rinity flanker Hamza Abdeen on his way for a try
Trinity winger Minula Yaddehige breaks towards a touchdown
By Shamseer Jaleel
Trinity College brushed off Royal in less than 15 minutes of running rugby at the Royal Sports Complex with a grand 33/10 win in the first leg of the 80th Bradby Shield encounter last weekend.
At the short breather, it was 7/3 in favour of the Lions.
Trinity took time to settle, and the Lions’ burst lasted just 15 minutes, during which they scored 23 unanswered points. Royal went into a deep sleep after 60 minutes of grand rugby, which put the Lions on the back foot many times. Royal’s powerful forwards played their hearts out. Skipper Disas Pathirana led the side from the front, and Trinity was not allowed to move freely.
Trinity, coming in unbeaten as double champions led by Shan Althaf, looked a different outfit once they settled. Their champion calibre was visible in the last 15 minutes of play. As usual, Achintha Jayasena, Hamza Abdeen, Minula Yaddhige and skipper Shan Althaf played their hearts out, while scrum-half Udan Wijekoon coordinated well from the base. Kevin Weerakoon too played well from the centre position along with Manzil.
Royal drew first blood through Senuja Ranasinghe with a penalty in the 13th minute to give the hosts a 3-0 lead. Trinity bounced back in the 22nd minute through a move created by skipper Shan Althaf, where Kevin Weerakoon brushed aside a few defenders to touch down. Shan added the extra two points to take a 7/3 lead.
After lemons, the Reid Avenue outfit, playing good rugby, touched down through Senuja Ranasinghe, and Kavindu Hewage converted to take a 10/7 lead. Trinity, through a sweeping three-quarter move, scored through dashing winger Minula Yaddehige. Shan added the extras to give the Lions a 14/10 lead.
From this point onwards, Trinity cut loose to score tries through Hamza Abdeen, Bilal Nazeer and Matheesha Jayasinghe. Shan was successful with two of the conversions.
Japanese referee Shimizu May controlled the game beautifully.