Trinity face uphill task

Trinity College will face the uphill task of overturning a 17-point first-leg deficit when they take on traditional rivals Royal College in the second leg of the 75th Bradby Shield encounter at the Royal Sports Complex today.

Trinity have made a few changes to their line-up after the 34-17 defeat in Pallekele two weeks ago, as they have brought in fly half Milindu Jayasundara to the first XV in an attempt create more chances.

Former Royal College forward Lennox Calyanarathne though has missed out on a place in the starting line-up and instead been named in the squad as a substitute and is likely to make an appearance in the second half against his former school.

Trinity despite playing well failed to stop Royal from securing such a big lead and on Saturday they will be desperate to make amends against the old foe.

Centre Harsha Samarasinghe and wing three quarter Amitha Kulatunga should be the key players for Trinity in their attempt to turn tables on Royal College.

On the other hand Royal has no pressure having sealed a 17-point lead and they would look to stick to their basics and see this game through. Second row Fadil Adahan is a crucial player for Royal College especially in set pieces. Royal forwards have been very disciplined in set pieces and it has led to most of their tries. Captained by Thulaib Hassen, the Royalists have only been beaten just once so far this season while their opponents have been in very poor form coming into this game losing to St. Peter’s last week.

Lehan Gunarathne who touched down twice in the first leg has been named as a substitute surprisingly, with Kalindu Nandila still being the preferred fly-half in the head coach Dushantha Lewke’s set-up.

Royal have dominated the Bradby in the recent years since they won it in 2015. They have won it thrice in the last four years with 2016 being a tie.