College Notebook: Egg Chasers
The renaissance of college rugby, by means of a triangular tournament involving James, Alcuin and Derwent, has proved an unexpected sporting highlight of the past term.
Competitive and exciting matches, played in the correct spirit, have been the hallmark of a competition which remains undecided, with the final clash between James and Derwent to be rescheduled during the next couple of weeks.
The challenges faced by the tournament organisers; most pressingly fiddly details of insurance, suitable venue (nearby Archbishops Holgate school answering the call), officials and beating the inevitably inclement weather of winter, would have appeared insurmountable to some. However, Paul Guest, Alex Muntus and a list of other names too numerous to mention have been undeterred in their commitment and perseverance, deserving credit for reviving a college sport often tarnished in the past.
As Muntus acknowledges, there have been teething problems: “the weather problems have been frustrating and we’ve delayed as long as possible to ensure everyone gets a chance to play. We can’t be going round stealing university players.”
Alcuin drew first blood in the opening encounter, fending off a spirited second-half comeback by a numerically depleted James side to win 13-10 in freezing conditions. A week later, further inconvenience, and intrigue, was added to the tournament by the postponement of the Derwent-James fixture, but Joe Rankin’s team would not be denied, upsetting Alcuin 14-6 in the pouring rain a week before the Christmas holidays. Therefore, all three teams are still mathematically in with a chance of scooping the title, but that would maybe miss the point.
“We wanted to get college rugby established again,” said Alcuin fly-half Guest. “It was all about taking the initiative and compared to last year, it’s been much better.” A sentiment echoed by his James co-organiser Muntus: “our main aim was to get people talking about it again. Having said that, I would love nothing more than beating Derwent.”
Such has been the success of this pilot, plans are well advanced to expand the college rugby experience. A meeting between college sports representatives this week will discuss the viability of including Halifax, Wentworth and a joint Vanbrugh/Goodricke side next time. “Over one hundred people turned up to the university rugby trials in fresher’s week,” added Muntus. “We want to tap into this interest, there are definitely people out there.”
One secondary benefit of college rugby’s return is fostering closer ties with the university sides, a miniature feeder system of sorts. “We’ve been concerned in the past about getting in the way of the university team,” Guest added. “But they’ve been really supportive.”
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