MEET THE 2026/27 WOMEN*S BLUES CAPTAIN

As the academic year draws to a close and students all over Oxford begin packing away their belongings for the long-awaited summer holiday, Oxford University RFC is proud to announce the election of its 2026/27 Blues Captains. The elections of the OURFC Blues Captains and the Committees is first step in building a successful season. Elected to captain the Men*s Blues for the 26/27 season is Oriel College’s Māori All-Black forward Reed Prinsep (#1324). Selected to lead the Women*s Blues to another season of greatness is St John’s College back row Mel Morley (#435). Last week I had the pleasure of sitting down with Mel and Reed to discuss all things rugby, captaincy and The Varsity Matches. To read my interview with Reed, click here.

An alumnus of King’s High School Warwick, Mel has always shone in the sporting arena doing ‘everything under the sun’ from judo to touch rugby growing up, but it was football that was her ‘first sporting love; like many other Blues captains before her, Mel began playing football in school as a social sport but was eventually ‘picked up by Oxford United and [I] was with them from under 12s to under 16s level’. A proud goalkeeper Mel recalls that she ‘never enjoyed the running part so that suited me well’. Reflecting on her early years travelling into Oxford Mel recalls that ‘most of my experiences of coming into Oxford were travelling to near Oxford Quins’ over by Horspath ‘rather than coming into the city centre’, later adding that ‘Oxford is a sporting city for me’. As she moved through school and the ranks of Oxford United Mel started to explore other forms of sport and began playing rugby in sixth form but ‘never as an organised club, it was more just with mates’ after school or during lunch breaks. It was the 2023 Men’s Six Nations that drew Mel further into the game and she tried to dissect the key aspects of rugby whilst watching. Upon arriving at Oxford University Mel attend an OURFC open day during freshers week and ‘[I] just remember getting really stuck into it’, continuing that ‘contact never scared me and I love the gritty parts of the game’. Since matriculating at Oxford and joining OURFC ‘women’s rugby has grown so much and it’s great to see that we [Women*s Blues] are quite high up on that pyramid of success’ added Mel; ‘it’s the history of the club alongside OUWRFC and the alumni that have gone on to play for England… it’s not lost on me that we are a part of that movement’ to elevate the women’s game and make it more accessible. The importance of OURFC on the world stage and in the women’s game is important to Mel as she looks ahead at her captaincy; a captaincy framed by the question ‘how do we keep the spirit of the Blue alive?’, a spirit, which according to Mel encompasses the idea of ‘those selected for the Blues as the pinnacle of the game and they are the top athletes they can be’ whilst ensuring that Panthers and Pumas ‘have the pathway to reach the Blues one day, should they wish to keep going – how do we raise the floor and the ceiling at the same time?’.

Anyone that has had the pleasure of meeting Mel knows that she embodies all that the ‘spirit of the Blue’ offers; a compassionate, level-head work horse that does not backdown from the fight for a Blue regardless of injure or setback. It was a tough and winding road for Mel to get her Blue; a road that began in her 1st year with Sophie Shams as captain and a team that included former Blues captain Lauren Webb who Mel describes ‘as [my] her first rugby idol with the way she [Lauren] gets through work and pops up everywhere is just magic’. As she reflects on the brilliance of her first Blues team, Mel adds that it ‘was a really good team to learn within and I played my first starting Blues game away at Swansea’. The 23/24 season saw Mel achieve a travelling reserve nod for The Varsity Match after starting for the Panthers in their Varsity; a match in which Mel was subbed off with concussion so ‘it was lucky in some ways that I wasn’t on the bench for the Blues that year’. Despite the concussion Mel was nicknamed ‘the travelling hype woman’ on that Varsity weekend and continues to carry that spirit to every match day. Looking back at the 2024 Varsity Match Mel recalls that she began to ‘understand what it meant to be a Blue and what the Varsity Matches meant without having to perform under pressure’. This experience only fuelled Mel’s fire to achieve her Blue and returned to the 24/25 season concussion-free and into the captaincy of Alex Wilkison. It was a great start to the season with consecutive Blues starting shirts in BUCS however during the Christmas break Mel ventured on The Varsity Ski Trip and fell – ‘I did my MCL and then it was later revealed, after an MRI, that I’d also done my ACL and meniscus’. It was a massive shock! Despite rehabbing and a gradual return to play Mel was ruled unfit to play the 2025 Varsity Match. That summer brought more rehabbing for Mel as she recalled ‘it was time to lock in and build my confidence back’ with the knowledge that she could play rugby but need to be in physical shape to do so. After preseason with the Oxford Quins Mel stepped back into the Blues squad for the 25/26 season as pack leader, ‘a role I was grateful Chloe trusted me with and it was a great show of confidence in my hard work’. A successful season led to a starting Blues nod at the 2026 Varsity Match and ‘it was nice to score a try as well’ which made ‘a long journey sweeter along the way’ added Mel.

Looking ahead at her captaincy Mel asserts the importance of ‘making sure that everyone is the best player possible’ and giving every player at OURFC the same experience regardless of the shirt they wear. As we approached the question of expectations for next season Mel was hesitant to give too much away saying ‘we know we can go three from three so why not again?’; for Mel is seems to be about gradual improvement in the BUCS leagues, with hopes of attaining a top 4 stop next season, and continue a steady path to a victorious Varsity Match. We wish Mel the best of luck in her captaincy and look forward to seeing her back in a Blues shirt in October.