Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our members and supporters! Michaelmas 2022 at CURUFC has seen a return to normality – at last! – after two seasons of Covid disruptions. Our mission to deliver the best student rugby experience in the world has come back into its own with a full schedule of training, fixtures, and events at Grange Road.
Playing
This season, we have approximately 150 registered players across squads, CURUFC’s highest number of players on record.
The men’s Blues have started the season strong, with wins over Cambridge City, British Police, and Coventry. Alongside returning stalwarts Max Loveridge, Tim Andrew and Hugo Lloyd Williams, the squad has been bolstered by incoming talent including Ben Gompels (Bristol), Matt Symons (Quins) and Christian Stehlik (University of Cape Town), who has stepped up to captain the side several times this season.
The women’s Blues have had a more challenging start to their season, with away fixtures in Bristol and Cardiff. The team has gone head-to-head with the Other Place in two BUCS matches this term, coming away with a 48-12 loss at Grange Road, but closing the gap to a 17-12 loss in the return leg at Iffley Road. A new coaching team has been established for this season and the team are building some very positive momentum, particularly now that several experienced players have returned from injury. Their final game of the term was against Cardiff University, who are top of the league, which the CURUFC women lost 17-45, scoring three excellent tries in a very competitive encounter.
Meanwhile, both the LXs and Tigers are hitting their stride in their BUCS leagues. With a significant intake of new development players this term, the Tigers closed out Michaelmas with a 65-0 win over Coventry. The LXs end term on a winning streak, with victories over Welsh Academicals, University of Leicester, and Oxford Brookes.
The men sent a squad to Genoa, kindly coordinated by former Blue Marco Rivaro (2000-01). The light blues played an Italian invitational side, Siluri Rugby, on the eve of the Italy vs. South Africa test match. The occasion was a magnificent return to old school rugby values: a hard-fought fixture (which finished 31-59), with plenty of opportunities for socialising and cultural exchange.
The 74th Steele-Bodger’s match took place on 30 November, a well-attended and roundly enjoyed event. The men’s Blues were unfortunate to lose captain Toby Flood to injury in the first 10 minutes, but came back to win 36-26. This was a bruising and competitive encounter, which the Steele-Bodger side were disappointed to lose. Ultimately the CURUFC side’s cohesion and attacking threat out wide made the difference, with both Tim Andrew and Jordan Mubako making eye catching runs in the second half.
Operations
We are delighted to have welcomed Matt Cole-Wilkin to the team as Head of Operations. Matt’s role is to lead the day-to-day workings of the grounds, taking over many responsibilities that have been ably (and voluntarily!) managed by Austin Jessop for a number of years.
At the grounds, we have finished an upgrade to the shower and toilet facilities in both the home and away changing rooms. We are working closely with the University on plans for further development of the grounds to support increased participation in rugby and other sports while preserving the history of the club at Grange Road.
Fundraising
As 2022 draws to a close, so does the Red Lion 150 fundraising campaign. The Club now has a regular annual income towards Player Support and Bursaries of around £115,000 from over 260 donors – thanks to all of you for your ongoing support.
We must also offer our exceptional gratitude to Jeremy Macklin for his leadership of the campaign, as well as the wider team including Matthew Chester, Rob Heginbotham, Jim Ashworth and James Howell, for all of their hard work. While the campaign is ending, our fundraising efforts certainly are not, as we continue our focus on financial sustainability for the future.
Sponsorship
We are grateful to our club sponsors for their ongoing support of CURUFC. Our thanks to Mulberry Risk, women’s section sponsor, and all of our match sponsors this term: JLL, Savills, and Cantab Asset Management.
Looking ahead
The Varsity Matches are taking place on Saturday 25 March at Twickenham, with the women kicking off at 12 pm and the men at 3 pm. Past player tickets are £40 and can be purchased via the links on our homepage.
The women’s Blues will play the second edition of the 88s fixture – commemorating the first women’s rugby Varsity Match – at Grange Road on Wednesday 8 March, International Women’s Day. The match will be preceded by a networking event and panel discussion on ‘The business of backing women’. Tickets will go on sale in January.
In addition, the LXs and Centurions Varsity Matches will be taking place at Iffley Road on Saturday 11 March at Iffley Road. The Tigers and Jaguars Varsity Matches will take place at Grange Road on Sunday 12 March.
With so many events to look forward to in 2023, we hope to see many of you there supporting CURUFC! Until then, we wish you a peaceful holiday period and our best Light Blue wishes for the new year.
Nick & Jess
CURUFC Co-Chairs