Varsity Rugby

The day before I went home for the holidays was spent in London, first at the Varsity Rugby match and then the Varsity Ball. Every year, most of the sport teams at Oxford and Cambridge play each other in what is arguably the biggest game of the year for both squads. Some events are larger than others (like rugby, rowing, and mens football) whereas most of the competitions take place on one day during Hilary term. The rugby match is one of the biggest Varsity Matches of the year (if not the biggest) and has seen countless internationals and professional rugby players take part. This year (and most years I’m aware of) the match was at Twickenham, the national rugby stadium. After watching some rugby internationals on tv this fall I realized that it would be good fun to attend the Varsity this year and so I was lucky enough to find a group of guys who were going that I could go along with. I didn’t really know what to expect (apart from a game and a ball and probably some alcohol) and wasn’t really made any more aware or knowledgeable by Jack’s explanation of “just you wait, lots, and I mean lots, of banter.” I’ve been here well over a year and I’m still not 100% sure on the definition of banter but I knew it would be fun and exciting and headache inducing all at the same time.

We (being a big group of guys I play football with at the gym and my football teammate Bonnie) met at the Oxford train station to take the train to Twickenham. We sat in First Class (there were no more seats so we figured, why not) and despite the train being stopped for about 30 minutes due to an “incident” up the line, we made it to Twickenham with plenty of time to spare before kickoff. After eating the traditional “Dirty Burger” outside the stadium and buying the traditional (there were lots of traditions it turns out) pint of Guinness once inside, we took our seats and waited for the game to start.

It was really cold but the sun was out which made the weather slightly more bearable. After upsetting Oxford last year, Cambridge was favoured to win again this year and so we weren’t too optimistic about the result. After the team introductions and the national anthem (I can’t help but sing My Country Tis of Thee whenever God Save the Queen is played) the game began. Oxford got off to a great start, pulling out to a 15-0 lead before Cambridge kicked a penalty just before the half to bring the score to 15-3 at the break. During halftime, the groundscrew went out to clean/touch up the pitch, and they were wearing Santa Claus and elf costumes. That was fun and festive.

Cambridge put up a good fight in the second half, giving Oxford some trouble and forcing some good defensive play but Oxford stayed strong and scored a late try to pull away for a final score of 21-10. The highlight for many in the crowd (though not for me, I assure you) was when a Cambridge student decided to invade the pitch wearing nothing but a Cambridge scarf. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. The psycho must have been freezing! The only amusing thing about it was the fact that nobody chased him or anything. Basically, he ran around on the pitch a bit, did a few funny poses, everyone just stared at him (security and players included) and once he realized how cold it was or how naked he was, he just ran over to the security guys to allow them to escort him off the pitch. Most interesting pitch invasion I’ve ever seen.

A couple random observations about the game:

-The stadium, which holds about 80,000 spectators, wasn’t anywhere near full but there were still 30,000 people there, a huge number for a Uni event in the UK. It was an interesting contrast, however, to the ridiculous number of people that attend college football in the states every week. This is the biggest game of the year across the entire country, and yet schools like Nebraska or Michigan or Texas turn out huge numbers of fans weekly. Different world...

-Rugby is an interesting game. What would inspire somebody to run at another person at full speed, crashing into them with full force, with no form of protection whatsoever? Now, I know there is skill involved in rugby; I know there is an immense amount of athleticism involved; however, I will fight you daily, and twice on Sunday, to convince you that football is a much more beautiful and entertaining game than rugby. And I know for a fact that Tommy, Jack, and Danny would all have my back on that front.

-The replacements (substitutes) warm up in the end-zones (or whatever they’re called in rugby), while the game is going on. That was interesting to see. Also interesting, the fact that when players go down injured, the game continues around them and the medical staff comes onto the field to treat them as the game is going on. Imagine how much less diving and injury-faking would happen in football if they did that!

After the match we joined the massive crowd heading back into London. Tommy got on a different train than the rest of us (oh Tommy) but all in all we made it back to the centre of London to High Street Kensington where most of the guys were staying in a hotel. We got some dinner at the Whole Foods Food Court (pretty surprised by the fact that there is a Whole Foods in London) and then Bonnie and I headed over to Austin and Ben’s house on Russell Square to get changed for the ball. I would now like to discuss something that must surely be a first (and quite possibly last) in my life. Let us reflect on the fact that:

a) Bonnie borrowed my dress and my shoes because she didn’t have any appropriate ones of her own

b) I was responsible for Bonnie’s hair and makeup for the evening

c) I was responsible for my own hair and makeup for the evening

I think it’s official, ladies and gentlemen, I am, in fact, a girl. I know there were some serious doubts there for a while but hey, what do you know! Anyways, I digress, we got ready and bundled up for our trip back across London to the crew’s hotel where we had a few drinks before heading over to the club for the ball.

The ball was held at Amika which, apparently, is actually a pretty big deal club where lots of important and famous people go. It was a bit small for the number of people they would be expecting and the doormen were pretty ridiculous about letting people in if they had been drinking. A few of the girls who joined our group during the match were not allowed in because the doormen considered them to be too drunk. Thankfully we had no such problem getting in. Those who know me well know that I’m not really big club/dance person but I actually had a really good time. Hanging out with Bonnie and Tommy and Danny was awesome, despite the ridiculous steep prices for drinks in the club, and before we even knew it, it was 3 am and the realization that I had to be on an international flight 6 hours later dawned on me quite heavily.... Bonnie and I took a taxi back to Ben and Austin’s (where they were actually still awake), packed up our stuff, and got ready to leave the next morning. By the time we were done with that, I had 1 hr 40 min to sleep and I’ve never been so angry when my alarm went off in the morning.

Despite the small amount of sleep, we got up and out of the house with no problems. The tube to Paddington and train to Heathrow went without a hitch and finally, exhausted and either hung over or still tipsy (not quite sure) I made it to my gate ready for a long and not so pleasant flight to Chicago. Much to my disappointment I learned that the audio on all of the “A” seats wasn’t working and wouldn’t be working for the entirety of the flight. What seat was I in? 29A. Oh well, so much for movies!! I slept in 20-30 minute increments throughout the flight, getting about 2 hours sleep total, and landed in Chicago absolutely exhausted but excited to see Vicki and have a fun time in Chicago. Please see next blog for fun wedding stories!