Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 4, 2024 Royal College, Colombo, is set to launch the Inter-Schools Rugby Tournament with a thrilling start on June 15, 2024, against Kingswood College, Kandy. The much-anticipated under-19 rugby tournament is just days away, with schools ready to deliver an exhilarating spectacle for school rugby fans.
Royal College will host four home games, including the first leg of the 78th Bradby Shield Encounter against Trinity College, Kandy. Other traditional trophy games against St. Thomas’ and St. Peter’s will also be featured.
Royal Rugby Fixtures 2024
15th June – Kingswood College (Home)
23rd June – Vidyartha College (Away)
29th June – Zahira College (Away)
06th July – Thurstan College (Away)
13th July – Wesley College (Away)
19th July – St. Joseph’s College (Away)
27th July – St. Peter’s College (Home) – B.C. Angie Memorial Trophy
24th August – Trinity College (Home) – Bradby Shield 1st Leg
07th September – Trinity College (Away) – Bradby Shield 2nd Leg
TBD – St. Thomas’ College – Michael Gunarathne Trophy
TBD – Isipathana College – Major Milroy Fernando Trophy
Thivain Perera has been appointed as the Royal College Captain, with Buweneka Senanayake and Yehan Weerasooriya serving as Vice-Captains. Dushanth Lewke has been re-appointed as Head Coach. Lewke, who had a successful tenure as the Under-18 Head Coach, became the Assistant Coach of Royal College’s first XV team in 2013. In 2018, he was promoted to Head Coach, leading the team to league championships in 2018 and 2019. After finishing as league runners-up last year, Royal College is aiming for its 9th league title in the post-2000 era. In the past 5 years, Royal College has consistently ranked among the top three teams in the Division 1 Rugby League.
Organized by the Rugby Match Organizing Committee of Royal College, the Bradby Shield Encounter is expected to draw an overwhelming audience of over 15,000 spectators this year.
The main sponsors for Royal Rugby 2024 include National Development Bank PLC (NDB Bank) as the Main Event Sponsor and Brandix Lanka Ltd as the Main Team Sponsor. Uber Eats will be the Co-Event Sponsor.
Additional sponsors include Union Assurance (Insurance Partner), Brixton Lighting (Co-Team Sponsor & Junior Rugby Sponsor), Ralham Sports (Sports Equipment Partner), BOLT (Clothing Partner), Lanka Hospitals (Healthcare Partner), Courtyard by Marriott (Hospitality Partner), Ceylex Vision Care (Optical Partner), Nestle MILO (Nourishing Energy Partner), Affinity Consulting (IT Strategic Partner), Prima (Food Partner), Elephant House (Beverage Partner), Quadrangle (Social Media Partner), Omnicom Media Group (PR Partner), Ceylex Engineering (Engineering Partner), Ceylon Cleaners (Laundry Partner), EFM (Radio Partner), Homelands (Tuskers Partner), EOAS (Lifestyle Partner), and American Water (Hydration Partner). These sponsors continue to support the development of school rugby in Sri Lanka.
The annual rugby season is renowned for its long history of prestige and camaraderie among some of the country’s leading schools, where both winning and losing are embraced with grace.