The historic Bradby Shield encounter enters its 80th edition as Royal College and Trinity College prepare to face each other in a series that concludes on July 25 at Pallekele.
The opening leg of this long standing schoolboy rugby rivalry takes place at the Royal College Sports Complex in Colombo.
This milestone series carries extraordinary weight because the two institutions are meeting an unprecedented four times in a single year.
Trinity College enters the clash as an undefeated juggernaut seeking a historic domestic treble under the leadership of their captain and fullback Shan Althaf.
Trinity College recently secured the 2026 Schools Rugby League title with a perfect nine and zero record including a final victory over St. Peter’s College by 20 points to 7.
They also ended a 15 year knockout drought in April by defeating Royal College 58 to 26 to claim the Presidents Trophy at the Sugathadasa Stadium before adding a 48 to 15 win in the league Super Round.
In contrast, Royal College enters the encounter determined to protect the shield they reclaimed last year with a gritty 18 to 13 aggregate victory.
The Colombo school has a history of defying league form to safeguard the trophy.
Royal College will depend on their captain and number eight Disas Pathirana along with flankers Senuja Ranasinghe and Althaf Aman.
Tactical duties will fall to fly half Mohomed Simak who intends to utilise the pace of winger Dinuka Perera. Trinity College will counter with an explosive lineup featuring scrum half Udan Wijekoon, number eight Achintha Jayasena, fly half Abdul Malik, and defensive coordinator Nisith Kumarasinghe.
The traditional rivalry officially commenced in 1945 when the principal of Royal College, Edward Lawrence Bradby, presented a silver adorned wooden shield to the principal of Trinity College, C. E. Simithraaratchy.
Although the teams first met on the rugby field on July 31 in 1920, the shield established the current two leg aggregate format.
Trinity College holds a minor historical advantage in the series with 40 wins compared to 37 victories for Royal College, whilst two series concluded in draws.
Historical disruptions have occasionally altered the tournament, including the total cancellation of the series in 2020 and 2021 due to a global pandemic.
Furthermore, the second leg of the 1971 series was cancelled because of the JVP insurrection, which allowed Royal College to retain the shield after winning the opening match.
The highest aggregate record remains with the 2002 Royal College team led by Zulki Hamid, who defeated their rivals 83 to 0
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