75th Bradby Shield Encounter to kick off in style
The Bradby Shield Encounter is the blue ribbon of the Sri Lanka Schools Rugby season. The first match between Royal College, Colombo and Trinity College, Kandy was played back in 1920. However, the Bradby Shield Encounter has been played annually and uninterrupted between the two traditional rivals since 1945, when the shield was first donated by E.L. Bradby, the Principal of Royal College at the time.
2019 marks the 75th anniversary of the Bradby Shield itself, which was crafted by Kandyan Silversmiths under the direction of E.L. Bradby. The winner of the series is decided based on the aggregate of the scores from the two matches – one leg of which is played in Colombo and the other leg in Kandy. The significance of this year’s Bradby Shield Encounter, as well as the introduction of a number of new features and activities, was announced at a press conference by Harith Jayasuriya, Chairman, Rugby Match Organising Committee, at the Duncan White Auditorium at the Ministry of Sports recently. The historic launch of the very first Bradby logo, the introduction of the toss coin, the re-launch of the official website, as well as the presentation of the 75th anniversary first day cover and stamp took place at the same venue. It was announced that the commemorative coffee table book, containing the 75-year history of the Bradby Shield Encounter, would be launched along with exclusive merchandise by the first week of May.
This year’s Bradby Shield Encounter will see the first ever Captains Enclosure for all past Bradby captains and their spouses for this special year, as well as the expansion of the Royal Tuskers Enclosure, an exclusive pavilion with privileged seating and other benefits for members of the Royal College Union and their families.
The official sponsors of Royal Rugby 2019 include Singer Sri Lanka (Main Event Sponsor), Arinma Holdings (Main Team Sponsor), Brandix (Co-sponsor), Vision Care (Optical Partner), Prima (Food Partner), Milo (Beverage Partner), Scan (Water Partner), Omnicom Media Group (PR Partner), Atom (Digital Media Partner), Quadrangle (Social Media Partner), Bolt Gear (Clothing Partner), Lanka Hospitals (Health Care Partner), Green Cabin (Catering Partner), HNB (Banking Partner), Mobil (Lubricant Partner), MAC Holdings (Logistics Partner) and Home Lands (Royal Tuskers Partner).