The perfect performance for the perfect occasion

By 13/94

When Sachin Gamage intercepted the ball just inside the Royal 40 meter line and sped away, I got up with the 10,000 faithful at the Royal College sports complex to cheer on another fabulous score. However, when I opened my mouth to do so nothing came out.

While others were jumping up and down and roaring at the top of their voices I could only stand still. Streams of tears were rolling down my cheeks. There were a million thoughts going through my head. How ironic that after conceding two intercept tries in Kandy, Royal was scoring one of its own.

What a performance it had been so far from Royal, another bit of aggressive defence carving out another opportunity in attack. In my heart I knew this was the moment Royal had won the Bradby! After four years of agonising over little things like the bounce of the ball, the call of the ref, the tackle that should have been made, and the penalty that should have been taken, the Bradby was finally coming to Reid Avenue!

In 2011 when a Trinity team put on a ‘performance for the ages’ to overturn an eight point deficit to win the Bradby Shield at Reid Avenue, the scars ran deep. For Ried Avenue was a fortress. A fearsome place to play if you are the away team.

Firstly, it’s the only stadium in Colombo that can seat 10,000 fans. Secondly, the stands are very close to the action. There are no race tracks around it, you can virtually hear the players’ thoughts. Now add in eight to ten thousand screaming Royalists and even the spirits of the Lions in ancient Rome would wake up from their slumber.

This ground was built for one thing and one thing only, it was the school’s tribute to one of its greatest classrooms… rugby! Four years after that performance Royal had not seen their beloved Bradby Shield.

The conversation leading up to the match was cautious even amongst the bravest of Royalists. No doubt that this was a good Royal team. They had shown glimpses of brilliance during the season thus far. A determined performance against a plucky Science College, a demolition of S. Thomas’ College and a hoodoo broken at Pallekale should have convinced the faithful. But they would be the first to admit that their performances were below their best so far.

When I met up with one of the coaches at the pre match rugby dinner, he was quietly confident. “A win alone will not be enough, we need to make a statement,” he said. The look in his eyes made me relax… for about two minutes…

When the game began, the first 12 minutes was exactly what the Royalists dreaded it would be. Trinity dictating the game, threatening to score on a couple of occasions. But then we saw something not seen in a long time. Pride in the Royal goal line! Wave after wave of Trinity attack was met with thunderous defence determined to ensure their goal line was not crossed.

After repulsing the initial Trinity attack, a brilliant chip kick from Ashok Vijaykumar resulted in a five meter scrum for Royal, in the 2015 rugby season this is code for a Supun Warnakulasuriya try. Royal had scored with their first foray into the Trinity 22 meter zone. The second foray resulted in a penalty converted. This was followed by a brilliantly worked try, a true example of 14 men putting the winger over for a try.

When Sabith Fernando went over the line at the corner, Reid Avenue erupted. When half time was called, Royal was ahead 18 point to nil. You would think this would have settled the Royalists. But they had been there before. In 2014 Royal made a blistering start to lead at the halftime by 18 points to 6 in Pallekale, only to lose the match by 18 points to 19 and thereby lose the Bradby. Could lightning strike twice?

Twenty minutes into the second half and all those present were witness to one of the greatest displays of forwards rugby in the history of this encounter. Unstoppable rolling mauls, massive scrums, bullocking carries, silken hands and towering lineouts all resulting in two more tries. It wasn’t until little Gamage ran the intercept home from 60 meters did the hard core among us relax. By the time the whistle blew for the end of the match, the Royal supporters were drunk on one of the most amazing displays of rugby seen at Reid Avenue.

Filled with passion, teamwork, a bit of magic and an incredible sense of pride. There was even laughter when the try that would have brought the half century was disallowed. Once by a phantom knock on and the second by an actual one.

49 points to nil – this was not a win, this was a statement! Truly the way to bring the Bradby Shield home after four years! Captain Bhanuka Gamage and Vice-Captain Keshan Pieris take a bow, you and your team have created the perfect Bradby performance. Coach Sanath Martis and Dushantha Lewke have now the unenviable task of motivating their boys to carry on with the rest of the season. Judging by what they have done with the class of 2015 so far, I don’t think it will be a problem.

Respice Finem.