Cambridge University R.U.F.C.

Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, sometimes abbreviated "CURUFC", is the rugby union club of the University of Cambridge. The team plays Oxford University RFC in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium every December.
Cambridge players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest. Many have gone on to represent their country and the British and Irish Lions; a few, most notably Dan Vickerman, James Horwill & Flip van der Merwe, have represented Cambridge after successful international careers. While at Cambridge University James Bevan became the first captain of the Wales national rugby union team. The CURUFC stadium is located in West Cambridge, beside Grange Road.
History
Football is believed to have been introduced to Cambridge University in 1839 by Trinity College fresher Albert Pell. Pell had matriculated at Cambridge after going up from Rugby School, where the game of rugby is believed to have originated. Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club was officially established in 1872, around three years after the Oxford rugby club was founded. The first Varsity match was contested between the two teams on 10 February 1872. The Cambridge team was led out by captain Isaac Cowley Lambert, wearing pink jerseys with a monogram on the left breast. Played away at the Park in Oxford, Cambridge lost by a single goal to nil. CURUFC officials helped to draw up the laws of the game that were adopted by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) when it was established in 1871. Cambridge became a Constituent Body of the Union in 1872, a status which the club still holds today. In 1874, Cambridge provided their first international player directly from the club, when John Batten represented England in the third encounter against Scotland.
Facilities
Ground
The CURUFC Stadium and Training Grounds are located in West Cambridge, close to Selwyn College's Cripps Court and St Catharine's College's St Chad building. The ground first appears on maps in 1904 and the historic stadium features a number of buildings dating to the early 19th and 20th centuries. A large red lion, a symbol of the University of Cambridge and the crest of the rugby club, stands guard beside the stadium. The lion statue was removed in 1999 from the Lion Yard shopping arcade. The facilities are partially maintained by Cantab Asset Management. The stadium, built in the 19th century, is undersized and is often over capacity during matches, leading to calls for an expansion and redevelopment project. In addition to the Grange Road Site, the club practises on various college and university fields around Cambridge and Grantchester.
Redevelopment Project
In 2015, plans were drafted for a large redevelopment of the Grange Road Site which would ensure the team remains competitive over the next 50 years. The plans included expanded seating, high-tech training facilities, and a new walled admission entrance on Grange Road. An architect for the project has yet to be chosen. In Michaelmas 2017, the CURUFC launched its first fundraising campaign for the Grange Road Redevelopment Project.
Notable former players
British and Irish Lions
The following former players were selected for the British and Irish Lions touring squads while playing for Cambridge University.
Carl Aarvold 1930
Randolph Aston 1891
David Bedell-Sivright 1903, 1904
Sydney Pyman Bell 1896
J.H. Bordass 1924
Harry Bowcott 1930
Edward Bromet 1891
William Cave 1903
Owen Chadwick 1936
Granville Coghlan 1927
Mike Gibson 1966
Thomas Alexander Gibson 1903
Johnny Hammond 1891
Alfred Hind 1903
Herbert Laxon 1908
Alun Lewis 1977
Osbert Mackie 1896
Edwin Mayfield 1891
William Grant Mitchell 1891
Arthur Rotherham 1891
Clement Pearson Simpson 1891
Ken Scotland 1959
Arthur Smith 1955
Aubone Surtees 1891
Willie Thomas 1888
Robert Thompson 1891
William Henry Thorman 1891
G. H. Waddell 1959
William Wotherspoon 1891
England internationals
The following former Cambridge University players have represented England at full international level.
Rob Andrew
John Batten
Robert William Bell
C.E. Chapman
Huw Davies
Edwin Field
Toby Flood
Herbert Fuller
Barry Holmes
Phil Horrocks-Taylor
Cyril Lowe
Charles Marriott
Nick Martin
R.M. Pattisson
Samuel Victor Perry
Marcus Rose
C.H. Sample
William Martin Scott
Kevin Simms
Peter Warfield
Charles Plumpton Wilson
Alan Wordsworth
Wales internationals
The following former Cambridge University players have represented Wales at full international level.
James Bevan
Glyn Davies
Cliff Jones
Jamie Roberts
Willie Thomas
Scotland internationals
The following former Cambridge University players have represented Scotland at full international level.
Joe Ansbro
Andrew Balfour
David Bedell-Sivright
Mike Biggar
David Brown
John Argentine Campbell
Ken Dalgleish
Arthur Dorward
Frank Fasson
John Forrest
Keith Geddes
Cameron Glasgow
Laurie Gloag
Frederick Goodhue
James Gowans
James Greenlees
Gavin Hastings
Simon Holmes
John Hunter
William Inglis
Johnny Johnston
William Lely
Rab Bruce Lockhart
Robert MacEwen
Gregor MacGregor
K. G. MacLeod
Lewis MacLeod
W. M. MacLeod
Alfred Methuen
Hugh Monteith
Willie Neilson
Eric Peters
William Purves
William Ritchie
David Robertson
Ian Robertson
Ken Scotland
John Scoular
Arthur Smith
Louis Stevenson
Archibald Symington
John Guthrie Tait
Gordon Waddell
Rob Wainwright
Joseph Waters
Frank Waters
William Wotherspoon
Ireland internationals
The following former Cambridge University players have represented Ireland at full international level.
John Robbie
Other nationalities
Matthew Palamountain
James Horwill
Tom Lovelace
Mick O'Callaghan
Flip van der Merwe
Dan Vickerman
Honours
Melrose Sevens
Champions (1): 1960
Bibliography
References
External links
Rugby clubs established in 1872
University and college rugby union clubs in England
Rugby union teams in England
Rugby union in Cambridgeshire