Welsh Varsity

Last updated

The Welsh Varsity is an annual sporting event contested by Cardiff University and Swansea University, usually in early April. The sports contested include rugby union, hockey, cricket, squash, badminton, lacrosse, rowing, golf, basketball, football, American football, ultimate frisbee, netball, volleyball, fencing and an array of other sports. Profits go to charity. The event is held over the course of a week, with some sports competing over a weekend due to the nature of the sport. The majority of the games are held on the Wednesday afternoon, with the centrepiece rugby union match between the two sides held in the evening and often attended by in excess of 18,000 supporters. [1]

Contents

Rugby union

The showpiece event of the Welsh Varsity is the rugby union fixture played between the men's teams of the two universities. The event began in 1997 and for the first six years alternated venues between the Cardiff Arms Park and St. Helen's in Swansea. Between 2003 and 2006, it was played at Brewery Field, home of Bridgend RFC, halfway between the two cities. It returned to the Arms Park for three years from 2007 to 2009, followed by a year at Swansea's Liberty Stadium. Since then, the match has been divided between the Liberty Stadium and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. [2]

As of 2019, Swansea have won 14 of the 24 Varsity Matches played, while Cardiff have won nine, including a record 78–7 victory on 10 April 2019. The only drawn match came in 2001. [2]

Summary

Overall

DetailsPlayedWon by CardiffWon by SwanseaDrawnCardiff pointsSwansea points
In Cardiff12661273204
In Swansea8260119187
Neutral venue42205358
Overall2510141445449

Records

Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set.

RecordCardiffSwansea
Longest winning streak3 (2017–2019)4 (1997–2000)
Largest points for
Home78 (2019)49 (1998)
Away27 (2015)28 (2011)
Largest winning margin
Home71 (2019)36 (1998)
Away8 (2018)15 (1997)

Results

YearLocationWinnerSwanseaCardiff
1997 Cardiff Arms Park Swansea2611
1998 St. Helen's Swansea4913
1999Cardiff Arms ParkSwansea137
2000St. Helen'sSwansea2818
2001Cardiff Arms ParkDraw1010
2002St Helen'sSwansea213
2003 Brewery Field Cardiff1219
2004Brewery FieldSwansea2511
2005Brewery FieldSwansea168
2006Brewery FieldCardiff515
2007Cardiff Arms ParkSwansea180
2008Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff919
2009Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff69
2010 Liberty Stadium Swansea1612
2011 Millennium Stadium Swansea2818
2012Millennium StadiumCardiff1333
2013Millennium StadiumSwansea2113
2014Millennium StadiumSwansea1915
2015Liberty StadiumCardiff2227
2016Liberty StadiumSwansea1610
2017Millennium StadiumCardiff1535
2018Liberty StadiumCardiff1523
2019Millennium StadiumCardiff778
2020Liberty StadiumSwanseaCancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021N/AN/ACancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Liberty Stadium Swansea2013
2023Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff1519

Notable participants

Some of those who have played in the Welsh Varsity Match have gone on to win international honours. These include: [3]

Welsh Boat Race

The inaugural Welsh Boat Race was held in 2006. The Welsh Boat Race has continued to grow due to support from the respective athletic unions, and sponsorship deals. The venue for the boat race has historically been the River Taff, but the venue for 2010 was the River Tawe. The event now takes place in whichever city is hosting the Varsity like most of the other sports. The event was historically held on a Wednesday to coincide with the other Varsity games but due to increasing popularity from alumni, parents and the general public, the event has now been moved to the weekend. [4]

Varsity Shield

Over the course of the day, several sports are contested, with a point awarded for each event won. The university with the most points at the end of the day is awarded the Welsh Varsity Shield. In 2017 the shield was won by Swansea University for the first time. [5]

Coverage

The Welsh Varsity event is covered in its entirety by both universities' student newspapers and radio stations (Cardiff's Xpress Radio and Swansea's Xtreme Radio). Since 2009, it has also been covered by Cardiff Union Television (CUTV). The men's rugby union match is also broadcast live nationally by the Welsh-language channel S4C. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roses Tournament</span>

The Roses Tournament is an annual varsity sports competition between Lancaster University and the University of York in England, often described as the largest inter-university sports tournament in Europe. It is organised by their respective Students' Unions, YUSU and LUSU. It takes its name from the 15th-century civil war, the Wars of the Roses, between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire are traditionally symbolized by the red and the white rose respectively, although some York teams today play in gold and black kits. The competition is held every year during the early May bank holiday weekend, alternating its venue between the two universities.

The Bottle Match is a varsity match played between the Camborne School of Mines (CSM) of Exeter University and the Royal School of Mines (RSM) of Imperial College London. The first recorded match between the two sides took place on 16 December 1902.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team Durham</span> Sport organisation of Durham University

Team Durham is a student-run organisation responsible for sport at Durham University. Durham University's sports programme, run by Team Durham, has produced more professional sports people than any other UK university and has twice seen Durham named Times and Sunday Times Sports University of the Year. It has ranked in the top three institutions in British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) every season since 2011–12. Six Team Durham alumni or current athletes have won seven Olympic and Paralympic medals since 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground</span> Rugby and cricket ground in Swansea

St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground, commonly known simply as St Helens Ground, is a sports venue in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea Council. Used mainly for rugby union and cricket, it has been the home ground of Swansea RFC and Swansea Cricket Club since it opened in 1873.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Davies (rugby union, born 1955)</span> Wales and British and Irish Lions rugby union player

William Gareth Davies is a former Wales and British and Irish Lions international rugby union player and former chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Wales</span> Overview of sports practised in Wales

Sport in Wales plays a prominent role in Welsh culture. Like the other countries of the United Kingdom, Wales enjoys independent representation in major world sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and in the Rugby World Cup, but competes as part of Great Britain in some other competitions, including the Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport Wales</span> National sports organisation of Wales

Sport Wales is the national organisation responsible for developing and promoting sport and physical activity in Wales. Working alongside partners such as governing bodies of sport and local authorities, they aim to encourage sporting ambitions in the young and promote championship standards nationally.

The Macadam Cup is a varsity match played between the sports teams of King's College London proper (KCL) and Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' School of Medicine (GKT). The championship is named in honour of Sir Ivison Macadam, an alumnus of King's. Macadam also gave his name to a building at the King's Strand Campus, the location of the students' union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sport in Cardiff</span> Overview of sport in the capital city of Wales

Sport in Cardiff is dictated by, amongst other things, its position as the capital city of Wales, meaning that national home sporting fixtures are nearly always played in the city. All of Wales' multi-sports agencies and many of the country's sports governing bodies have their headquarters in Cardiff and the city's many top-quality venues have attracted world-famous sport events, sometimes unrelated to Cardiff or to Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowe Harding</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

W. Rowe Harding was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea. An intelligent player, Harding played for several teams at club and international level. In 1926 he attended Cambridge University and played for Cambridge in a varsity match. Rowe retired from rugby at the age of 28 when he was called to the bar, and would later become a County Court judge in 1953. Harding spent his later life connected with all manner of sports. He was Welsh Rugby Union vice-president from 1953 to 1956, chairman and president of Glamorgan County Cricket Club, president of Swansea Lawn Tennis and Squash Rackets Club and patron of Cwmgors RFC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Welsh Boat Race</span> University rowing competition in Wales

The Welsh Boat Race, also known as the Welsh University Boat Race and The Welsh Varsity Boat Race, is an annual rowing race in Wales between the Swansea University Rowing Club and the Cardiff University Rowing Club, rowed between competing eights each spring since 2006 on the River Tawe or River Taff in South Wales.

The London Varsity is an annual university students' union match contested between the University College London and King's College London, the two founding colleges of the University of London. In rugby, the Varsity is traditionally known as the "Jeremy George Cup" named after the founders of the respective universities, Jeremy Bentham and King George IV. Founded in 2004 by Adam Sommerfeld as a rugby union match, the game celebrates the rivalry between University College London and King's College London, which spans nearly two centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Varsity Series (Nottingham)</span>

The Varsity Series, or the Charity Varsity Series, comprises a number of sports events pitching Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham against each other in a university rivalry. It has been organised for the benefit of charity since 2004. The university that wins the most events is declared winner. One point and half a point are awarded for winning and drawing an event, respectively. The two institutions are based in Nottingham in the United Kingdom and the rivalry is contested in a variety of sports, although ice hockey is seen as the premier event and is the second most attended university ice hockey match outside of North America, selling out the 7,500-seat National Ice Centre since 2009. The winner takes home the Varsity Trophy, which they hold until the conclusion of the following year's series. The University of Nottingham currently leads Nottingham Trent in total series wins by 8-4 since 2004, one series has been drawn, in 2011. The University of Nottingham has won the last 5 series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colby Mules</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Colby College

The Colby Mules are the varsity and club athletic teams of Colby College, a liberal arts college located in Waterville, Maine. Colby's varsity teams compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The college offers 32 varsity teams, plus club sports, intramural sports called I-play.

Swansea University Rugby Football Club is a Welsh amateur rugby union club based at Swansea University, Swansea. It competes in the BUCS Rugby Union Super Rugby League as of the 2021/2022 season. The club has experienced major success, winning the UAU Championship six times and the BUSA Championship twice. Swansea are also the current champions of Wales having won the 2022 Welsh Varsity in the Freshers, Women's and Men's varsity match.

David Wyn Evans is a former international rugby union player who represented the Wales national team on twelve occasions between 1989 and 1995. He played club rugby for Cardiff RFC and Treorchy RFC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maiden Castle sports centre</span> Sports complex in Durham, England

Maiden Castle sports centre, also known as the Graham Sports Centre and the Durham University Sport and Wellbeing Park, is the main sports complex at Durham University and the home for many of the university's teams. It also stages professional football as the home of Durham W.F.C. since 2020 and is used as an international venue, including hosting one of the four 2023 Women's EuroHockey Championship Qualifiers tournaments in summer 2022 and the 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. It has been used as a training ground by Hartlepool United since 2021, having previously been used by Newcastle United.

References

  1. Bywater, Alex (21 April 2015). "A crowd of more than 15,000 is expected for the 2015 Welsh Varsity match". WalesOnline.
  2. 1 2 "The Rugby". Welsh Varsity. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. "The Rugby". Welsh Varsity. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  4. WEROW. "Welsh Boat Race ends in a two-all draw". WEROW. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  5. Southcombe, Matthew (9 May 2017). "Cardiff University have just been stripped of their Varsity title". WalesOnline.
  6. "Varsity match between Cardiff & Swansea to be shown live on TV". bucs.org.uk. British Universities & Colleges Sport. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2019.