| Royall skippers: Ratna Sivaratnam and then 'Duddo' Fernando Come next Saturday, the 7th of July 2001, the scene would have moved from Bogambara in Kandy to the magnificent new Royal College Sports Stadium in Colombo 7, which will surely stand in testimony to the vision and commitment of Hemaka Amarasuriya and his team. The first leg of the senior and junior matches are behind us. The exclusive and elite Royal Rugby Dinner, limited only to those who played for Royal in the Bradby series held the previous night has left many with hangovers. The second leg of the under 17 match is over. The Royal College band has done its stuff in style and received a round of applause. The two senior squads are lined up after their warm up. Old Kalu, his wife Kanthie and their chums are mighty proud. A very rare instance in the Bradby series when father and son have both captained Royal. The school songs of the two great institutions have been sung lustily, echoing through and out of the overflowing stadium. That will be the backdrop when the principals of Royal and Trinity, the chairman of the organizing committee and the Chief Guest for the match step out to be introduced to the teams. Many will wonder who the Chief Guest is. Tall, handsome, still youthful with a full head of black hair (thanks to the quality of water in Jakarta!) and the characteristic and age-old slight stoop. A few hundreds among the several thousands will immediately recognize him as D.N. Fernando who led the Royal side of 1958 which brought the Bradby shield back to Reid Avenue after what seemed a never-ending lapse of six years. There will be mutters and of course catcalls. Dudley, Duddo and for the still mischievous among them B.B.D.N! Between 1952 and 1956 Royal had a disappointing patch in the Bradby series despite having rugby legends of the likes of the late 'Puggy' Gunaratne and Lionel Almeida, to name only a couple, captaining the side. Mr. Elmo de Bruin, the great Royalist and teacher had given up hope. In his articles to the school magazine he wondered whether we would see the Bradby shield ever again within the portals of Royal. But what could we do when Trinity and their Farm School produced wave after wave of rugby giants. We did put up valiant efforts but Trinity Lions Mervyn Panditharatne, Dhansiri Madugalle, Ana Bandaranaike, Kavan Rambukwella, Lucky Vitharne, Babu Jacob, David Frank, Wilhelm Balthazar, Franklyn Jacob, to name only a few, almost ran circles round us. After losing the Bradby once again in 1956, Mr.M.T.Thambapillai, the great Trinitian who became a Royal rugby legend as the master- in-charge of the game for some three decades, was a sad but determined man. Sad because on account of the then favourite hobby of Trinitians of collecting Markovich cigarette butts, rugby colours were not awarded to any in the Royal team. The prospect of going into the 1957 season without a single coloursman was daunting. Determined because that was him. In his unforgettable tone and language, he thundered "Bloody hell, we can't even score after crossing the line. We have to do something about our rugby or else the Bradby will stay put in the cold climes of Kandy." A science graduate with a well-trained mind and a chess player of no mean repute, he made his moves. He summoned his rugby captain of 1949, Geoff Weinman, who was the first ever schoolboy to don the then Ceylon jersey and who then went on to dominate the club and international scene. He thumped Geoff on his shoulder and said "Son, I don't care a damn as to how busy you are at work, active rugby or courting girls, but you will bloody well coach the college side next year." Not knowing what hit him but ever obedient to his guru, Geoff spontaneously sprung to attention, saluted and said "Yes sir." A true Royalist to his fingertips he was being given a chance of repaying, at least in some measure, the debt of gratitude he owed his Alma Mater. Mr. Thambapillai then glanced through the seniority list of the available players and picked on Ratna (Roti) Sivaratnam to captain the side. Why he was nicknamed Roti is another story and had nothing to do with his rugby prowess. Sivaratnam was already showing signs of leadership which have been further strengthened in recent times. Under his stewardship as chairman and CEO of Aitken Spence, the chart depicting the growth of profits of the company, looks like a medium size Palmyrah tree. Medium size because the profits are still lower than the figures of some other corporates. Be that as it may, and reverting to 1957, the choice of Sivaratnam as skipper was an excellent one. Ralph Wickremaratne, one of the finest rugby players Royal has produced, was the obvious choice for Vice Captain. The scene was then set for what hopefully was going to be Royal's revival in the Bradby series. In the first leg in soggy Bogambara in Kandy, Royal was once again defeated 8 - O. It looked as if all the plans and moves would be of no avail. The then high priests of Royal rugby, "Thamba", Geoff, "Roti" and Ralph put their heads together and made several bold changes in the team in persons and positions of play for the second leg to be played at the CR&FC grounds in Colombo. Critics there were but they were silenced when within ten minutes of play Trinity's 8 - O lead had been erased and the best of two matches was on even keel. Lorenz Pereira, the outstanding all round sportsman who had been lured into rugby by Roti's persuasiveness over evening conversations down High Street, did a neat interception to score under the posts for Maurice Anghie to convert. Royal led 5- O. Then Ralph playing in the line for the first time broke through for an unconverted try. 8-O and Roti kept shouting out "I know you guys will win the Bradby for me." He didn't realize what was in store for us. After all, Trinitians play rugby from the age of four. A penalty and an unconverted try and the tally reduced to 8 - 6. The Bradby shield was securely in Trinity's bag but as Roti then kept shouting " I know you guys will at least win the match for me" and then introduced into rugby jargon for the first time in the game's history, "Play like fire." Whilst some of us were trying to decipher this command, Bultjens dribbled the ball for some 90 yards, the like of which has not been seen since then. All of us repeatedly fell on the ball and Roti a half a dozen times in attempts to stall the move but without success. Bultjens crossed the line with the ball at his feet and just fell on it. Trinity had won the match 9 - 8. Roti muttered under his breath "I knew you guys would let me down". What the great skipper didn't realize then was that he had led Royal to rugby revival and as Mr. Bruin wrote "But Royal's rugby had more than established itself'. A hard to come by tribute which Roti proudly shares with his teammates, who in turn still look up to him. And then to 1958. Ralph Wickremaratne had prematurely thrown in his gloves to be lured into planting. The skipper's mantle fell on Dudley Fernando's broad shoulders and what a great skipper he made. He had also captained the Royal Primary soccer team in 1950. Geoff and "Thamba" were still around and so were many of the coloursmen of the previous year including his predecessor Roti. Dudley's team with the mercurial Maurice Anghie as his deputy was great on paper. A crack three quarter line with the likes of Maurice Anghie, Lorenz Pereira, Tony Rankine, O.G. Samaratunge to name a few. The pack with the burly de Silva brothers, H.S. and Lalith, the late Chula de Zoyza, Roti and Dudley himself as lock forward wearing his permanent scrum cap and the rest of the eight could have matched the All-Ceylon side of that time and in fact pushed back most of the club sides that year. This was not really necessary as R.A. Potuhera, c/o L. A. Potuhera, Potuhera, at the base of the scrum had mastered the art of manoeuvring the ball into the second row without the referee noticing it. This came in very handy in tight head scrums. The pre-Bradby school games were near chicken feed. St.Peter's for instance was trounced 34-6. That was the game when Dudley did a slow jog over some 50 yards covering even the matting on the cricket pitch in Bambalapitiya, looking without success, for someone to pass the ball to and to take the credit for scoring the try. He was compelled to reluctantly score the try himself. That was Dudley. But what of Trinity? As is the case even today, all other games pale into insignificance in comparison to the two legs of the Bradby matches. If Royal's side was formidable and confident following the previous year's performance, Trinity's side was awesome. Ken de Joedt (captain) Sena de Silva, Bultjens (again) Azain, Nimal Maralanda, Denzil Kobbekaduwa, Dias de Singhe, Mike de Alwis, Eric Roles and Ken Murray to name a few (phew!). There was concern in our ranks but nothing disturbed Dudley, a trait that has held him in good stead till even now. He has been working in Jakarta for the past ten years or so and when we hear of some debacle there and ring him in concern for his safety his response invariably is "What problem machan". He has always been calm even when others think the sky is about to fall around him. The three of us who went to Dehiwala to fetch him to catch the train to Thalaimannar on the first leg of the school's Indian trip well remember running down the platform at the Fort railway station with our bags et al to jump on to the moving train all because Dudley took his own cool time saying "Cheri", individually mind you, to his father, mother, sisters, brothers and all and sundry who were around. Back to rugby and Dudley who held a team of outstanding individual players together as a team as only he could. He was tough when the need arose but always a caring skipper. When Potuhera as scrum half dislocated his right shoulder, Duddo's fatherly advice was "don't worry machan, you can pass with one hand". To Pottha's credit he took his captain's advice and did so but then Pottha was hard to beat as a rugby player and even now as a person and a friend. The first leg of the Bradby in Colombo, of course at the CR. Late in the first half, from a scrum on the Trinity 25 yard line (and here I am quoting from the second term school magazine of 1958 where the scribe fails to state that it was a tight head scrum for Royal), a quick clean heel. Forget the hook. The ball moves. Potuhera to stand off Maurice Angie, Lorenz Pereira who had moved in from the other wing, Tony Rankine, O.G. Samaratunge and to winger Lal Senaratne who found himself surrounded by Trinity defenders and then lo and behold there was Lorenz once again to take a short pass to cross the line by the corner flag. All this happened so fast that many in the scrum hardly had an opportunity to witness the try which has been hailed as the best ever in the history of the Bradby series. The conversion was more than difficult. 3 O. The pace in the second half was no less furious. Tackling of the highest order. Time and again following line-outs, Sivaratnam as wing forward, Pottha and even front row forward Chula De Zoyza tackling the legendary Nimal Maralanda by his ankles. Post scrum tackling was rarely necessary as we were invariably in possession. Over and over again, we nearly made it, only to be beaten back with only a yard or two to go. Finally after a long tussle near the Trinity goal line, Potuhera scores and Maurice Anghie converts. 8 - 0. Final whistle and Royal had beaten Trinity after many moons. Unprecedented jubilation. Fine, but how does Royal hold onto the lead and wrest the Bradby from the Lion's den in Kandy? Impossible said the sceptics. A hectic game. Once again tackling of the highest order from both sides. Nimal Maralanda, Ken De Joedt and Sena de Silva pulling everything out of their well acknowlelged armoury. Attempted drop kicks using the left and right leg, dummies, scissors, hand-offs and what not. Royal's defence held. A nil-all draw. The Bradby shield was on its way back to Royal. Dudley's team had completed the season without the Royal line being crossed even once and had defeated what arguably is one of Trinity's best ever sides. More than half the Trinity side of that year played for All Ceylon within a few years of that defeat. Back in Colombo, the Friday school assembly at Royal precisely at 9 am. The whole school in the hall and the balconies. Mr. Dudley De Silva, the principal, and staff walk on to the stage from the rear. The assembly stands up and sits down with them. Then from the rear entrance of the hall Dudley Fernando does a slow march. Yes, with that slight stoop, carrying the Bradby shield. The whole assembly including the staff rise, applauding as never before. Dudley Fernando's greatest moment. He deserved it - a lovable and great leader of men. Our eyes moistened as emotion for our skipper took over from the rough and tumble of rugby. See you at the second leg. May we witness Champagne rugby in the great traditions of the Bradby series. May Duddo present the shield to the better side. - Ken Balendra |
| BRADBY SHIELD |
| This rather long article was taken from the "Sunday Times" |
| Royal won the first leg (12-6) which was held in Kandy on the 23rd of June. The Royalists then won the second leg (16-0) on the 7th of July. |
| This article was taken from "The Island" |
| Lions cornered by Royalists Hafiz Marikar in Kandy It was a titanic battle up front as both teams tried their level best to wrest the initiative, but luck was on Royal?s side and they took the first leg, of the ?Bradby Shield?, with a 12 points (a goal and a try) to 6 (2 penalties) victory over Trinity, at the Bogambara Stadium, on Saturday. In this 57th edition, which was witnessed by a massive crowd of over fifteen thousand, Royal got off to a flying start through a superb try by centre Rajith Jayasundara with the kick off. From this point onwards, the Royal ?eight? took charge going into every ruck, maul and grabbing the loose ball as if their very lives depended on it. Their hard work was rewarded with another try barely six minutes after the first. This time prop forward Shamil Mohamed went over and Dev Wijewardene, who fluffed the first conversion, goaled it. Thus, within the first ten minutes Royal, led by that dynamic centre Harin Kaluarachchi, were well set with 12 points on the board. The Royal skipper along with lock forward Dushantha Lewke were involved in everything thing that the Royalists threww at the Trinitians. It was a forwards? game for most part. Royal used their superior weight and bound much tighter and lower and this saw them get the ball out faster and more often than their opponents. That they could not make use of this advantage, speaks volumes for the speed and anticipation of Trinity?s halves combination of Ganewatha and Vidanagamage along with the third row of Robert Harley, Dinesh Weerarathne and Gayan Welikumbara all who moved fast to stop any Royal moves from getting into full flow. Before half time, Trinity?s new place kicker Prageeth Wasalathanthri put over two penalties to give his side six points. From here onwards all scoring came to an end. The Royalists, having a taken an early 12 points lead, did not press but defended it to the last. Meanwhile, Trinity had every chance of pulling off the game and they are only to blame for not being able to do so due to their constant fumbling and dropping the ball that came their way. The Royalists took the field with confidence and the Trinitians with determination, but sad to say, both sides disappointed the mammoth crowd with their rather tame approach, which was not in keeping with the tradition of the ?Bradby?. However, it must be said that it was pleasing to see the hard and low tackle being performed by the players, of both sides, who put everything into it. Here too the Royalists had an edge. The opposing back divisions were a marked contrast to each other. While the Royalists always looked dangerous in possession, the Trinity three quarters apperaed to be flat footed and seemed to have a dislike for hard running. Royal scrum half Zulkarnain Hamid did a grand job. His passes and thinking on the game were superb. The Royalists played as an unit once they were safely in the lead by the 10th minute but this was not so of their opponents. For Royal, skipper Harin Kaluarachchi, Rajith Jayasundara, Dev Wijewardene, Shamil Mohamed, Kaushan Athukorale and Dushantha Lewke, who proved to be an intelligent player by making full use of every opportunity that came his way, stood out. Rajith Jayasundara?s try was a sight to behold. He dummied, swereved and jinxed his way through, at top speed, to bewilder an entire Trinity defence. The Trinitians, who took the field as under dogs, gave a good account of themselves but their back division let them down, In the 24th minute of the first half, their left winger seemed to have scored a try, but it was disallowed as the touch judge signalled that he had stepped out. For the Trinitians it was players like Tissal Jayawardene, Dushan de Silva, Prageeth Wasalathanthri, Robert Harley, Sriyan de Mel and Tilina Ganewatha who played hard. It is hard to see Trinity winning the second leg due to be played at the Sugathadasa Stadium in two weeks time. They will need a remarkable performance to win the ?Bradby?. However their are bound to be changes in the teams. Trinity Lion Jayantha Jayawardene, a well known figure in rugby circles, was the chief guest. Kandy Police, under the supervision of SP Daya Samaraweera and HQI E. Mahendra did a good job of crowd controlling. Dr. Srinatha Chandrasekera was in attendance as the official doctor. The seating arrangements disappointed the large crowds. Most who had paid for seats were left to stand as they found that their seats had already been occupied and there was no one to look into the matter. Nizam Jamaldeen did a good job with the whistle. |
| ROYAL TAKES THE SHIELD |
| 'Kalu'- Magic seals Royal's Bradby win By Bernie Wijesekera The unbeaten Royalists mid way in the second half made it a crackerjack finale to the controversy riddled schools rugby season when they dethroned the Bradby Shield holders Trinity by 16 points (a goal and 3 penalties) to nil in the second-leg played before a capacity crowd at their new sports Complex Grounds at Race Course yesterday. It was nil-all at the breather. In the first leg Royal won 12 - 6 at Bogambara. The match was set to an exciting forwards battle with the conditions underfoot ideal for the respective forwards to revel. The first half was evenly contested. After the first leg both teams had much to learn - the commitments by the respective back divisions. Both teams kept the ball moving despite having to handle a slippery ball. The 'Lions' had the edge in the initial half where they ran amok with their ferocious play in the loose. Winning - much of the good ball and some loose heads. But they lapsed during vital stages of the game. The breezy Royal line was closely marked. The Trinity defence was impregnable in this half. Both teams in this half fluffed with their spot kicks. Just before the short whistle Trinity counter-attacked and was on the verge of scoring with the line staring at them, but a forward was spied off side. Possesion was shared. In the second half Royal coach Lagata, who will take over the Havelocks coaching from July 9 had prepared the team for all eventualities. Skipper Haren Kaluarachchi, the daring centre who led from the front proved that Royal was a quality team, to wrest back the Bradby Shield from their arch rivals. He scored the only try of the match with a sizzling 30 yard run, when Trinity's winger S.B. Dissanayake fumbled the ball. Dev Wijewardena added the extra points. Earlier after few lapses in the first half Dev arrowed three spot kicks and accounted for 11 points for Royal's winning score. Ironically in the ninth minute of the second half three players were sent to the sin-bin simultaneously for throwing punches by Ref. Dilroy Fernando. Two from Trinity, hooker Prageeth Wasalatantri and centre Shamila Jayasinghe, and Royal's fly half, Ishan Perera. At this stage Trinity lost much of their fire and power and conceded ten points with their defence in disarray. In the end they lost the match and the Bradby. Dudley Fernando, who led the Royal team in 1958 to wrest back the Bradby Shield was the chief guest. Fernando, presented the Bradby Shield to Royal skipper Haren Kaluarachchi. In the under-17 match Trinity defeated Royal by 10 points (two tries) to nil after leading 5-0 at the half to regain the Sumitharatchi Trophy after 1996. The two tries were scored by flanker I. A. Jayasekera and fly half M. R. M. Buckman. Referee. Samrath Fernando. In the first leg, Royal U-17 won 15-12. |
| This article was taken from "The Island" |
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