Royal smashed unbeaten Trinity to smithereens with a rousing display to win by 19 points (2 goals, 2 tries and a penalty) to nil in the First Leg of the Bradby Shield match played yesterday at Longden Place.
Royal were just great. They rode determination and resoluteness right from the word ‘go’ to have Trinity in a vice-like grip, out of which they just could not break free. It might not have been an altogether elegant or classical display by Royal, but the manner in which they played, hell-bent on destroying anything ahead of them, provided a truly stirring performance.
Their forwards completely outplayed Trinity’s ‘eight’ in the loose. Quicker on the loose ball, they pounced on each stray pass to make some rushes that had the Trinity defence rattled and shaken. Skipper de Silva led them in the loose with his most striking performance indeed, and had splendid support from Tilak de Silva L.A.T. de Silva, Kannangara and Yousoof. For once, the Trinity forwards were being dictated to. Harried and hustled in the loose, they had a tough job containing the rampaging Royal forwards – and furtherst from their minds was the support they could have leant to their outsides.
But where Royal really exploited was in the weakness that lay in Trinity’s full back. Trinity made the biggest tactical rugby blunder of the year in shifting their regular fullback, Shafi Jainu Deen, to the inside three-quarter berth and bringing in their Under 17 full-back.
Jainu Deen has been the designer of Trinity’s attacking rugger and, at inside, he was too easy a target for the Royal defence. All Royal had to do was kick to the full back – and instantly they were placed in an attacking position. That’s exactly what they did and stayed in attack right through the game.
But whatever Trinity’s mistakes were there’s no taking the shine off Royal’s magnificent, glorious win. They played with the will to win – and played it with such purpose and determination that there really was no stopping them.
While the Trinity outside stammered and crashed in their play, the Royal threes moved with far greater sting. Trinity’s halves combine of Ismail and Buthpitiya was not a patch on the Royal’s combine of Malwatte and Samarawickrema.
Consequently, Royal were able to launch more moves while Trinity could not come up with a single complete move, being tackled in possession or forced to kick ahead.
By far the most outstanding three-quarter was Royal’s centre Jagath Fernando. His defence was superb and in attack he was the player who fashioned Royal’s moves. It was fitting he should have scored the best try of the match when he intercepted a pass from forty yards out and scorched through to side-step the fullback and score. Royal knocked up eight points in the first ten minutes of the game. First, winger Soyza scored off a move begun from a loose ruck about five yards out.
Then, off a five-yard scrum in Trinity’s 25, their scrum half Buthpitiya slung a pass that went astray in Trinity’s in-goal area. Trinity, rather than touch down in defence, juggled around and the ball rolled loose for Yousoof to touch down. C.T. de Silva converted to make it 8-nil. This gift try completely knocked the bottom off Trinity and Royal were set for a scoring spree.
Before half-time was through, they scored again when the forwards started a foot rush from their own half, booted the ball right to the goal line for winger Soyza to touch down. C.T. de Silva converted 13-nil.
Then came Jagath Fernando’s solo try and late in the game C.T. de Silva kicked a penalty to make it 19-nil.
(This report by TMKS was published in the Ceylon Observer)