The annual CURUFC Old Rugby Blues game against The Other Place Old Blues took place on May 9th at Denham GC and was the largest event yet in the history of this popular fixture in the Alumni sporting calendar. For those interested in history, this fixture was originally conceived in the autumn of 2004 on a lanai in Naples Florida by Cambridge legend Roger Michaelson (First Blue 1960) and his Oxford friend and contemporary John Collingwood to re-kindle the tourist spirit from the 1963 Combined Oxbridge Rugby tour to Africa. On 23rd May 2005, the annual event was born at The Berkshire Golf Club, where it ended very appropriately in a 3-3 halved match. CURUFC Old Blues were represented by David Rosser (1962) & Ian Balding (1961), Tony Lewis (1959) & Roger Michaelson, John Owen (1961) & Alan Martin (1961 RIP), Bob Collier (1960 RIP) & Mike Wetson (1958 RIP), Malcolm Bussey (1960 RIP) & John Brash (1959 RIP), and Roger Palin (1960). The event was moved to Denham GC in 2011 where Roger Michaelson handed to the reins to the current captain Simon Attfield (1982) with the mission to develop the event into an Alumni event for all generations of Old Blues golfers, leveraging ‘modern’ communication methods such as email, Whatsapp and mobile phones, which were not invented during most of Roger’s career.
The 2023 match consisted of 9 x fourball-better-ball pairings, with drinks reception and lunch before the golf to loosen the swings and renew auld acquaintances, followed by a shotgun start to ensure all pairings could meet up afterwards in the bar for sandwiches and a convivial debrief. The competitive spirit was in evidence from the very start, although this year we were spared some of the more extreme examples Oxford’s ‘sportsmanship’ such as the notorious ‘etiquette-gate’ incident in 2019 (where an Oxford player incorrectly and inappropriately accused a Cambridge player of a rules violation, which means cheating in golf parlance). Such incidents are mercifully few but can prove highly motivational in terms of team bonding, and they serve to remind us why we chose Cambridge and how much we love beating Oxford at anything and everything.
Cambridge clearly had a more talented team and were giving away lots of shots to their Oxford counterparts in almost every game. As for the result, Cambridge did end up losing 5-4 with the last putt of the match. There were no less than five of the games decided on the last hole, and all the matches were closely contested. So, it would be wrong to single out individuals, although Ivan Mackenzie (1994) did miss the last putt of the match, which would have halved the match and ‘retained’ the Cup after our win last year. However, this was a team effort, and we win and lose as a team, although I believe Ivan’s counselling sessions are already underway. Victorious pairings on the day were Tim-Paterson-Brown (1983) & Simon Phillips (1996), local man Alun Lewis (1975) & Paul Parker, Justin (Doggers) Davies (1994) & Lloyd Davies (1991) and Peter Combe (1984) & Trevor Borthwick (1995), but the result could so easily have gone the other way.
If anyone else is interested in playing next year, the event will take place on Tuesday 7th May 2024 at Denham GC, and you should contact Simon Attfield to put forward your candidature.
Best regards and GDBO
Simon Attfield (Atters) 1984
2023 team: Simon Attfield (1982 capt) Tim Paterson-Brown (1983), Simon Phillips (1996), Adrian Davies (1988), Phil Irons (1993), Steve Killick (1978), Mickey Parr (1978), Justin Davies (1994), Lloyd Davies (1991) Alun Lewis (1975), Paul Parker (1975), Mark Denney (1995), John Turner (1985), Pete Combe (1985), Trevor Borthwick (1985), Ivan Mackenzie (1994), Max Duthie (1991)
