The Varsity Match is an annual
rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
fixture played between the universities of
OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday (7 December) for the first time. The most recent match was held on 9 December 2010, with Oxford winning 21–10. The event began in 1872, with interruptions only for the two World Wars. Since 1921, the game has been played at
Twickenham StadiumTwickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
,
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Following the 128th match in 2010, Oxford have 54 wins, and Cambridge maintain the lead with 60; 14 games have ended in draws.
Varsity matchA varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
es between Oxford and Cambridge are also arranged in various other sports. For example, the first recorded
water poloWater polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
match in history was played between Oxford and Cambridge in 1891.
History
The history of The Varsity Match extends back to early 1872. It was a year after the first ever rugby international (
EnglandThe England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
v
ScotlandThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
). Both Cambridge and Oxford sent officials to meet and arrange a match between each other. At The Parks, Oxford, they played a 20 a-side version of the game (as opposed to today's 15 a-side games; the teams would be set to 15 a-side by 1875). Oxford won the inaugural meeting. In that first match, Oxford wore dark blue jerseys (the same as today, though at some stages they wore white), however, Cambridge played in pink, changing to their blue and white in 1876.
The second Varsity Match was played at
Parker's PieceParker's Piece is a flat and very roughly square green common located near the centre of Cambridge, England. The two main walking and cycling paths across it run diagonally, and the single lamp-post at the junction is commonly known as Reality Checkpoint...
in Cambridge, but it was from then on moved to
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- played at venues such as
The OvalThe Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
(Kennington), Richardson's Field and
Rectory FieldRectory Field is a playing field in Blackheath, London. It was developed in the 1880s by Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company and became the home of Kent County Cricket Club and rugby union team Blackheath F.C....
(Blackheath), Queen's Club (Kensington - 1887 to 1920). The 1878 and 1879 matches were postponed due to
fogFog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
. In 1919, the players were apparently invisible due to fog. In 1921 the match was moved to the
Rugby Football UnionThe Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
's famous home ground,
TwickenhamTwickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
. The Varsity Match was not played during wartime. The Centenary match in 1981 was played at Twickenham with a layer of snow covering the pitch.
Referees
There was not a referee until the 1881 match, when Mr H.H.Taylor officiated. The record number of appearances is held by former RFU secretary, Rowland Hill, along with Welshman Gwynne Walters both with seven games. Other notable International referees who have controlled this fixture are, Englishmen G.H.Harnett (6) Cyril Gadney (6) and H.L. Ashmore (5) along with Welshmen Albert Freethy (6) and Clive Norling (5). Up until the start of the professional era, one of the unique aspects of the Varsity game was that the referee was not appointed by the RFU but agreed upon and invited by the two captains. Sadly this tradition has stopped along with that of the previous year's captains returning to act as touch judges. However, now there are professional referees and touch judges, and remarkably there is also a television match official.
In 2001 the MMC Trophy replaced the Bowring Bowl, established in 1976, as the prize.
2005 was the last year
Marsh & McLennan CompaniesMarsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. is a US-based global professional services and insurance brokerage firm. In 2007, it had over 57,000 employees and annual revenues of $10.49 billion. Marsh & McLennan Companies was ranked the 221st largest corporation in the United States by the 2009 Fortune 500...
(MMC) sponsored the match.
Famous Participants
Many of those who have played in the Varsity Match have gone on to win international honours; a number of others played in the Match after earning international honours. These include:
Paul AckfordPaul Ackford is a former English rugby union international who played lock forward. He was formerly an inspector in the Metropolitan Police, and is now a journalist.Ackford was born in Hanover, West Germany...
(Lock, Cambridge).
Simon AmorSimon Daniel Edward Amor is an English rugby union footballer who plays at scrum-half or fly-half for London Scottish and is a former captain of the England Sevens squad...
(Scrum Half, Cambridge).
Rob AndrewChristopher Robert "Rob" Andrew MBE , nicknamed "Squeaky", is a former English rugby union footballer and currently Director of Operations at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons. As a player, Andrew was assured in his kicking and defensive skills off both feet...
(Fly Half, Cambridge).
Stuart BarnesStuart Barnes is a former English rugby union footballer, and now rugby commentator for Sky Sports. Barnes played fly-half for Newport RFC, Bristol, Bath; and represented England and the British Lions at international level.-Biography:Born in Essex, Barnes was educated at Rougemont and Bassaleg...
(Fly Half, Oxford).
Phil de GlanvillePhilip Ranulph de Glanville is a former English rugby union player who played at centre for Bath and England.-Rugby career:...
(Centre, Oxford).
Mark DenneyMark Denney is a former rugby union footballer who played at centre for Bristol, Castres, Wasps and Cambridge University. He also attended Bedford Modern School- External links :**...
(Centre, Cambridge).
Simon HallidaySimon John Halliday is a former English rugby union international. He also played nine first-class cricket cricket matches...
(Centre, Oxford).
Alastair HignellAlastair James Hignell CBE is a former English rugby union international and cricketer.Hignell is the son of a former Great Britain athlete.-Sporting career:...
(Fullback, Oxford).
Damian HopleyDamian Hopley born 12 April 1970 in London, is a former rugby union player for London Wasps and England.Hopley's position of choice was on the wing or in the centres....
(Centre, Cambridge).
Martin PurdyMartin Purdy is an English rugby union player who is currently playing for English Rugby side London Welsh. Purdy's position of choice is as a lock.- Career :...
(Lock, Cambridge).
Chris SheasbyChris Sheasby , is an English former international rugby union player, now turned commentator and coach.-Biography:...
(Centre, Cambridge).
Oliver TomaszczykOliver Tomaszczyk is an English rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership.He plays as a prop and was previously a member of the Newcastle Falcons academy. He played for Argentian side Lomas Athletic in 2006, Tynedale, Oloron and appeared for England U18 in the 04/05 season...
(Prop, Oxford).
Victor Ubogu Victor Eriakpo Ubogu is a former Bath and England rugby union player. He also played, whilst still at university, for Moseley....
(Prop, Oxford).
Tony UnderwoodTony Underwood is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back. He is of Chinese-English parentage....
(Wing, Cambridge).
Ben WoodsBen Woods is a rugby union player for Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership as an openside flanker....
(Flanker, Cambridge). David Humphreys (Fly Half, Oxford). Mike Gibson (Centre, Cambridge).
David QuinlanDavid Quinlan is a retired Irish rugby player. He played for Blackrock College, Leinster and Northampton, as well as earning two caps for the Irish national team. His position of choice was as an inside centre. He retired due to injury in 2007.-References:...
(Centre, Cambridge).
Joe AnsbroJoe Ansbro is a Scottish international professional rugby union player. He is the first player of Afro-Caribbean origin to represent Scotland at test level in history. His favoured position is centre. He is currently playing for London Irish. -Early years:Ansbro was born in Glasgow and raised near...
(Centre, Cambridge).
Simon DanielliSimon Charles Jonathan Danielli is a professional rugby union player who plays on the wing for Ulster and Scotland.-Early life:...
(Wing, Oxford).
Gavin HastingsAndrew Gavin Hastings, OBE is a former Scotland rugby union player. He is frequently considered one of the best, if not the best, rugby player to come out of Scotland. His nickname is "Big Gav".Hastings was born in Edinburgh...
(Fullback, Cambridge). Simon Holmes (Openside flanker, Cambridge).
Stuart MoffatJohn Stuart David Moffat is a former Scottish rugby union international. He also played a first-class cricket match for Cambridge University....
(Fullback, Cambridge).
Rob WainwrightRobert Iain Wainwright is a former rugby union footballer who was capped 37 times for Scotland and once for the British Lions. He played flanker. He was educated at Glenalmond College and Magdalene College, Cambridge where he represented Cambridge University R.U.F.C..He received his first cap in...
(Flanker, Cambridge). Gareth Davies (Fly Half, Oxford).
Phil DaviesPhil Davies is a Welsh former rugby union footballer of the 1980s and 90s.-Rugby career:Davies played his club rugby for Llanelli and enjoyed a distinguished 46 cap career for Wales between 1985 and 1995...
(Lock, Cambridge). Marco Rivaro (Centre, Cambridge).
Kensuke IwabuchiKensuke "Kenny" Iwabuchi born on December 30, 1975 in Tokyo is a Japanese rugby player and coach. He plays at stand off, and has 20 caps for the Japan national rugby union team...
(Cambridge).
Toshiyuki HayashiToshiyuki Hayashi was a Japanese rugby union player. He played as a prop and as a lock.Hayashi played at Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers.He had 38 caps for Japan, scoring 3 tries, 12 points in aggregate...
(Oxford). Troy Coker (Number 8, Oxford). Rob Egerton (Wing, Oxford).
Joe RoffJoe Roff is a retired Australian rugby union footballer and a product of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club in Canberra, who played on the wing or at fullback for Brumbies and Australia and played 5 tests as a centre in the early part of his test career...
(Wing, Oxford). Dan Vickerman (Lock, Cambridge).
David KirkDavid Edward Kirk, MBE, , is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He is best known for having been the captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987....
(Halfback, Oxford). Mark Ranby (Centre, Cambridge).
Anton OliverAnton David Oliver is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer who most recently played professionally for the French second-division club Toulon, noted for signing veteran greats including former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and great George Gregan...
(Hooker, Oxford).
Nick MallettNicholas Vivian Howard Mallett is a former South African rugby union player who was until recently the head coach of the Italian national team, previously replacing Pierre Berbizier on 3 October 2007...
(Oxford).
Anton van ZylAnton van Zyl is a South African rugby union footballer.- External links :***...
(Lock, Oxford). Gareth Rees (Fly Half, Oxford).
Kevin TkachukKevin Tkachuk is a prop for the Canada national rugby union team and the Glasgow Warriors in Scotland....
(Prop, Oxford).
Andrew BibbyAndrew Bibby , in Melbourne, Victoria, is an Australian actor who played Lance Wilkinson on the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1995, 1996–2001 and in 2005...
(Winger, Oxford).
Stan McKeenStan McKeen is a Canadian rugby union player.-Rugby career:McKeen began his rugby career at St. George's School in Vancouver and eventually found himself playing for the UBC Old Boys rugby club. While still a youngster Stan achieved provincial representative honours and in 2001 played for his...
(Flanker, Oxford). Doug Rowe (Scrum Half, Cambridge).
1987 Rugby World Cup winning
All BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
captain
David KirkDavid Edward Kirk, MBE, , is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He is best known for having been the captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987....
played in the 1987 and 1988 Varsity Matches after ending his international career to take up a
Rhodes ScholarshipThe Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
at Oxford. Former
WallabyThe Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
Joe RoffJoe Roff is a retired Australian rugby union footballer and a product of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Union Club in Canberra, who played on the wing or at fullback for Brumbies and Australia and played 5 tests as a centre in the early part of his test career...
played in the 2006 and 2007 Varsity Matches for Oxford after retiring from professional rugby, captaining the side in 2007. Five former or current internationals played in the 2008 Varsity Match. The most notable were retired All Black hooker
Anton OliverAnton David Oliver is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer who most recently played professionally for the French second-division club Toulon, noted for signing veteran greats including former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga and great George Gregan...
for Oxford and former Wallaby lock
Dan VickermanDaniel Vickerman is a rugby union footballer for the New South Wales Waratahs and Australia who left a successful international career in 2008 to attend the University of Cambridge, where he read a degree in Land Economy at Hughes Hall, and returned to Australian Rugby in 2011...
for Cambridge, with Oxford also fielding current
CanadaThe Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
flankerA flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
Stan McKeenStan McKeen is a Canadian rugby union player.-Rugby career:McKeen began his rugby career at St. George's School in Vancouver and eventually found himself playing for the UBC Old Boys rugby club. While still a youngster Stan achieved provincial representative honours and in 2001 played for his...
and Cambridge fielding former All Black centre Mark Ranby and former
USAUSA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
scrum-half Doug Rowe. Vickerman captained Cambridge in the 2009 Match, in which McKeen and Rowe also played.
Results
By total wins
{| border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|
{| border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" style="border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! Total matches !! Cambridge victories !! Oxford victories !! Draws
|-
| style="text-align:center; color:#000;"| 129
| style="text-align:center; background:#B7E1E4; color:#000;"| 60
| style="text-align:center; background:#004685; color:#FFFFFF"| 55
| style="text-align:center; color:#000;"| 14
|}
See also
- Cambridge University RUFC
- Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
- Rugby union in England
Rugby union is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports in England. A popular myth is that Rugby was created in England in 1823, when William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it during a football match at Rugby School. In 1871 the RFU was formed by 21 clubs and the...
- The Game (Harvard-Yale)
- Varsity match
A varsity match is a sporting fixture between two university rivals; in its original and most common form, it is used to describe meetings between Oxford University and Cambridge University.-Popular British and Irish Varsity matches:*University of Oxford v...
- Oxbridge rivalry
Rivalry between the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge is a phenomenon going back many centuries. During most of that time, the two were the only universities in England and Wales, making the rivalry more intense than it is now....
External links