The Cambridge Rugby Festival took place yesterday at Grange Road. The day commenced at 9am with an Under 8s masterclass, coached by Ollie Phillips, CURUFC Men's Captain Charlie Amesbury and a number of the Men's 1st team. Around 70 young players from the Cambridgeshire area, including Shelford RFC and Cambridge RFC, took part in the coaching clinic, which also involved competitive 'tug of war' contests and a range of games.
After the Under 8s, the grown-ups took to the field, with a mixed tournament for adults taking place throughout the course of the afternoon. A number of CURUFC 'legends' also accepted the opportunity to have a nostalgic run around the Grange Road paddock again, including Jeremy Macklin (Blue 1979), Andrew McGahey (Blue 1978) and Alan Buzza (Blue 1988). The games were competitive, but played in a good spirit, and several of the current Men's 1st team managed to find spots for themselves as 'ringers' in the various sides. There was live music throughout the course of the day, with local bands Izzy Chase, Riva Parvin and Sweet Crisis playing, while food vendors and children's attractions kept the public fed and entertained on the back fields.
At 4.30pm, the CURUFC Women played their first fixture of the season against an Alumnae XV. Historically, the Alumnae have tended to be too strong for the current players, but following a positive pre-season, supported generously by The Cambridge Satchel Company, the CURUFC Women put in a very positive performance. After a closely fought first half, which finished 0-0, the CURUFC backline cut loose, with Captain Lara Gibson scoring the first points of the afternoon. Anna Wilson (Blue 2015) scored for the Alumnae, but the CURUFC team began to move through the gears and in due course Mary Coleman, Laura Nunez Mulder and Alice Middleton dotted down.
This was a hugely encouraging performance from the team, against a number of very experienced players. Coach Jack Baird was impressed with the composure and organisation of the team in the second half, while Middleton's try in particular was the result of some excellent backs play that began well within the CURUFC half. The final score was 24-5 to the current team and the club would like to extend its thanks to injured Alumnae team manager Jess Tayenjam (Blue 2010) for co-ordinating the team, as well as all of the other former CURUFC players for coming and taking part.
The day was in aid of the club's Charity Partner Leonard Cheshire, and would not have been possible without the crucial support of club sponsor Prism Archiectural. The club would like to offer its sincere thanks to Prism, as well as the other contributors to the day, including our regular staff and volunteers.
The next fixture for both the CURUFC Men and Women will be on Wednesday (27th September) in a double header against Durham University. The Women will kick off at 4pm and the Men will kick off at 7pm. The bar and cafe will be open as normal.