Being a mature undergraduate student often makes you wonder the story behind a slightly delayed entry into university.
At Cambridge, the term is used for someone that matriculates past their 21st birthday, which applies to Fergus Hughes and the reasons for that are perhaps as compelling as it gets.
The 23-year-old Light Blues captain grew up in New Zealand and unsurprisingly took up their national sport, but a head injury just weeks prior to his Year 13 exams meant a delayed entry into higher education.
Instead, Hughes went to play for Crusaders, although he was torn about the prospect of pursuing a professional career.
“I was always in two minds about it, which I think is probably the reason that I’m not a professional rugby player today, or certainly part of the reason,” the St Edmund’s College student explains.
“I don’t think it was ever my ambition. I think it is something cool to do and it locked me in a place for two to three years and it was cool to push my rugby further because I really enjoyed it as it was always a massive part of my life.
“It was not quite for me and, to put it bluntly, I don’t think I was good enough so because of those two things I was not that keen to do it, and I would have had to have devoted everything to it, and I was not prepared to make that sacrifice.”
It was what Hughes combined with playing and training with Crusaders that has had a far greater influence on coming to Cambridge, and his choice of studies.
As an 18-year-old, he started as a teaching assistant at a school for children with disabilities and behavioural issues, taking lessons and classes and running outreach programmes for particularly troubled students and those in juvenile detention centres.
“I taught in special needs schools and prisons, and then set up my own disability service for children in my area in New Zealand. I did that for three years and absolutely loved it,” explains the flanker, who is studying human, social and political science, majoring in politics.
“It puts me in quite a unique position as a student, but I’m really grateful for the fact that it puts me in a unique position as a person as well.
“I was definitively naive to lots of things in the world prior to doing that job, and I certainly don’t know everything now, but it kept me grounded in a way that perhaps I wasn’t before.
“It has provided me with a new perspective on things, and understanding people and what really matters in the world to me and to others as well.
“I think that was where my interest in politics and social sciences came from, so that was really fun as well. Getting to put some of that into practice here is really nice.
“It has been really good for me, and I don’t think I would have gotten here without that, to be honest.”
The thought of coming to Cambridge University was something that had always been sown in the mind of Hughes.
From when he was around four his father talked about his son studying at Cambridge and playing in the Varsity Match. Hughes senior had matriculated at Christ’s College, but dropped out and went to London to do medicine.
“I remember getting through my first Michaelmas and saying I had finally beaten him at something!” Hughes joked.
“There was no real connection but it has just always been a thing in my family for him to say, so it was quite special for us as a family.”
Having ticked off arriving to study at Cambridge and getting through the first Michaelmas term, Hughes then completed the set by appearing in the Varsity Match.
And it could hardly have gone any better as the first Blue came with a 15-10 win at Twickenham in 2023, and there was a record win accompanying the second Blue last year, 56-11.
“Coming into my first year, the intake we had that year was ridiculous,” says Hughes.
“We had such a young team and I think we really connected. At 21, I was one of the youngest in the side, and fast-forward two years and you’re leading the side so it’s a bit of a funny one.”
The two Varsity Matches have been vastly different, as one was about grinding out a win and the other was about free-flowing rugby and flair.
““The first one was special because I think it epitomises what a Varsity Match is really about,” he says.
“I think it is about not necessarily playing your best rugby on the day but knowing you are a tight-knit group that when things get crappy, you are able to come together to get over the line.
“Last year was really special because it was one of those days when everything goes your way.”
He adds: “The main thing I have been drilling this year has been that we cannot be complacent.”
Given Hughes’ life experience you can take that as a given, and that he will have Cambridge motivated but grounded when they face Oxford at Saracens StoneX Stadium on Saturday, March 8.
