Celebrating at Stanley’s: Ces Shaw and the 1975 Varsity Match Squad 50 Years On

The 103rd Major Stanley’s will kick-off the festive period on Wednesday 3^rd of December at Iffley Road. Major Stanley’s inaugural match took place in 1919 in honour of Major RV Stanley, an Oxford local who took an interest in OURFC, becoming the club’s representative on the RFU committee from 1907 to 1923. Stanley, known fondly as ‘Uncle’ by those who knew him, made a lifelong commitment to the club and served as almost every role on the club committee. Before the Men*s and Women*s Blues kick-off against the invitational Major Stanley’s XV a corporate luncheon will take place in a marquee near the pitch. This year’s luncheon, as well as bringing local businesses together, is host to a reunion, as Ces Shaw (#788) and his Varsity Squad celebrate 50 years since their 1975 Varsity Match. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ces to talk about his time at Iffley Road and his experiences with OURFC.

Ces Shaw, an Irish native, began his rugby career at Malone RFC in his home city of Belfast. A club with a rich history of producing international players, many of whom were forwards, it seemed an obvious place for a young, 5”6 openside flanker to start his journey; a journey that surprised the Shaw household as Ces commented that his father, a semi-professional football player, ‘wanted to breed soccer players for sons’, but ultimately came to understand Ces’ decision after watching him in a match. Malone’s affiliation with Ulster Rugby saw Ces move team during his time studying as an undergraduate at Belfast Metropolitan College. His time at Ulster would provide valuable lessons that would he transfer to Iffley Road, commenting that ‘we [Ulster] used to do fifty scrums each training sessions and scrums win games, so it was really important to take that idea to the Blues’.

Ces came to Oxford in September 1973 and studied PPE at St Edmund Hall, adding that ‘philosophy was too intellectual’ and thus only took modules in the politics and economics. His time at Oxford is marked with ‘great fondness’ as ‘I [Ces] met my wife there and my daughter got married in Teddy Hall chapel’. For Ces, Oxford is a city filled with memory and love; love that has led to his family and love for the game that he felt ‘gave purpose’ alongside his degree. Upon his arrival at Oxford, Ces decided that he ‘wanted to play social rugby and joined Oxford City’ but as more Blues players trained with Oxford City during the vacations encouragement to trail for OURFC began to mount. Ces began laughing as he recounted ‘giving in to encouragement’ and trailed for the Blues in September 1974. After a successful trail, Ces was in the Blues squad and soon rose to pack leader during the opening games of the 74’ season. The forwards pack consisted of two Englishmen, two Australians, two South Africans, a Welshman and an Irishman. This international pack was coached by Ieuan Jones who, according to Ces, never doubted the power of a scrum and ‘it was only pain he [Ieuan] used to tell us after an hour on the scrum machine’. Recalling with an affectionate nostalgia, Ces spoke fondly of the hours spent training at Iffley Road and the privilege of being a part of this historic club.

1974 Varsity Match Teamsheets

Despite the hours of hard work and dedication to training, the road to Varsity was not a smooth one for Ces. In a match against Cardiff in November 74’ he suffered a dislocated shoulder during the first half. Recollecting this moment, Ces remarks that his only thoughts were ‘my Blue, my Blue’ as he could not comprehend that his goal of a Twickenham Varsity would be tarnished. After returning to Oxford that day he was taken to the John Radcliffe and given a recovery period of fourteen weeks – the Varsity Match was seven weeks away! ‘I knew I had to recover’ he added, ‘and so I expected the challenge and for six weeks, I would go up to the JR for physio and rehab’. Following his physio Ces returned to play for the Greyhounds at the end of November against Guy’s Hospital RFC to ‘prove his fitness’ to Blues’ captain Charlie Kent. A subsequent Blues match against Gloucester saw Ces prove himself to be a Blue as well a fit to play and was chosen by Kent to play on the 10^th of December in Twickenham. Cambridge boasted an international backline for the 1974 Varsity but only took a 16-15 victory.

LEFT: Australia Dinner Programme RIGHT: Blues vs Australia Teamsheet

After a successful time as pack-leader, Ces was elected Blues captain for the 75/76 season and remarked on ‘how much power’ the captain has at OURFC as a player-led club. Upon his election Ces was given “The Captain’s Book” that contained forty years of ‘very good advice and notes’ from previous captains. ‘I was humbled and honoured to be elected by my fellow players as captain’ he said and emphasised the strong feeling of connection to previous captains in the role. Now in charge of training and the team, Ces had ‘big loyalty to the club and a pride in one history to play’. In October 75’, the Blues faced a tough opposition as Australia visited Iffley Road. During their previous tour to Britian, Australia had ‘beaten up England in 74’’ and the ‘Blues wanted to prove a point’. The final score read 36-3 to Australia with Ces commenting that ‘we’d let ourselves down’ and believed themselves to be capable of more that day. Despite the loss, ‘these big occasions were a privilege for both sides’, and it was ‘gratifying to see how pleased they were to play’ at Iffley Road. Following the match they attended a dinner at Christ Church College. Ces’ captaincy appeared to be going smoothly but the same could not be said for his journey to Twickenham. Yet again faced with an injury in November, this time to his ACL, it was another fight to fitness and to the Varsity.

The 1975 Varsity Match saw Cambridge take another narrow victory and marked the first use of a substitution in the matches. Worcester College alumni Peter Kyrke-Smith (#776) was the first off the bench in the match, replacing Ces after cracking his rib in the opening moments of the second half. This year marks 50 years since Ces’ captaincy and his team’s Varsity Match. Celebrating ‘in a way that’s akin to what we’re used to’, Ces and his team will attend the luncheon and matches at Major Stanley’s this year.

1975 Varsity Match Teamsheets

Ces Shaw’s memories of OURFC speak to the power and impact of rugby, particularity rugby at Oxford University. As our time together came to an end we briefly spoke about legacies; ‘I’ll tell you what’ he said laughing, ‘I can’t lift my arm, I have an artificial knee, a pacemaker, percaline teeth and maybe that’s the legacy of a rugby player’. The physicality of rugby does not go unnoticed but despite these grievances not once did Ces mention regret or a longing to change his playing history. Ces spoke of the ‘privileges of playing’, particularly of playing for the Blues and, despite the difficulties, valued every second spent on the pitch.

We wish the playing squad of the 1975 Varsity Match all the best in their celebrations at Major Stanley’s next Wednesday!