played

 * Royalists
 * J. R. Jayawardene (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
 * Daya Perera
 * Norman Gunewardene
 * S. A. Dissanayake
 * Lakdasa Dissanayake
 * Maiya Gunasekara
 * Ajit Gunewardene


 * Trinitians
 * Michael Kagwa Snr. (Pre Bradby Era)
 * Michael Kagwa Jnr. (Pre Bradby Era)
 * Denzil Kobbekaduwa
 * Duncan White
 * Lakshman Kadirgamar
 * Jayantha Dhanapala
 * Parami Kulatunga
 * Kemal Deen

The souvenir
Since 1977, the Royal College Interact Club has published the Bradby Shield souvenir to commemorate the encounter's Colombo leg. Royal College Interact Club

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 Sri Lankan Civil War, a chartered train dubbed as The Bradby express has served this role, transporting Royal supporters to and from Kandy for the event.

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 event.

Other interesting events

 * Due to security concerns stemming from the 1971 JVP Insurrection, only the 1st leg of the 1971 contest 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.
 * Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Bradby travelled to Sri Lanka as guests of The Royal College Union in 1983 for the 2nd leg, which also happened to be the 100th rugby football match between Royal and Trinity.
 * The 2nd leg match of the 2008 contest marked the 150th meeting between Royal and Trinity.
 * 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.
 * 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.