Blues

The Blues have a long and illustrious history of sporting distinction and remains one of the world’s leading and most renowned amateur rugby teams. OURFC was founded in 1869, some fifteen months before the foundation of the Rugby Football Union, thus the story of rugby in Oxford is nearly as old as that of rugby itself. During this time, more than 300 Blues have gained representative International honours; including Phil de Glanville, Joe Roff, Tyrone Howe, Anton Oliver, Simon Halliday, David Kirk and Rob Egerton.

Since its formation, OURFC has played a significant role in the development of rugby and the various major changes the game has undertaken since its formation 125 years ago. William Webb Ellis, the alleged inventor of the game, was in fact a student at Brasenose College in 1825. In more recent times the Blues have not been shy to lead the way on matters both on and off the field, shown by the initiative taken in being the first Western rugby team to tour Japan after the Second World War in 1951 under the leadership of Peter Fitzgerald. The Blues continue to be recognised as a breeding ground for academically gifted players, and as a club that embraces and preserves the traditional core values of the sport. Thus Oxford holds an almost unique combination of great academic achievement and British sporting tradition.

The Blues’ season builds up to the defining moment, and highlight, of the season – the Varsity Match. The match epitomises the age-old rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge Universities and at the same time illustrates the continuing vitality and spirit of amateur rugby. The importance of the contest is highlighted by the enormous contribution Oxbridge rugby and the Varsity Match have made to the development and refinement of the game of rugby over the last 135 years. Up until 1875 the Universities fielded 20 players a-side, as was the norm for Rugby football in those early years. In that year, the Universities and their respective Blues took the initiative and changed to 15 a-side. This caught on quickly and was adopted as the international standard in 1877.

Only a few short months after the first international rugby match, between England and Wales, was played, the first ever Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge made its debut in February 1872 in Oxford's 'University Parks'. In that first match Oxford wore dark blue jerseys (the same as today, though at some stages they have worn white), and Cambridge played in pink, changing to their light blue and white in 1876 – and so the Dark and Light Blues were born. Ever since 1872, the Varsity has been played annually and is renowned as one of the most pulsating fixtures on the rugby calendar. The following year (February 1873) the return match was played in Cambridge on 'Parkers Piece'. In 1877 it was decided to move the match to a neutral ground and the Kennington Oval - scene of England's first home international fixture the previous year - was chosen.