The Varsity Match and The Rugby World Cup

As the build-up to this year’s Varsity Match gets underway, rugby fans will also be eyeing another spectacular in the sports calendar – the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Hosted by New Zealand across September 9th to October 23rd, the tournament pits the world’s top 20 national  teams against each other in mammoth effort to claim rugby’s most coveted crown – the Web Ellis Trophy. Not surprisingly, given the high standard of Oxbridge rugby over the years, many Blues from both universities have played their part on this star-studded stage.

From 1987-2007 (six World Cups) 44 Oxbridge players have appeared in the tournaments with 28 claiming Blues before making their bow in the finals.

Oxbridge and The Rugby World Cup - Roll of Honour

*Denotes Blue awarded prior to Rugby World Cup appearance

2011 Rugby World Cup Oxbridge Connections

• Scotland have confirmed Simon Danielli (99 Oxford Blue) and Joe Ansbro (05, 06 Cambridge Blue) in their 30-man squad travelling to New Zealand.
• Former Cambridge University skipper Dan Vickerman has been selected by Australia – the third time he has been included in the Wallabies’ World Cup squad!
• American Will Johnson, an Oxford Blue in 2009, and Canadian Stan McKeen (currently playing in the Dark Blues’ back row) just missed out on selection for their respective countries.
• Former Oxford University skipper Nick Mallett will be leading the Italian national side into the World Cup campaign. Mallett, who previously coached the Springboks at the 1999 World Cup, played in the Varsity match in 1980.
• One of Mallett’s successors as the Dark Blues skipper, Brian Smith, will also be heading to the World Cup as England’s attack coach. Mark Egan, who followed Smith as Oxford captain, will also be taking a big interest in this year’s tournament as Head of Development and Performance for the IRB.
• The newly appointed Cambridge University skipper for the 2011/12 season, Matt Guinness-King played for Canada against the All Blacks at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He earned his Blue off the bench at Twickenham last season.

Did You Know…?

• The Webb Ellis Trophy was actually chosen by former Oxford University player (1948, 49, 50) John Kendall-Carpenter. Chairman of the Rugby World Cup committee in 1987, he went to Garrard’s, the crown jeweller in Regent Street, and selected the gold trophy along with IRB Secretary Bob Weighill.
• The first recipient of the Rugby World Cup was New Zealand skipper David Kirk, who would go on to play in the 1987 and 1988 Varsity Matches for Oxford. Other World Cup winners who have played in the Varsity Match are Australia’s Rob Egerton (Oxford 1987, 88) and Troy Coker (Oxford 1988, 89) in 1991 and Joe Roff (Oxford 2006. 07) in 1999.
• Paul Ackford (Cambridge 1979), Rob Andrew (Cambridge 1982, 83, 84), and Simon Halliday (Oxford 1979, 80, 81) were all in the England team that lost in the 1991 final at Twickenham. Joe Roff (Oxford 06/07 and Australia) was also a loser in the 2003 final.