THE VARSITY MATCHES 2026
- Marged Williams
- Feb 18
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 27
The oldest rivalry in university rugby returns on Saturday 28 February as Oxford University and Cambridge University go head-to-head in the annual Varsity Match at StoneX Stadium. Chloe-Marie Hawley (#384) will lead her carefully chosen 23-player squad onto the (hopefully) sun-lit pitch of Stone X for a 12pm kick-off, whilst Jack “Hammo” Hamilton (#1302) prepares his men to kick-off at 3pm.
Few fixtures in the rugby calendar carry the same weight of history and tradition as The Varsity Matches. First meeting in 1872, the Varsity Match remains a defining moment in the student sporting year and is a contest shaped as much by pride and legacy as by form and tactics.
It was a year after the first ever international rugby game between England and Scotland that both Oxford and Cambridge decided to arrange a match between each other. The first (Men's) Varsity Match was played at Oxford University Parks, playing a 20-a-side version of the game (as opposed to today’s 15-a-side which was set in 1875) with Oxford taking victory at their inaugural meeting. Oxford wore dark blue jerseys with white collars for that first match, and it is a tradition carried down through the generations, with each subsequent Blues teams sporting the same kit. This year marks the 144th Men’s Varsity Match with the Tabs slightly leading the victories 65-62; a lead Blues captain Hammo is keen to make smaller this year.
After a successful season and a victorious Varsity Match last year, Chloe-Marie’s team go into the 39th Women’s Varsity Match 23-15 up in victories against the Light Blues. The first Women’s Varsity Match was played on the 10th of March 1988 at Iffley Road, Oxford. Heather Lawrence (nee Bunting) captained OUWRFC that day against Sophia Mirchandani (nee Pegers) captaining CUWRUFC. Both were responsible for setting up a women’s team to compete against ‘The Other Place’ as there was no women’s rugby team at either university. It was a last-minute try from Sophia Pegers that won the day, 8-6, to the Light Blues in front of a crowd of a few hundred people. The women’s clubs are now fully integrated with the men’s organisations. In 2015 The Women’s Varsity Match was moved to Twickenham, marking a huge step forward in the gender equality in rugby and a boost for the women’s game across the country. In 2021, the event was rebranded The Varsity Matches as a reflection of the continued integration of the women’s fixture.
Both Dark Blue squads will arrive battle-hardened from their respective BUCS and exhibition campaigns, but league form often counts for little when Dark Blue meets Light Blue. The Varsity stage has a habit of producing tight, physical encounters where territory, set-piece execution and composure under pressure prove decisive. Expect a fierce contest at scrum time and at the breakdown, with both squads looking to establish early dominance. While discipline and kicking will be crucial in what is traditionally a high-intensity, emotionally charged fixture.
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Women*s Blues | # | Men*s Blues |
ESTELLE ONWUKA* Southmoor Academy / Worcester | 1 | JOHN BELCHER-HEATH* Sir John Deane’s VI Form College / Kellogg |
SOPHIE GOODMAN* Monkton Combe / Brasenose | 2 | WILLIAM RODDY* Adams’ GS / Worcester |
LUCY MCBRIDE* Loreto GS / Hertford | 3 | MICHAEL FANKAH* Sir Joseph Williamson’s Mathematical School / Trinity |
DAISY HEINTZ Shrewsbury School / Pembroke | 4 | ZENDEN ROZENBROEK* St Mary’s College, Hull / St Hilda’s |
IZZY HEDGES* Bohunt / Mansfield | 5 | REED PRINSEP# Christchurch Boys' High School / Oriel |
SOPHIE SHAMS* Dubai College / St Edmund Hall | 6 | FERGUS DICK* Bristol GS / Trinity |
AMELIE HARRIS-LOVETT* Truro College / Worcester | 7 | LUKE NEWLAND* Bryn Celynnog CS / Mansfield |
MELISSA MORLEY Kineton High School / St John's | 8 | OTIS WALKER* Monmouth / Brasenose |
BETHANY THOMAS* Waldegrave / St Peter's | 9 | JACK HAMILTON* © St Philip’s Christian College, Australia / Lincoln |
CHLOE-MARIE HAWLEY* © Jumeirah English Speaking School / Queen’s | 10 | JOSHUA HALLETT New Hall School / St Anne's |
KAT VINCENT* Dame Alice Owen's / Christ Church | 11 | WOLFE MORN* St Peter’s, York / Christ Church |
MILLY GLADSTONE Malborough College / St Hugh's | 12 | JONTY SCOTT-BROWN Lawrence Sheriff School / St Catherine's |
LILLA BERRY* Hills Road VI Form College / Hertford | 13 | SAM CUNNINGHAM Royal School Armagh / Keble |
EMMA JONES* KES Bath / St Edmund Hall | 14 | BEN SHAW* Pate’s GS / Corpus Christi |
LUCY HAMER* South Wilts GS / St Hilda’s | 15 | HENRY BRIDGEWATER* Merchant Taylors’, Northwood / Lincoln |
NAOMI THORNTON / Jesus | 16 | MICHAEL O’DONNELL* UC Davis / Kellogg |
CHARLOTTE SCOWEN Kings College Wimbeldon / New | 17 | JOEL ANJORIN Queen Elizabeth Boys School Barnet / Keble |
KIM LÓPEZ GÜELL Jesuïtes de Casp / St Peter's | 18 | HARRY PRATT* Methodist College, Belfast / Queens |
OLIVIA ROSIN* Rugby / St Catherine's | 19 | STUART BROWN Royal Grammar School Guildford / Madgalen |
AMELIE PATERSON St. Pauls Girls School / St Catherine's | 20 | SAM BEVERLEY Tonbridge School / Trinity |
IZZY LUNDBERG Richmond School and Sixth Form College / Somerville | 21 | OWEN CASSTLES Dulwich College / St John's |
MATILDA LEES Altrincham Grammar School for Girls / Keble | 22 | DEXTER LYNCH Oundle School / Hertford |
KATE MITCHELL Oundle School / St John's | 23 | FIN DINNEN Bromsgrove School / St Catherine's |
POPPY BURROWS* Ricards Lodge HS / Christ Church | TR | THOMAS TOZE* Bishop Wordsworths’s / St Hugh’s |
TR | HENRY HENDERSON Rugby School / St Edmund Hall | |
*Denotes Blue | #Denotes International |
With the Women’s Blues kicking off earlier in the day at 12pm and the Men’s fixture following at 3pm, StoneX Stadium will once again be packed with students, alumni and supporters from both universities. The atmosphere, part sporting spectacle, part reunion, is unlike any other in university rugby.
A Varsity victory etches names into club history and ensures bragging rights for the year ahead. On the 28th of February, tradition meets ambition once more. Dark Blue or Light Blue — only one will leave London with the Varsity crown (I think we know who!)! Don’t forget to get your tickets below and come down to cheer on the Dark Blues!
Tickets
Student Tickets are available at this link:
https://www.eticketing.co.uk/saracens/EDP/Event/Index/449?position=2 and you can get a 20% discount using code VARSITY20. On this page you can buy a combo match ticket + coach for just £30 using the discount code, making it the quickest and cheapest way to get to StoneX.
General Admission tickets are available at this link:
Tickets start at £5 for children and £20 for adults.
Alumni should get in touch with Zed at admin@ourfc.org to get access to exclusive seating.
Coach Travel
OURFC are arranging coaches to transport supporters to Varsity. These will take between 90 mins and 2 hours, leaving Iffley Road in waves at 9:30am (SOLD OUT), 10am, 10:30am, and 11am. (Note that only the 9:30am and 10am coaches are guaranteed to arrive at StoneX before the Women*s Match kicks off; the 10:30am coach will drop you off just as the match starts, traffic dependent).
These coaches are the cheapest and quickest way to get from Oxford to StoneX.
Standalone coach tickets can be purchased here for £20 return - cheaper than the Oxford Tube!
How to watch the matches, if you cannot get to StoneX:
YouTube Livestream
America
Both games will be shown live on the following channels:
FTF Sports Over the Air (OTA)
FTF Sports FAST
NLSE TV
Comments