The Varsity Matches are now only 10 days away so as ever, make sure you get your tickets via the links below. We can’t wait to turn the StoneX light blue on March 2nd!
Tickets in the CURUFC section are still available through the club but we cannot promise we will be able to seat you with your contemporaries at this late stage!
Past players
CURUFC Members & Supporters
Students
Hospitality
Coach tickets from Cambridge can be bought here and parking passes are also available.
Rugby last week & this week
It’s been a huge week of rugby at Grange Road and continues with more games tonight as both Men’s & Women’s Blues teams play their final games before Varsity.
First, however, we have the 2nd & 3rd team Varsity matches.
The Men’s Centurions & LX take on Oxford at Grange Road at 12.30pm and 3.00pm this Saturday 24th February
The Women’s Jaguars & Tigers take on Oxford at Iffley Road at 12.00pm and 3.00pm on Sunday 25th February
The Tigers and Jaguars teams can be seen here and LX Club and Centurions teams here.
In the final leg of the triple header against the sides from the Armed Forces, The Men’s Blues put on a controlled and resolute performance to secure a 15-7 victory over the Royal Navy.
Friday evening saw the women’s Blues narrowly miss out to a physical 88’s Invitational Team. Despite a huge effort from the women they ended up just behind with a 24 -17 loss. A heroic defensive effort saw Libby Bryant take Player of the Match.
Read last week’s match reports here.
Coming up we have the Women’s Blues cup game today at 1.30 pm. This evening we welcome a Canadian touring side from Trinity Western University KO 7.30 pm, both at Grange Road.
5 years since our 2019 Men’s blues victory – where are they now?
A few weeks ago we heard from Rob Heginbotham as it’s been 40 years since our CURUFC Men’s record win over Oxford in the Varsity Match. This week we hear from Fergus Jemphrey who played in a more recent game before going on to play 7s for Ireland in the HSBC Sevens Series all over the world.
The CURUFC 2019 Men’s team will be getting together at the StoneX to celebrate 5 years since their 15-0 win over Oxford on a very rainy day in December at Twickenham. It was the first time a Men’s team had failed to score in the Varsity Matches in 34 years. The Cambridge team is something of an anomaly in recent years in that it contained a number of past and future international-level players. Both starting second rows in that team, James Horwill (62 caps for Australia) and Flip van der Merwe (37 caps for South Africa) were capped at the highest level before coming to Cambridge. Light blue wing, Tom Lovelace also won international caps, albeit at a slightly lower tier in international rugby (6 caps, Gibraltar…).
Since then, a number of players have kicked on to further achievements in the world of rugby. Flanker, Archie Smeaton, is currently on loan at Doncaster Knights from Glasgow Warriors and won caps for Scotland u20s. Former Saracens, centre Charlie Watson, won a cap for England u20s. Winger Fergus Jemphrey spent 2 seasons as a regular with the Ireland 7s team and scrum half Chris Bell went on to play professionally in the MLR for the Toronto Arrows in Canada. At a slightly lower level, full back Joey Gatus has recruited several team members for his club in London, Old Haberdasher’s RFC playing in tier 6, and this season has seen no less than 13 ex-CURUFC members run out for his team.
We sat down with Fergus to hear about their post-CURUFC careers. Fergus (Homerton, 2019) scored two tries against Oxford in 2019 and took home player of the match spoke about his post CURUFC experiences with Ireland Sevens:
I had the opportunity to represent CURUFC in the 2019 & 2021 Varsity matches while completing my PGCE and Masters in Education. Whilst each of these Varsity matches varied in format, location and outcome the constant was the fond memories of being part of each of the match day squads.
After finishing my studies I had the chance to trial for the Ireland 7s team. Putting the head down and running is a fundamental part of 7s so it suited my style of play. I played for Ireland 7s for two seasons in World Series events in Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and London and on the European circuit.
One of my highlights was scoring at Twickenham in the 2022 World Series – the atmosphere on the Saturday of that event was absolutely electric. Sevens is a worldwide game. It was a unique experience to travel from locations such as LA to Budapest with a group of other players, some of whom I lived with. Putting yourself up against mountains of men such as one of the Kenyan players nicknamed “the buffalo” for his sheer size and competing against some of the fastest rugby players on the planet such as Perry Baker was a fantastic challenge. I finished my 7s with Ireland in August. I am now playing for Old Wesley RFC and teaching in Dublin. I wish both Light Blue sides the best of luck in their upcoming Varsity matches.
We can’t wait to catch up with the 2019 team on March 2nd and hope to see as many of you as possible down there.
Best of luck to the Blues teams, LXs, Tigers, Centurions & Jaguars this weekend too.
See you at Grange Road!
