Royal’s recent domination of the Bradby Shield began in 2015. Over the last 6 years that the encounter was played (2020 and 2021 were skipped), Royal had won the 1st leg on every occasion. This season the team averaged 35 points a game. Were the high expectations that many had for the 1st leg based on these facts? Having experienced many Bradby encounters, I had a feeling that the scoreline would be close.
Coach Luka had the services of Philio, Duljaya and Yovindu returning from injury. The 3 senior players would all start in their favorite positions.
Seconds into the game we have a preview of the Trinity game plan. Their flyhalf who had turned 16 just 21 days earlier, executes a well-judged kick finding touch in Royal territory. Thivain is also looking for territory. His 2nd kick is collected by Althaf and passed to captain and full-back Manzil, who breaks the 1st tackle and counter attacks. When Royal are penalized for hands in the ruck, Althaf decides to take the 48m attempt at goal. Referee Abeykoon reminds him to ‘take it soon’. He goes 2 seconds beyond the allocated 60 but pushes it right of the posts.
From the shaky restart, Trinity are hot on attack and enter Royal’s 22, but Royal’s line speed in defence is electric. Dominant tackles by Philio, Afeef, Yovindu, Buwa and a bone-rattler from Duljaya on star winger Wanasekera, push them backwards. They lose possession a few phases later and Simak’s box kick is well chased by Charu who grabs the ball out of Althaf’s hands while both are in the air, but the move fizzles out.
When Trinity deliberately knock down a pass, Royal have their first attacking lineout 10m out. Afeef finds Buwa and the 1st rolling maul of the day is in progress. Inexplicably, Abeykoon denies Royal’s progress by claiming that they were not properly bound. The Trinity forwards are ecstatic.
Royal went into the match against Zahira without their senior architect. Philio was in an ankle brace after the freak incident against Vidyartha last week. Coach Luka had brought back Nabil to man the last line of defence and had promoted Naqeeb to start at hooker. His sledgehammer Yovindu was back at open-side after missing the last 2 games through injury. The mounting injury toll in the squad had forced him to name a total of four 16-year-olds in the match day 23, including a rookie apprentice on the bench.
30 seconds into the game, Charu who has chased and collected Simak’s box kick is tackled in the air. Thivain gets good touch and Royal are in early pursuit of points. But Zahira match Royal’s rolling maul and keep them away.
124 seconds into the game, Royal’s midfield wrecking ball; Duljaya unfortunately cops a stray knee to his head whilst falling in a tackle. The winger-turned-center is blessed with speed and power and had been a standout performer in the 3 previous games. As much as he tries to convince the authorities that he is good to continue, Referee Aruna Shantha does not accept his shaky fitness certificate. He is escorted off the field, but restoration efforts continue.
DC moves inwards to the center position as Royal are all over Zahira, spending the next 6 minutes in their red zone. Concrete defence from Zahira enable them to thwart another rolling maul and combined with a penalty and knock-on by 14-man Royal, they keep the scoreboard bare. Off-field negotiations to bring Duljaya back fail and Amika finally comes on. Royal’s constant pounding of the Zahira defence forces them to concede an off-side penalty in the 12thminute and Simak obliges. They have made a mountain of tackles. Their foundation had been shaken but (for now) was holding.
Two minutes later Royal take a 2nd haymaker. Their ceaseless open-side is floored while executing a grass-cutter tackle. Yovindu’s “jelly legs” are a tell-tale sign of concussion and he is replaced by the Big Bastharon.
Around the 20th minute, Zahira finally make inroads into Royal territory. They first run back Simak’s box kick and then kick it deep. The persistent Thanvir does not allow the ball to cross the dead-ball line and charges back with it. From the ensuing ruck, Royal don’t stay on their feet and gift Zahira their 1st points. Much against the run of play, it’s 3-3. A similar long kick is touched by Amika just before the dead ball line and he is forced to run it back. He does it successfully by side stepping and evading tacklers to take the ball just outside the Royal 22.
When the Zahira full-back jumps in the air to collect his own high kick, he collides with DC and both need treatment from their respective Physios. The Referee determines that DC has not done enough to protect the player in the air and penalizes him. Zahira are greedy. They overcook the kick to touch by sending it over the dead ball line, giving up valuable field position and possession.
A 3rd long kick by Zahira is chased backwards by Charu, well gathered, and run back. When he is challenged, Randul is quick to the breakdown, cleans out efficiently and Amika makes a healthy 25m run. On all 3 occasions, Royal has showed signs of endeavor, intent, and a bit of adventure.
Around the 31st minute, Zahira are awarded a penalty on their own 10m line when Royal are penalized for sealing. To the surprise of the crowd, they decide to take a shot at 3 points. The 60m attempt is short and Nabil grows in confidence with a strong kick to touch. Zahira get another penalty when Royal is penalized for hands in the ruck. To the dismay of their fans, Zahira overcook the kick to touch again.
Simak’s box kicks have improved. Buwa chases and successfully blocks one of them. He is matched by his twin tower as Diga also blocks a Zahira clearance to keep the pressure on Zahira. Royal has been very physical whilst keeping their penalty rate down. However, their 5th knock-on on the stroke of half time presents Zahira with an opportunity to take the lead. Disappointingly, their pickup and kick goes into touch but at 3-3, they were the happier team.
“What’s going on?” questions were thrown my way. I insisted that even though Zahira were a recently promoted side to the A Division, they had won their 1st two games convincingly and were not expected to cave-in meekly. I was reminded of the saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day; they were laying bricks every hour’. Rome was the result; the bricks were the system.
The 2nd half starts well. Within 17 seconds of the restart, Kavinash matches his fellow prop by pulling off the 2ndJackle of the game. His effort bears more fruit (than Thineth’s in the 1sthalf) as this time Simak takes a shot at goal. Royal take a 6-3 lead.
When Royal’s tight-head drops the restart, Zahira’s full-back slices through and is only brought down by a sniper in the crowd. He slips over himself and Thivain’s excellent defensive job is complemented by Bastha, Thanvir and the rest of the team’s high-speed line defence to keep Zahira out.
In the 41st minute, Simak’s 5th box kick is once again well chased by Charu and the Zahira defender fumbles under pressure. Charu picks up the loose ball and runs into the Zahira 22m. Buwa showcases his speed by clearing out the Zahira tacklers and is well supported by Naqeeb. Bastha makes a block-busting run, leaving Zahira defenders in his wake as Royal have a 4-man overlap on the left. Randul runs strongly before drawing the defence allowing DC to charge over the line. Simak has a tough angle to convert and misses but Royal have built the 1st story of a structure. The Zahira number 8 is showing signs of shoulder and hand trouble.
It was déjà vu immediately after the restart as Simak box kicks again and the Zahira number 8 promptly drops the ball. He is holding his hand in pain while Charu runs away with the loose ball. The replay is almost complete when Bastha makes another marauding run. Zahira give away their 6thpenalty and Simak is asked to take the 32m kick directly in front of the posts. He surprisingly sends it left of the posts and his kick success rate for the match drops to 50%
Royal are playing entertaining 15-man Rugby as forwards and backs combine for their 2nd try. Wide passes are combined with inside passes, forwards are bumping off tired defenders and DC showcases his strength with post-contact meters. Thineth and Kavinash are at the forefront of the attack carrying the ball multiple times, culminating in Kavinash’s 3rd try of the season. Nabil misses the conversion but Royal have built the 2ndstory and with 20 minutes to go, talk of the 4-try bonus begins in earnest. Zahira’s number 8 leaves the field.
Simak’s 3rd box kick in a row is once again fumbled by Zahira, but this time they manage to send Charu into touch. Zahira gain further confidence as Royal miss a few tackles and concede 2 penalties.
Buwa does his best to spoil their line-out but knocks-on in the process. Royal take advantage of Zahira’s tiredness and are dominant in the scrum, but they concede a free kick when they contravene the U19 rule of not pushing the scrum more than 1.5m. Zahira taps and runs but are held up in goal. They get another opportunity when Royal infringe again. Once again, they tap and run to enjoy 5 minutes of sustained pressure on the Royal try line. But a poor pass and strong tackles from Thivain and Thanvir push them backwards towards the Royal 22m line.
The demolition man Bastha is crashing and walloping again allowing Thivain to get the backs into motion involving DC, Nabil and Randul. Thivain then gets his forwards to hit the ball up with Thineth featuring strongly. Once again the ball is swung from touch line to touch line with Randul showcasing his superior fitness. When he is tackled and Zahira play the ball on the ground, Simak taps quickly, passes to Ayyash who gives Thanvir the easiest try he will ever score. Nabil converts from under the posts and the 3rd story has been completed. Royal has gone from defending their own try-line to scoring at the other end.
Bastha is not taking any prisoners as he bursts through the exhausted Zahirians again. Simak’s final box kick finds touch and Zahira are imploding as they cannot control their line-out. Ayyash steals the ball from them and then joins Kavinash and Buwa in carrying the ball towards the Zahira try line. Thivain utilizes DC, Randul and Nabil to get the ball out to Charu who runs 30m and scores a well deserved try after beating 4 defenders. It’s his 3rd for the season. Nabil makes an excellent conversion from the right touch line and Royal has the magical 4-try bonus.
Naqeeb and Simak are replaced by Savistha and Afeef. The 16-year-old scrummie has been sharpening his passing, kicking and tackling skills.
DC, Nabil and Randul are in the mood to razzle and dazzle. The skipper is seen running and then kicking the ball 50m up-field. The frazzled Zahira full-back can only knock-on under pressure. Randul scoops the stray ball and dives over the try-line but has no control over it and the try is disallowed. Sadly, a Zahira player is stretchered off the field as Luka empties the bench.
From the 5m scrum Randul charges twice with possession and the heavy pressure ends with Afeef scoring Royal’s 5th try of the match and his 3rd of the season. Nabil converts and the score reads 37-3.
Zahira are shell-shocked. They send the restart directly into touch and Royal are hungrier than ever. They are in a 7’s state of mind as they swing the ball left and right as Randul makes another strong run. His SBW like offload allows Amika to run 35m and young Didula also gets a run with ball in hand, before Zahira concede their 8th penalty through a deliberate knock-down. Savistha taps and passes swiftly for Bastha to make another 20m bust followed by Gesandu. An unselfish Savistha passes to DC who scores his 2ndtry of the match and the 3rd of the season by the left corner flag. Nabil makes the difficult conversion and Royal have constructed a 6-story behemoth in under 30 minutes of the 2nd half, scoring 41 unanswered points.
Most pleasingly, the heavy penalty count experienced in the 3 previous games has been brought well under control, with only 3 conceded in the 2nd half. Royal has shown that they are not overly dependent on the rolling maul and can score tries from anywhere on the field. They have chosen to run the ball regularly as they only took one single line-out in the 2ndhalf against Zahira, ending up with just 5 for the game. Nonetheless, their line-out efficiency has improved to 87% for the season.
When Royal are penalized for holding onto the ball after a tackle, Trinity has a 3rd opportunity to open their account. This time Althaf overcompensates and sends the ball left of the posts. He had a mixed bag leaving 9 points off the table in the 1st half, allowing Royal to lead 10-0.
Would Trinity’s 1st half errors continue in the 2nd and would Royal’s famed 2nd half performances take them further ahead?
Yovindu is operating at a 100mph (as usual). His pace allows him to alter Althaf’s clearance kick and a few minutes later he pulls off the 1st turnover of the game. Royal’s handling errors have been limited but, on this occasion, they are unable to capitalize on the hard-won possession due to a knock-on.
Thivain had returned to the field at the beginning of the 2nd half with his head strapped. 8 minutes into the half, Trinity works their line and Herath dives extravagantly over to score near the left touch line. Their celebrations are cut short by TMO Anil Jayasinghe. Thivain has successfully forced Herath to lose control of the ball while diving over. His try-saving cover tackle has come at a cost as he appears to have hit his already injured head on the hard surface. Since off-field HIA’s are not practiced at U19 level, he is managed via the Recognise & Remove (R&R) protocol and permitted to continue. A few minutes later he gives up 20kg to bring down the hulking Trinity Number 8 Thisanga Dissanayake.
Two forward passes from Trinity are split by a knock-on. Rather than look for territory, Royal attempts to run the spilled ball from just outside their 5m line. It fails as Duljaya runs into Philio resulting in an accidental offside. Another turnover of possession occurs as Philio is isolated and Charu cannot single handedly stall the Trinity cleanout. Skipper Randul has also picked up an injury but shrugs it off and battles on.
Trinity are thriving on Royal’s mistakes and are looking dangerous with ball in hand when Thivain is called upon to make another cover tackle. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, Trinity are attacking in Royal’s 22 when Diga is called for being offside. Three phases later he is offside again. Despite not having been previously warned, Abeykoon decides that he has infringed repeatedly and dishes out a Yellow Card. Althaf is 4th time lucky and gives Trinity their first points after 47 minutes.
After playing around 17 minutes with a head injury, Thivain is taken off and replaced by Nabil. The VC who had previously played every minute of every game this season has played his heart out and will be sorely missed.
Trinity persists with long range territorial kicks but Royal is safe under the high ball. On one occasion Philio collects and gives Ayyash a run, but he is pinged for holding on. On another Althaf secures a 50-22 and Trinity calls for a 4-man lineout. Once the ball is secured the other forwards join in and they execute a rolling maul. Royal defends with 14 players and 12 phases later Trinity knock-on with the try line in sniffing distance.
Nabil is unable to find touch and Manzil makes another telling run almost to the Royal 5m line. Trinity keeps up the pressure as Kodituwakku makes a determined charge and a few phases later, the dependable Dissanayake scores a push over try. Althaf converts and Trinity have scored 10 invaluable points during Diga’s absence. It’s 10-10 in the 56th minute.
Royal’s only lineout of the 2nd half produces their 4th rolling maul and this time too, Trinity defend it well by pushing them into touch. Trinity keeps giving Royal opportunities through a knock-on, crooked throw at the lineout and a penalty in the 65th minute, which Nabil attempts to kick from 45m out. The kick is woefully short and wide and Royal have missed all 3 kicks in the game.
Thivain’s absence might have been the reason that Simak begins a kicking frenzy. Apart from an unproductive grubber into touch, he puts up 4 consecutive box kicks in the span of just 1.5 minutes. They don’t produce the desired results as the chasers appear tired. The last one is too long and when Althaf brings it up, he is tackled. Manzil is laying all over him like a carpet and prevents Ayyash from playing the ball. Abeykoon dismisses the hard-working flanker’s complaints and waves play on. 30 seconds later he rightfully pings Randul for having his hands on the ground when attempting to turnover Trinity possession.
Althaf has a 27m kick almost directly in front of the posts. He succeeds with his 3rd attempt of the 2nd half and takes Trinity into the lead for the 1st time. It’s 10-13 in their favor in the 69th minute.
It’s Althaf’s turn to miss touch but Nabil spurns the opportunity to hold on to possession. He kicks instead and Althaf knocks-on but Diga who makes a play at the loose ball was never put onside and is inside 10m of where the ball lands.
Abeykoon says there is 40 seconds remaining when Trinity kick the penalty into touch. He calls ‘last play’ and Trinity take the ball up a few phases. Ayyash does his job efficiently and gives Royal hope when he pulls off the 2nd turnover for his team. Royal have possession in a last-ditch effort that requires a herculean 60m effort. They keep the ball for 13 phases stretching Trinity on both flanks but a high pass from Nabil sails over Charu’s head and falls lifelessly into touch. Trinity has pulled off an unexpected win and celebrate in style.
The high penalty and free kick count against Royal was compounded by the harsh Yellow Card. Diga’s absence during those vital 10 minutes and Thivain’s exit after injury were the moments that Royal never recovered from. Their inability to dominate via the rolling maul in the 1st half probably made them resist kicking to touch and securing lineout ball. Their cross field 7’s type running from deep was not productive against a well marshalled defence. Not scoring any points in the 2nd half is the biggest concern.
