The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, sometimes abbreviated "CURUFC", is the rugby union club of the University of Cambridge. The team plays

Oxford University RFC The Oxford University Rugby Football Club (Oxford University RFC or OURFC) is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham. History Men's team ...

in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium every December. Cambridge players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest. Many have gone on to represent their country and the British and Irish Lions; a few, most notably

Dan Vickerman Daniel Joseph Vickerman (4 June 1979 – 18 February 2017) was a professional rugby union player. The 204 cm, 119 kg lock played 63 Tests with the Wallabies, the national team of his adopted country of Australia. After seven seasons wi ...

, James Horwill & Flip van der Merwe, have represented Cambridge after successful international careers. While at Cambridge University

James Bevan James Alfred Bevan (15 April 1858 – 3 February 1938) was a Wales international rugby union three-quarter who played club rugby for Clifton RFC and Newport. He is best known for being the first Welsh international captain, whilst at Cambridg ...

became the first captain of the Wales national rugby union team. The CURUFC stadium is located in West Cambridge, beside Grange Road.

History

Football is believed to have been introduced to Cambridge University in 1839 by Trinity College fresher Albert Pell.Marshall (1951), pg 13. Pell had matriculated at Cambridge after going up from Rugby School, where the game of rugby is believed to have originated. Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club was officially established in 1872, around three years after the Oxford rugby club was founded. The first Varsity match was contested between the two teams on 10 February 1872.Marshall (1951), pg 17. The Cambridge team was led out by captain

Isaac Cowley Lambert Isaac Cowley Lambert (1850 – 16 October 1918) was a British solicitor and Conservative Member of Parliament. Lambert was also a sportsman of note, and captained the Cambridge University rugby team in the very first Varsity Match. Early life La ...

, wearing pink jerseys with a monogram on the left breast. Played away at the Park in Oxford, Cambridge lost by a single goal to nil. CURUFC officials helped to draw up the laws of the game that were adopted by the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

(RFU) when it was established in 1871. Cambridge became a Constituent Body of the Union in 1872, a status which the club still holds today. In

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

, Cambridge provided their first international player directly from the club, when John Batten represented England in the third encounter against Scotland.

Facilities

Ground

The CURUFC Stadium and Training Grounds are located in West Cambridge, close to Selwyn College's Cripps Court and St Catharine's College's St Chad building. The historic stadium features a number of buildings dating to the early 19th and 20th centuries. A large red lion, a symbol of the University of Cambridge and the crest of the rugby club, stands guard beside the stadium. The lion statue was removed in 1999 from the Lion Yard shopping arcade. The facilities are partially maintained by Cantab Asset Management. The stadium, built in the 19th century, is undersized and is often over capacity during matches, leading to calls for an expansion and redevelopment project. In addition to the Grange Road Site, the club practises on various college and university fields around Cambridge and Grantchester.

Redevelopment Project

In 2015, plans were drafted for a large redevelopment of the Grange Road Site which would ensure the team remains competitive over the next 50 years. The plans included expanded seating, high-tech training facilities, and a new walled admission entrance on Grange Road. An architect for the project has yet to be chosen. In Michaelmas 2017, the CURUFC launched its first fundraising campaign for the Grange Road Redevelopment Project.

Notable former players

British and Irish Lions

The following former players were selected for the British and Irish Lions touring squads while playing for Cambridge University. * Carl Aarvold 1930 * Randolph Aston 1891 * David Bedell-Sivright 1903, 1904 *

Sydney Pyman Bell Sydney Pyman Bell (19 December 1875 – 23 December 1944) was an English rugby union halfback and solicitor. Bell played club rugby for Cambridge University and Northern and played international rugby for the British Isles XV in their 1896 tour ...

1896 * J.H. Bordass 1924 * Harry Bowcott 1930 *

Edward Bromet Edward Bromet (26 January 1867 – 6 April 1937) was an English rugby union forward who was a member of the first official British Isles team to tour abroad. On the tour he was joined by his brother, William Bromet, who would also play internatio ...

1891 * William Cave 1903 * Owen Chadwick 1936 *

Granville Coghlan Granville Boyle Coghlan (6 January 1907 – 18 August 1983) was an educationalist and an early twentieth century rugby union international who is known as one of the "lost lions" due to his participation on the 1927 British Lions tour to Argent ...

1927 * Mike Gibson 1966 *

Thomas Alexander Gibson Thomas Alexander Gibson (30 January 1880, Gateshead – ) was a British international rugby player. He was born in Gateshead , Durham . His brothers were international rugby players Charles and George Ralph Gibson. He played rugby as a forward fo ...

1903 * Johnny Hammond 1891 *

Alfred Hind Alfred Ernest Hind (7 April 1878 – 21 March 1947) was an English sportsman who played first-class cricket for Cambridge University and represented England at rugby union. Personal history Hind was born in Preston, Lancashire in 1878. He was ...

1903 *

Herbert Laxon Herbert Laxon (16 March 1881 – 14 January 1965) was an English rugby union halfback who played club rugby for Cambridge University winning sporting Blues in 1903 and 1904. Although never capped internationally for England, in 1908 Laxon was se ...

1908 * Alun Lewis 1977 * Osbert Mackie 1896 *

Edwin Mayfield Edwin Mayfiled (21 July 1870 – 18 January 1961) was an English rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge University, and was also a member of the first official British Lions tour in 1891. He was educated for the law but becam ...

1891 * William Grant Mitchell 1891 * Arthur Rotherham 1891 *

Clement Pearson Simpson Clement Pearson Simpson OBE (13 June 1868 – 19 September 1948) was an English rugby union forward who was a member of the British Isles XV that toured South Africa in 1891. Personal history Simpson was born in 1868 to John Simpson of Clav ...

1891 * Ken Scotland 1959 * Arthur Smith 1955 *

Aubone Surtees Aubone Alfred Surtees (2 October 1865 – 22 November 1923) was an English rugby union forward who played international rugby for the British Isles XV that toured South Africa in 1891. Personal life Surtees was born in Kensington, London in 18 ...

1891 * Willie Thomas 1888 * Robert Thompson 1891 *

William Henry Thorman William Henry Thorman (29 August 1869 – 13 August 1922) was an English rugby union forward who was a member of the British Isles XV that toured South Africa in 1891. Despite playing for Cambridge and the British Isles, Thorman was never awa ...

1891 * G. H. Waddell 1959 * William Wotherspoon 1891

International players

The following former players represented a national team while playing for Cambridge University: *

Rob Andrew Christopher Robert Andrew (born 18 February 1963) is a former English Rugby Union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons and has been Chief Executiv ...

* John Batten *

Robert William Bell Robert William Bell (19 December 1875 – 9 June 1950) was an English international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge University and Northern. Bell played international rugby for England. Personal history Bell was born in ...

* C.E. Chapman * Ken Dalgleish * Glyn Davies * Huw Davies * * Frank Fasson *

Edwin Field Edwin Field (16 December 1871 – 9 January 1947) was an English rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge University, Clifton R.F.C., Richmond, Barbarians and Middlesex Wanderers and international rugby for England. He also pl ...

Herbert Fuller Herbert George Fuller (4 October 1856 – 2 January 1896) was an English born rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge University and won four international caps for the England national rugby union team between 1882 and 1884. E ...

* James Gowans *

Barry Holmes William Barry Holmes (6 January 1928 – 10 November 1949) was a rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team and the Argentina national rugby union team. As of 2011 he is the only player to have been capped at senior l ...

* Phil Horrocks-Taylor * Cliff Jones * Cyril Lowe * Gregor MacGregor *

Charles Marriott Charles Stowell "Father" Marriott (14 September 1895 – 13 October 1966) was an English cricketer, who played first-class cricket for Lancashire, Cambridge University and Kent. Marriott played between 1919 and 1938 and was considered one of th ...

Hugh Monteith Hugh G. Monteith (14 August 1874 – 12 July 1954) was a Scottish footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs in the 1890s and 1900s, including Bristol City, West Ham United and Bury, with whom he won the FA Cup in 1903. Playing ca ...

* Matthew Palamountain * R.M. Pattisson *

Samuel Victor Perry Samuel Victor Perry FRS (16 July 1918 – 17 December 2009) was an English biochemist who was a pioneer in the field of muscle biochemistry. In his earlier years he was a rugby union lock who played club rugby for Southport R.F.C., Cambri ...

* John Robbie * David Robertson *

Marcus Rose William Marcus Henderson Rose (born 12 January 1957) is a former rugby union international full back who gained ten caps for England between 1981 and 1987. Career Rose made his debut in senior rugby while still at Loughborough Grammar School, ...

* C.H. Sample *

William Martin Scott William Martin Scott (27 March 1870 – 26 February 1944) was an English international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Cambridge University and Northern. Scott played international rugby for England and was an original member ...

* Kevin Simms *

John Guthrie Tait John "Jack" Guthrie Tait (24 August 1861 – 4 October 1945) V.D. was a Scottish educator who became principal of the Central College of Bangalore prior to the First World War. In his early adulthood, Tait was a notable sportsman playing rugby ...

* Willie Thomas * Peter Warfield * Charles Plumpton Wilson The following Cambridge players won international honours before playing for Cambridge: * James Horwill * Tom Lovelace * Mick O'Callaghan * Jamie Roberts *

Louis Stevenson Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewi ...

* Flip van der Merwe *

Honours

* Melrose Sevens ** Champions (1): 1960

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{University of Cambridge, state=collapsed Rugby clubs established in 1872 University and college rugby union clubs in England English rugby union teams Rugby union in Cambridgeshire