Oxford University RFC
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| Full name | Oxford University Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Blues | |
| Founded | 1869 | |
| Location | Oxford, England | |
| Ground(s) | Iffley Road (Capacity: 5,500[1]) | |
| Captain(s) | Conor Kearns | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club (Oxford University RFC or OURFC) is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.
History
Oxford University RFC was founded in 1869, fifteen months before the creation of the Rugby Football Union. The first Varsity Match was played in February 1872 in Oxford at 'The Parks', the following year the return game was played in Cambridge on Parker's Piece. In 1874 it was decided that the game be played on a neutral ground. Oxford, like rivals Cambridge, have supplied hundreds of players to national teams, and was key in spreading the sport of rugby throughout Britain as past students brought the game back to their home counties. The very first international player to be capped whilst at Oxford was Cecil Boyle, who represented England in 1873, one season before Cambridge University. The record for most appearances in a Varsity Match for Oxford is held by Lewis Anderson who has played in six matches between 2010 and 2015, all won by Oxford.
Honours
Oxford University Greyhounds:
- Oxfordshire RFU County Cup winners: 1976
Notable former players
Gareth Baber
J.M. Bannerman
Stuart Barnes- Onllwyn Brace
- Ian Buckett
- England - Ernest Cheston
Troy Coker- Simon Danielli
- Gareth Davies
- Dan Drysdale[2]
- Bob Egerton
- David Evans
- Walter Rice Evans
- Ewen Fergusson
- Gwyn Francis
- Billy Geen
- Phil de Glanville
Thomas Gubb- Simon Halliday
Toshiyuki Hayashi
Gary Hein
David Humphreys- Vivian Jenkins
David Kirk- Pat MacLachlan
Nick Mallett- Niall Malone
Stan McKeen- Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky
- Katsuhiko Oku
- Anton Oliver
- Ronald Poulton-Palmer
- Conway Rees
- Gareth Rees
(IRB Hall of Fame inductee) - Joe Roff
- Alan Rotherham
(IRB Hall of Fame inductee) - Richard Sharp
- Ken Spence
- Brian Smith
- John Strand-Jones
- Bruce Thomson
- Kevin Tkachuk
- Victor Ubogu
- Mike Walker
- Derek Wyatt
Recent captains
- 2004 David Lubans (St Annes)
- 2005 Andrew Dalgliesh (St Annes)
- 2006 Kevin Brennan (Linacre)
- 2007 Joe Roff (Harris Manchester)
- 2008 Peter Clarke (St Cross)
- 2009 Daniel Rosen (Worcester)
- 2010 Nick Haydon (University)
- 2011 John-Henry Carter (Kellogg)
- 2012 John-Henry Carter (Kellogg)
- 2013 John-Henry Carter (Kellogg)
- 2014 Jacob Taylor (Keble)
- 2015 George Messum (St Anne's)
- 2016 Fergus Taylor (St Catherine's)
References
- ^ "Hats off to the Wallabies". BBC Sport. 5 November 2001.
- ^ Godwin, Terry; John M. Jenkins (1987). Complete Who's Who of International Rugby. Poole: Blandford Press. pp. 127–128. ISBN 0-7137-1838-2.
