Teddy Hall players to take part in Varsity rugby

The annual Oxford v. Cambridge Varsity Rugby matches take place this Thursday, 7 December, at Twickenham, and once again there will be Teddy Hall representation in both the men’s and women’s sides.

Sophie Behan (2014, Engineering Science) will captain Oxford’s women, wearing the number 8 shirt, when they kick off at 11.30am, together with Laura Simpson (2017, Medicine) at number 13 and Joanna Male (2016, Earth Sciences) as a substitute. The women’s match was held at Twickenham on the same day as the men’s fixture for the first time in 2015, when they were beaten 52-0. They bounced back last year though, with a 3-0 victory over Cambridge.

“To win last year was incredible,” said Sophie, “but it was made all the better by the fact that a year earlier we had stood on the same pitch at the end of the game having conceded eight tries and been beaten 52-0. Things have changed dramatically at Oxford and the win at Twickenham last year has played a big part. Our first pre-season training session was insane – we had 30+ athletes who had all played rugby before. In my first season we were having to introduce people to the ball, the laws and the game – run forward, pass backwards. We are at a whole new level this season and loving every minute of it.”

The men’s game is a 3pm kick-off and the squad includes Teddy Hall’s Lisiate Fifita (2017, MBA) at number 4 and Dan Barley (2016, Engineering Science) amongst the replacements.

Both games will be available to watch on the BBC – the women’s match via the red button and the men’s fixture on BBC2. A number of Teddy Hall supporters – including the Principal Keith Gull and some of our alumni – will be there on the day, watching from a box in the stadium.