Captains Lauren Webb & Tom Osborne formally announced their respective squads for the 2023 Varsity Matches at the Vincent's Club on Monday evening, which then went public on Wednesday.
Lauren's Women's Blues squad contains five returning Blues in the Starting XV and one more on the bench and will travel to Twickenham with confidence of securing a first victory since 2015, having beaten their opponents twice in the BUCS league already this season.
Starting XV:
15 Clodagh Holmes * University 14 Iona Bennett Worcester 13 Alex Travers * Worcester 12 Sophie Shams St Edmund Hall 11 Katie Hains Lincoln 10 Chloe-Marie Hawley * St Catherine’s 9 Alex Wilkinson Keble 1 Kitty Levenson New 2 Annabel Rand Exeter 3 Amber Wilkins * Lady Margaret Hall 4 Zoe Guy St Peter’s 5 Clare Stroemsted Worcester 6 Sky Stewart-Roberts New 7 Lauren Webb * Corpus Christi (Captain) 8 Sarah Skinner Brasenose
Replacements:
16 Zed Nott Hertford 17 Juliette Shorey * St Hilda’s 18 Ella Cook Linacre 19 Tolu Duckworth-Essilfie Keble 20 Hannah Riches St Edmund Hall 21 Stella Farmer Worcester 22 Lucy Hamer St Hilda’s 23 Elin Isaac Queen’s TR Florence Baker Masters St Catherine’s
Tom's Men's Blues squad also contains five returning Blues in the Starting XV and one more on the bench, and will start as 'underdogs' in this the 139th Men's Varsity Match. Interestingly two members of the current squad, Tom Johnson and Angus Macdonald, have fathers who played in the same Blues teams together in 1985 and 86 - Ashley Johnson (fly-half) and Coll Macdonald (second/back row).
Starting XV:
15 Sam Reynolds * University 14 Thomas Johnson St John’s 13 Harry Parker Lincoln 12 Liam Furniss * Kellogg 11 Thomas Mewes Brasenose 10 Harry Bridgewater Lincoln 9 Vasco Faria Exeter 1 Thomas Osborne * Trinity (Captain) 2 Harrison Scoble Kellogg 3 Michael Fankah St Peter’s 4 Edward Blake * St Hilda’s 5 Eoin O’Sullivan Oriel 6 George Hobbs St Edmund Hall 7 Jack Glover St Peter’s 8 Piers Von Dadelszen * # St Edmund Hall
Replacements:
16 William Thornton * Somerville 17 Joseph McDermott Lincoln 18 Noah Zenios Magdalen 19 George Fowler St Hilda’s 20 James Lloyd Williams Worcester 21 Jack Statham Green Templeton 22 Alexander Jackman University 23 Angus Macdonald Kellogg TR Luke Wyllie * St Hilda’s
