Embarking upon an exciting new school rugby season, Royal College, Colombo kicks off the much-anticipated Inter-Schools Rugby Tournament, with the first match scheduled to take place on 24th of June 2022.
The tournament was temporarily suspended in 2020 following the first match due to the pandemic outbreak in Sri Lanka, and the health and safety concerns that ensued resulted in the abandonment of the 2021 tournament. This year, much to every rugby enthusiast’s delight, schools are geared up to put on a gripping show for all fans, both locally and internationally.
Royal College will host five to six home games – including the first leg of the 77th Bradby Shield Encounter played against Trinity College, Kandy; the B.C. Anghie Trophy played against St. Peter’s College, Bambalapitiya; and the Michael Gunaratne Trophy played against S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia.
Following is the full list of matches:
1st round
• Royal College vs. St. Anthony’s College, Kandy (Home)
• Royal College vs. Kingswood College, Kandy (Home)
• Royal College vs. Trinity College, Kandy (Home)
• Royal College vs. S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia (Home)
• Royal College vs. St. Joseph’s College, Maradana (Away)
Harshith Peris and Kaveen Saranga are appointed as the Captain and Vice-Captain, respectively, for the Inter-Schools Rugby Tournament 2022.
Appointed as the Head Coach of Royal College is Dushanth Lewke. After a successful stint as the Royal College Under-18 Head Coach, Lewke was appointed as the Assistant Coach of Royal College’s first XV team in 2013. In 2018, he was appointed as Head Coach, and since his appointment, Royal College was crowned league champions and also won Bradby in 2018 and 2019.
Organised by the Rugby Match Organising Committee of Royal College, an overwhelming audience of over 15,000 spectators are expected to attend the Bradby Shield Encounter at the Royal College Sports Complex, while a crowd of over 3,000 spectators is expected for the games against S. Thomas’ and St. Peter’s leading up to the Bradby Shield Encounter.
Coming on board as sponsors of Royal Rugby 2022 are National Development Bank PLC (NDB Bank) as the Main Event Sponsor and Brandix Lanka Ltd as the Main Team Sponsor, while Omnicom Media Group partners as the Official PR Sponsor of Royal Rugby, continuing to extend their support for school sports in Sri Lanka.
The annual Royal College Rugby Season boasts a long history of prestige and comradeship between some of the leading schools in the country, where both winning and losing are accepted most graciously.
