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; 80 years ago (1945) Trinity 6, Royal 3
Latest meeting	2024 Trinity 42, Royal 39
Next meeting	79th encounter[1] 23 August 2025 (first leg) 6 September 2025 (second leg)
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)

40km
25miles

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3

2

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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.^[2][3][4]

History

Royal College and Trinity College were among the pioneers in embracing the game of rugby union in British Ceylon, with their maiden match held on 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.^[5][6]

In 1945, E. L. Bradby, the principal of Royal College,^[7] extended an offer to C. E. Simithraaratchy, the principal of Trinity College,^[8] proposing the donation of a coveted Shield. 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.^{[2][9][10][11]}

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.^[12] 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.^[13][14]

The Shield

The shield, crafted by Kandyan silversmiths, was presented to the series by Principal E. L. Bradby before leaving Ceylon in 1945. It is a wooden disk adorned with traditional Kandyan silverwork, symbolising victory.

After the second leg of the series, the shield is awarded to the winning team's captain during an on-field ceremony. The team retains the trophy until the next year's competition.^[15]

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.^[15][16]

Locations and key abbreviations

As of 7 September 2024

List of venues: 1920–present
No.	Venue	Location	First match	Abbreviated as	Coordinates
1	University of Colombo Grounds	Colombo	31 July 1920	Thurstan Road	6°54′10″N 79°51′53″E
2	Bogambara Stadium	Kandy	4 August 1922	Bogambara	7°17′20″N 80°38′08″E
3	Royal College Sports Complex	Colombo	28 July 1923	Reid Avenue (1923–1949) RCSC (since 2012)	6°54′10″N 79°51′53″E
4	CR & FC Grounds	Colombo	25 July 1931	Longden Place	6°54′02″N 79°52′15″E
5	Police Park	Colombo	11 July 1943	Police Park	6°53′39″N 79°51′45″E
6	Colombo Racecourse	Colombo	13 July 1945	Racecourse	6°54′18″N 79°51′50″E
7	Nittawela Rugby Stadium	Kandy	26 July 1958	Nittawela	7°18′59″N 80°38′04″E
8	Havelock Park	Colombo	2 July 1960	Havelock Park	6°53′14″N 79°52′00″E
9	University Rugby Football Grounds	Peradeniya	16 July 1960	Peradeniya	7°15′30″N 80°35′45″E
10	CH & FC Grounds	Colombo	21 July 1973	Maitland Crescent	6°54′28″N 79°51′57″E
11	Sugathadasa Stadium	Colombo	18 July 1987	Sugathadasa	6°56′53″N 79°52′08″E
12	Trinity College Rugby Stadium	Pallekele	21 June 1997	TCRS	7°16′45″N 80°42′34″E

Inter-school rugby encounters: 1920–1944

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

Results

As of 21 July 1944

Results: 1920–1944
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)

Bradby Shield series: 1945–present

Statistics

As of 7 September 2024

Series statistics[a][b] 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

Results of the last encounter

78th Bradby Shield (first leg)

24 August 2024 16:00 SLST

Royal	16–17	Trinity
Try: F. Nazaar Con: I. Farook Pen: I. Farook (3)	Report	Try: M. Raizan Pen: S. Althaf (3) Drop: S. Althaf

Royal College Sports Complex, Colombo Referee: Jaco de Wit (UAE)

---

78th Bradby Shield (second leg)

7 September 2024 16:00 SLST

Trinity	25–23	Royal
Try: M. Yaddehige Con: S. Althaf Pen: S. Althaf (6)	Report	Try: Y. Pathirana A. Shiyam Con: I. Farook N. Yahiya Pen: I. Farook N. Yahiya (2)

Trinity College Rugby Stadium, Pallekele Referee: Brayden Hudson (UAE)

Results

As of 7 September 2024

Bradby Shield Encounter: 1945–present
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)
Second 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[c]	24 August	RCSC[17]	16	17	Trinity (40)
				7 September	TCRS[18]	23	25
79	2025	A. Samarasinghe	M. U. Shafraz	23 August	TCRS	TBD	TBD	TBD (TBD)
				6 September	RCSC	TBD	TBD

Other competitions: 1987–present

Statistics

As of 5 July 2025

Match statistics
Venue	Played	Won by		Drawn	Total points
		Royal	Trinity		Royal	Trinity
Colombo	5	2	3	–	84	88
Kandy	1	–	1	–	12	34
Overall	6	2	4	–	96	122

Results of the last match

Dialog Schools Rugby League – Round 1, Game week 5

5 July 2025 16:15 SLST

Trinity	34–12	Royal
Try: N. Kumarasinghe (2) 13' c, 67' m E. Jayasena 18' m U. Wijekoon 26' c M. Yaddehige (2) 57' m, 70' m Con: S. Althaf (2/4) 13', 27' Cards: A. Fernando 6' S. Weerawansa 59'	Report	Pen: I. Farook (4/4) 22', 29', 35', 41'

Trinity College Rugby Stadium, Pallekele Referee: R. Alexander (SL)

Results

As of 5 July 2025

Results: 1987–present
Tournament	Year	Captains		Date	Venue	Score		Winner	Ref.
		Royal	Trinity			Royal	Trinity
R. Premadasa Trophy Quarter-finals	1987	H. A. S. Madanayake	T. Rajapakse	30 August	Sugathadasa	6	10	Trinity	[19]
R. Premadasa Trophy Quarter-finals	1993	C. R. A. Abeysuriya	N. Muhandiramge	6 September	Sugathadasa	6	9	Trinity
Milo President's Trophy Semi-finals	2014	N. Jayawardena	T. Ratwatte	3 July	RCSC	30	29	Royal	[20]
Dialog Schools Rugby League Round 1, Game week 3	2022	H. Peiris	L. Moragoda	8 July	RCSC	20	21	Trinity	[21]
Dialog Schools Rugby League Round 2, Game week 2	2024	T. Perera	T. Dissanayaka[c]	17 August	Sugathadasa	22	19	Royal	[22]
Dialog Schools Rugby League Round 1, Game week 5	2025	A. Samarasinghe	M. U. Shafraz	5 July	TCRS	12	34	Trinity	[23]

Overall record: 1920–present

As of 5 July 2025

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–present	155	72	72	11	1,711	1,576
Other competitions	1987–present	6	2	4	–	96	122
Overall	1920–present	183	77	95	11	1,860	2,108

Match and series records

As of 7 September 2024

Records: 1945–present
Record	Royal	Trinity	Ref.
Winning the encounter after losing the first leg	3 (1979, 1998 and 2023)	5 (1945, 1946, 1962, 1972 and 2011)
Winning the encounter after drawing the first leg	1 (1978)	2 (1963 and 1966)
The biggest comeback win	Lost the first leg 18–20 in 1998, but won the second leg 42–11 and the encounter by a margin of 29 points.	Lost the first leg 25–33 in 2011, but won the second leg 40–5 and overturned a deficit of 8 points to win the encounter by a margin of 27 points.	[24] [25]
Longest winning streak	5 (between 2017 and 2023)[b]	6 (1952–1957) The longest winning streak in the series.	[26] [27]
The highest aggregate score by a team in an encounter	83 points in 2002. The record for the highest aggregate score by a team in the series over two legs.	70 points in 2012.	[28] [29]
The highest margin of victory in an encounter	83 points (83–0) in 2002. The highest recorded victory margin in the series over two legs.	56 points (69–13) in 2005.	[28] [30]
The record for the highest score achieved by a team in a single match	49 points in 2015 second leg. The highest recorded in a single match.	40 points in 2011 second leg.	[31] [25]
The highest aggregate score achieved by both teams in a single match	75 points in 2010 first leg, with Royal winning 38–37.		[32]
The highest aggregate score achieved by both teams in an encounter	126 points in 2010, with Royal winning 72–54.		[33]
Drawn encounters	In 1992, the Bradby encounter ended in a draw as both legs concluded with scores of 3–3 in the first leg and 0–0 in the second leg. This marked the first time such an outcome had occurred in Bradby history. In 2016, Royal won the first leg 22–17, while Trinity won the second leg 18–13. The encounter ended in a draw, with both teams scoring 35 points each.		[34]

Notable moments in Bradby Shield history

• 1971 – Due to security concerns stemming from the 1971 JVP Insurrection, only the first leg of the 27th encounter was staged between the schools. The Shield was awarded to Royal College as a result of the first leg at an assembly by E. L. Fernando, the then-principal of Trinity College.^[12]
• 1983 – E. L. Bradby, former principal of Royal College, and his wife travelled to Sri Lanka as guests of the Royal College Union for the second leg of the 39th encounter.^[35]
• 1987 – J. R. Jayewardene, the President of Sri Lanka at the time, attended the second 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.^[19]
• 2013 – Sir Graham Henry, former head coach of the All Blacks and winning coach of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, attended as the guest of honour for the first leg of the 69th encounter, held on 1 June 2013 at the Trinity College Rugby Stadium. The match was officiated by Jonathan Kaplan, a renowned international rugby union referee with four Rugby World Cup appearances to his credit.^[36][37]

To cap the journey I refereed the annual Bradby Shield Encounter between Trinity College and Royal College in the beautiful mountain city of Kandy. The crowd of 14 000 included none other than Graham Henry, the guest of honour, and former pupils from around the world who converged on Kandy for the match. It was an experience that, for me, ranks right up there with the best schoolboy fixtures anywhere in the world.

— Jonathan Kaplan, Call It Like It Is: The Jonathan Kaplan Story (2014)^[38]

• 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.^[39][40]
  • The first leg of the 75th encounter was officiated by Aaqil Jamaldeen, who captained the Royal College 1XV rugby team in 2012. His father, Nizam Jamaldeen, had previously officiated the encounter in 2001. They are the only father and son to have refereed in Bradby Shield encounters.^[41]
• 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.^[13][14]
• 2024 – The first and second legs of the 78th encounter, held on 24 August and 7 September 2024, respectively, were officiated by UAE-based referees Jaco de Wit and Brayden Hudson.^{[42][17][43][18]}
• 2025 – Trinity College won the 2025 Dialog Schools Rugby League on 2 August 2025, securing the domestic inter-school rugby title with one game remaining. This marks the first time in the history of the series that one of the two teams will enter the annual encounter as the reigning inter-school rugby champions of the country.^[44][45]

Notable people who have played

Royalists Kandiah Balendra C. R. De Silva Lakdasa Dissanayake S. A. Dissanayake Harry Goonatilake (Pre-Bradby era) C. V. Gunaratne Maiya Gunasekara U.N.Gunasekera (Pre-Bradby era) Ajit Gunewardene Norman Gunewardene[46] J. R. Jayewardene (Pre-Bradby era) Rajan Kadiragamar (Pre-Bradby era) Daya Perera Ratna Sivaratnam[47]

Trinitians Kemal Deen Jayantha Dhanapala Lakshman Kadirgamar Michael Kagwa Jnr. (Pre-Bradby era)[48] Michael Kagwa Snr. (Pre-Bradby era)[49][50] Denzil Kobbekaduwa[51] Parami Kulatunga Lohan Ratwatte Tharinda Ratwatte Duncan White

Community engagement programmes

The souvenir

Since 1977, the Royal College Interact Club has published the Bradby Souvenir to commemorate the encounter's Colombo leg.^[52][53]

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.^[54]

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.^[54]

Bradby golf

Former Royal and Trinity students compete for the G. C. Wickremesinghe Challenge Trophy, a golf tournament hosted at the Victoria Golf and Country Resort since 2016 before the Kandy leg of the Bradby Shield encounter.^[55][56]

See also

• Rugby union in Sri Lanka

Notes

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

Sources

• Perera, S. S. (June 1994). Royal vs Trinity – 50 Years of Bradby Shield 1945–1994. Bradby Shield Encounter Organising Committee.
• Behind the Shield – the history, the heroes, the hearts of 75 years 1945–2019. Bradby Shield Encounter Organising Committee. June 2019.