The Ronnie Lamb Memorial Cup and the Bowling Ball: Irish Week
As the dragons and the mists of Welsh Week recedes gradually into the distance with the spoils of war, Iffley Road and its Dark Blue custodians lick their wounds and prepare for another week of Home Nations opposition. This weekend sees temperatures plummeting, and the arrival of two new sets of opposition from the Emerald Isle.
On Friday Night at 6:30pm, fellow ‘Ancient University’ of the British Isles, Trinity College, Dublin, arrive in the UK for the most recent instalment of the Ronnie Lamb Memorial Cup. Dublin University Football Club is recognised as “the oldest rugby club in the world in continuous existence”, founded in 1854 before the IRFU. The club shares such a unique origin with OURFC, founded in 1869, two years before the RFU. DUFC have it that their first fixture against a UK University took place in 1882, and while an exact date is not known, their first fixture against OURFC followed soon after, making this an incredibly historic fixture not only for both universities, but in world rugby. As two leading academic institutions, Trinity and Oxford share many connections, and there are various significant OURFC players that have also passed through the famous Front Gate onto Trinity’s College Green. 1983 captain Hugo MacNeill #859 and 2017 captain Connor Kearns #1219 are just two examples. Blue #907 and 1990 captain, Mark Egan, arrived in Oxford to read Economics & Social Studies after attaining an honours degree from Trinity. Mark spoke to us previously about his experience at both universities, and remembered well his trip to Oxford with Trinity in 1987, where Trinity were defeated by the Dark Blues. Mark played well enough for captain Rupert Vessey to single him out for a Major Stanley’s scholarship, which he took up for the beginning of the 1988 academic year, along with World Cup Winner David Kirk.
Last Friday saw a boisterous Crawshay’s team return to Iffley Road, after last year’s fixture was played at Pontypridd RFC’s “House of Pain”. A pulsating contest ensued under the mist, resulting in a tight Crawshay’s victory. Find highlights of the game here.
The Dark Blues will be looking to avenge the wrongs of weeks gone by, as they face another opposition shared by themselves and “The Other Place”. Trinity and Oxford will be completing for the Ronnie Lamb Memorial Cup, commemorating the life of Ronnie Lamb, Blue #676, who sadly died in 2023. Ronnie was a three time Blue, and chairman of the club for a great many years after his time as a player. Perhaps most remarkable of his time at OURFC was his Varsity Match victory as captain in 1964. Ronnie, a Scottish trialist fly-half, was widely considered to be leading his team to a certain victory, against a renowned Cambridge side searching for a fifth successive victory. At the time, this had been accomplished by no team. Ronnie’s opposition standoff was Trinity’s own and Irish international, C.M.H Gibson. The newspapers all consigned the Dark Blues to a loss, and yet Ronnie and his men emerged victorious, 19-6. John Downie, in the Glasgow Herald, declared that
almost everything that had been predicted about the match proved false. The great shining star of the whole game, for instance, was expected to be Gibson, the Cambridge and Ireland stand-off half. Yet the hero carried off at the end was his opposite number, Lamb - a trialist rejected by the Scottish selectors - who had been so badly troubled by a left-knee injury that it was doubted until recently that he would even be fit to play.
Ronnie was acclaimed both as captain and for the way in which he masterfully controlled the game, giving Oxford the field position that resulted in their early first half tries, going into the half 11-6 up.
After Ronnie’s death, the Lamb family chose this fixture, against Dublin University FC, to honour Ronnie’s memory. The cup presented to the winners is a quaich, a traditional Scottish drinking cup that is often referred to as the ‘cup of friendship’. While its origin is somewhat of a mystery, for many years it has been used as a Scottish wedding tradition, wherein both newlyweds drink from the quaich after the signing of the register. We are grateful to the Lamb family, for choosing this fixture both to commemorate Ronnie’s life, and to commemorate a long-lasting friendship. The fixture is played alternately in Dublin and Oxford, with Trinity just tipping the scales so far. The inaugural Ronnie Lamb Memorial Cup match was played in College Park, Dublin, in February 2024, with Trinity emerging victorious, and in November 2024 Trinity travelled to Oxford and won a pulsating fixture 50-35. The cup, however, currently resides with the Dark Blues, who won 28-12 at Terenure RFC this year. Afterwards, Trinity hosted fantastically in Kennedy’s pub, famously the first workplace of Oscar Wilde, before several adventurous members of both squads headed out into the Dublin night. This fixture is always one which both sides enjoy, and take pride in hosting their visitors well. This year will be no different, and we look forward to hosting at Iffley Road this time around.
The action does not stop on Friday evening. The Greyhounds run out at Iffley Road on Saturday, 2pm, against University College Cork. They will compete for the Bowling Ball, a replica steel bowling ball used for road bowls, a sport intrinsic to County Cork. Entry to that game will be free, head down if you’re not finished with your fix of Anglo-Irish rugby this weekend.
As the Men’s Blues take on another opposition also played by their Light Blue counterparts, don’t miss the Varsity Match, as Dark meets light Blue, on 27th February next year - the oldest score to settle. Student early bird Varsity Match tickets are already on sale for £10 only – secure yours now to watch the oldest score to settle unfold at StoneX, as the Men's Dark Blues look to make it two in a row in rugby's oldest rivalry.
Friday is shaping up to be an epic clash between ancient universities, and not one to miss. The Pavilion bar will be open for cold and hot drinks, along with the ever popular, donuts, churros and street food stands placed around the pitch - purchase your ticket here. Under 18s are free, and student tickets are £1 with a valid student ID; enter the code STUDENTS1 at checkout. If you wish to book tickets for the rapidly-selling pre-match dinner from 5:30pm, tickets can be found here. To find out more about the matchday experience at OURFC, please follow this link.
Parking is available only for pre-paid vehicles, and can be booked as an add-on when you purchase a ticket. For more information about accessing Iffley Road, please see our "Getting Here" page.
Please note that, due to subzero temperatures predicted, kickoff has been moved from 715pm to 630pm.
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