Reasons why they’ll do well

- The Scrum: England have a solid pack with good strength and experience. An eye has to be kept on the back row if age and injuries take their toll.

- Age Mix: What do you get when you mix Wilkinson and Easter with Tuilagi and Ashton? Exciting rugby with a level head.

Reasons why they won’t

- Centre: Shontayne Hape? Really? What if Tuilagi chokes? Or Tindall gets injured? It baffles me why Flutey is not in New Zealand.

- Depth: The back row is worryingly old and injury prone. At its best the trio of Croft, Moody and Easter will dominate; but Moody is far from fit and depth behind looks weak.

Style of Play

Martin Johnson’s selection highlights the play desired. Battering rams have been brought in at centre and the back row screams hard nuts. Don’t expect flair rugby.

Player to Watch

Manu Tuilagi – whether he is punching Ashton or scoring tries for fun, Manu is exciting. It will be interesting to see him on the big stage and if the Tindall/ Tuilagi partnership that proved successful against Ireland continues the good work.

Coaching Staff

You’re not going to find a more respected coach within a squad than Martin Johnson in England. The players praise that he always knows what to say and when. Jonno has been there, he’s done that and he’s got the winners medal.

Media Expectations

There is no doubt that England are the favourites outside of the Tri-Nations and expectation is high. The question is; will this expectation be too much for the younger members in the squad?

Quick Fact

30% of the squad were born abroad.

Wales (80/1)

Reasons why they’ll do well

- Passion: You won’t find many people more passionate about rugby than the Welsh, or more patriotic.

- Expansive Play: Wales play exciting, attacking and expansive play. They like to spread the play and do it well.

Reasons why they won’t

- Injuries: This blog isn’t long enough to list all of Wales’ injuries but the biggest miss could be the exciting Morgan Stoddart at full back.

- Power: There is a worry about the front 5 of Wales and their power. It is even worse now that Gethin Jenkins has been ruled out of the crucial opener against South Africa.

Style of Play

The Welsh have always played attractive attacking rugby which is great for the neutral. With Warren
Gatland still around and the talent in the backline I would expect similar in New Zealand.

Player to Watch

Sam Warburton – the Cardiff Blues man has been in great form recently and was voted Player of the Year by the Welsh Rugby Writers’ Association. Expect big things from the openside flanker.

Coaching Staff

Warren Gatland is experienced and knowledgeable. And his mind games are great to follow, with his latest accusation that South Africa “don’t play rugby. They don’t do anything”.

Media Expectations

There is a lot of faith from supporters and media alike but both are under no illusions that Wales sit in the toughest group and it will be a hard task progressing all the way.

Quick Fact

Wales have averaged 27 points per RWC match compared to 16 in non World Cup matches.

Ireland (40/1)

Reasons why they’ll do well

- Age mix – Let’s face it, this should be the perfect World Cup for Ireland. They have the old hands, both in the pack and the backs, combined with exciting young talent like Keith Earls and Sean O’Brien.

- Th ‘O’s’ – O’Driscoll, O’Connell, O’Gara, even the unsung O’Callaghan. These players are greats of the modern game. They may be borderline past their peak, but you can’t argue with their talent, experience or leadership.

Reasons why they won’t

- Loss of Wallace – Make no mistake, the loss of David Wallace is devastating for Ireland. Shane Jennings is a decent replacement, but he’s just not Wallace.

- Recent form – After struggling to beat Italy and Scotland in the 6 Nations, Ireland have lost all four of their World Cup warm-up matches. Winning is a habit, but Ireland have gone cold turkey.

Player to watch

- Sean O’brien – An unbelievable ball-carrier with frightening pace and power. But will he be allowed the space to roam without his back-row partner Wallace doing the dirty work?
Coaching

- Declan Kidney must be under pressure going into the tournament. He’s failed to make the most of the great talent at his disposal and might be shown the door if Ireland fail to impress.

Style of Play

- Much depends on whether O’Gara or Sexton play at fly-half. Sexton will spark the exciting backline, but O’Gara will play for territory with his exceptional tactical kicking.

Media Expectations

- Low and frustrated. The high of the thrashing of England in the final 6 Nations game has been quickly forgotten.

Quick Fact

- Ireland’s first ever International game was played against England in 1875, with teams of 20-a-side.

Scotland (300/1)

Reasons why they’ll do well

- Back-row – Last year this unit had a genuine claim to being the best in the world. Johnnie Beattie may be missing through injury but his replacement Richie Vernon is a good talent, and there’s no denying the ability of John Barclay and Kelly Brown.

- Recent form – In direct contrast to Ireland, Scotland have to be encouraged by their form. Up to 7th in the IRB world rankings, they may finally be dragging themselves out of a decade in the rugby wilderness.

Reasons why they won’t

- Lack of game-changers – There’s just a real lack of magic in Scotland’s back-line. They’ll really struggle to unlock solid defences.

- Lack of big-match experience – It must be a loss for Scotland that none of their clubs ever get to the latter stages of the Heiniken Cup. They have so few players that have experienced the big occasion and they may crumble under pressure.

Player to watch

- Richie Gray – The youngest player in the squad at 24, this 6ft 9in monster is a great talent in the second row. Not only does he barely need to be lifted in the line-out, he’s also exciting to watch in open play

Coaching

- Much maligned during his brief spell with England, Robinson has thrived with Scotland, giving them steel, determination and a hard-nosed belief.

Style of play

- Keep the ball with the forwards, rumble it up, win penalty, Patterson kicks the points. Rinse and repeat.

Media Expectations

- Cautiously optimistic – They know Scotland can’t win it, but they’ll be disappointed if they don’t qualify and they expect to give England a real fright.

Quick Fact

- Scotland have made it to the quarter-finals of every World Cup, but have only been in one semi-final (1991), where they lost to England.

Winners:

SA – Australia (odds 7/2) : Matt will be giving you 4 reasons why the Kiwis are the ones to beat but I would rather give you 7; Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Digby Ioane, Patt McCabe, Adam Ashley-Cooper, James O’Connor and Kurtley Beale. That is an outrageously exciting backline.

MJ – New Zealand (odds 4/7): Right, here are my 4 reasons, in a bit more detail than Sam’s.

1. Talent – They are, quite simply, the best team. Players like Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Mils Muliaina, Conrad Smith and Tony Woodcock will all someday be remembered as greats of the modern game, but they have class and experience at every position.

2. Squad depth – The NZ 2ND XV could beat most of the sides at this World Cup. Graham Henry can rest players to keep them fresh for the later rounds and the performance levels will barely drop. And Sitiveni Sivivatu didn’t even make the squad. He’s scored 29 tries in 45 tests and he’s not even in the squad. That’s just outrageous strength in depth.

3. Home advantage – The New Zealand public just live and breathe rugby. They will drive the Kiwis to victory simply through their force of will. People sometimes call the crowd a 16th man. The New Zealand crowd is a whole extra team.

4. The losses to Australia and South Africa – These were the wake-up call the All-Blacks needed. They were awful against Australia and were duly punished. But don’t forget that they demolished Australia 30-14 at home just a month ago. Now they know they can’t just turn up and expect to win, I expect to see that performance repeated.

Top Try Scorer:

SA – Digby Ioane (odds 9/1) : With 8 tries from 15 matches for the Wallabies, the 26 year old is fast and powerful and will relish his chance on the world stage.

MJ – Conrad Smith (odds 20/1) : One of the most underrated players of his generation, Smith combines skill and guile with surprising pace and power. He always seems to be in support to take that final pass, just as Greenwood was for England 8 years ago.

Inspiring and Uninspiring:

Inspiring – Canada: Strong performances in the last 2 Churchill Cups show a Canada team on the rise. With former All-Black Kieran Crowley at the helm and talent like Glasgow’s DTH Van der Merwe and new Ospreys flanker Chauncey O’Toole, Canada could spring the surprise of the tournament if France underestimate them.

Uninspiring – Ireland: The squad has been depleted, with David Wallace being the headline injury, and the coaching staff hasn’t been getting the most out of a squad that boasts some talented individuals. There is even a slim chance they won’t get out of their group if Italy can cause an upset in Dunedin.

Ones to Watch:

Quade Cooper – Exciting, outrageous and arrogant are just three words you could use to describe Quade Cooper’s rugby. He can win a match as easily as he can lose one. Whether you love him or you hate him, just keep an eye on him.

Heinrich Brussow – While there has been a lot of talk about the battle between Richie McCaw and David Pocock, Brussow has the ability to upstage them both. He is a true openside flanker, which are so rare to find these days. While his dark arts at the breakdown may go unheralded, he is the single most important player on the Springbok team, and key to their chances of retaining the Webb Ellis trophy.

Tuilagi Brothers – Manu and Alesana are well known to followers of the Aviva Premiership. They are exciting, hard running and hard headed players that are a joy to watch for neutrals. One for England and one for Samoa, if we are really lucky, we might get the two facing off in a Semi-Final.

Takudzwa Ngwenya – Because everyone wants to see a try like this again,

Key Group Stage Matches:

These four games look set to decide the precious second qualifying spot from each group,

Wales v Samoa – 18th September
France v Canada – 18th September
Argentina v Scotland – 24th September
Ireland v Italy – 2nd October

The Webb Ellis Cup, the classical, understated gold prize, is now the target of 20 nations in New Zealand and millions of viewers around the world are hoping to witness magic moments and pieces of history. Over the years we have been privy to events that have made us laugh, made us cheer and even made us cry. Below are just five of our favourite memories of the Rugby World Cup:

5. 2007 – The Wolves

It is the 2007 Rugby World Cup and Portugal are the only amateur side in the tournament. It is the ultimate underdog story as they stand ready to challenge the All Blacks. What followed was one of the most passionate renditions of a national anthem I have ever witnessed. They may have lost 108-13 but to me that anthem represented all that was good about Rugby. Keep an eye out this year for the Argentines or (dare I say it) Alun Wyn Jones for Wales, I don’t think that man has ever held back the tears during the anthem.

4. 2003 – Haka vs Sipi Tau

There has been so much conversation about the Haka in the last few weeks. Whether or not it should be allowed, it is a spectacle; one that is eagerly anticipated by the fans. So how about 2003, when we were treated to not just the Maori Ka Mate, but also the Tongan Sipi Tau. The passion, the atmosphere, the challenge; the match was going to be great. Well, 91-7 at least gave us some tries.

3. 1995 – Jonah Lomu

I was only six-years-old when this 6ft 5ins, 20-year-old introduced himself to the world. With only two caps (two defeats) before the World Cup in ’95, Lomu was an unknown entity. Three tries in three games before he delivered one of the greatest performances ever. Four tries against the English showed his ability to make the average rugby player (sorry Mike Catt) look like a child. This is my earliest Rugby memory and I knew then that I wanted to be a winger; several years and several stone later not everything has gone to plan.

2. 2003 – Jonny’s Drop Goal

A memory etched into every Englishman’s (and Aussie’s) mind. A final line-out, an exhausted drive from Matt Dawson, a final lunge into the Aussie 22, the ball whirls back, Wilkinson’s right peg (his weaker foot) swings….and the rest is, as they say, history.

1. 1995 – Mandela and Pienaar

If there was ever a World Cup that proved that sport is about more than the physical activity then it was 1995. Ignore everything you’ve seen in Invictus. Source the original game footage and watch it. It wasn’t the most exhilarating game, it wasn’t end to end, it wasn’t about the rugby. But at Ellis Park, with Mandela’s pregame speech, with the low-flying plane, with the nullification of Jonah Lomu, with that final drop goal, with Francois Pienaar lifting the trophy and with Nelson Mandela in a Springbok jersey, it was about making history and uniting a nation. At the time I didn’t understand why people watching were silent during Mandela’s speech or why their expressions showed such emotion at the final whistle, but I do now. The world changed that day because of a sports tournament.

JAMES 21 HALIFAX 0

College Rugby may have evolved, but some things remain the same. Without ever approaching their best, James, the defending champions, ground out their second Emperor League victory in seven days against Halifax. Outstanding defensive work, particularly in a soporific first-half, proved the key and tries after the break from Chris Smith and Bruce Green, the Captain, wrapped things up at the Archbishop Holgate School.

James had flattered to deceive, despite winning 42-0, against the Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth combined side last week but Halifax, boasting a number of UYRUFC second and third XI players, were always going to present a sterner examination.

And so it transpired in the opening period. Apart from an early penalty which fly-half Alex Muntus drifted wide, James were pinned inside their own 22 for long spells and were fortunate not to concede. They looked professional in their newly-embroidered black strips but let themselves down all-too-often in the line-out and with fundamental handling errors.

In an intense period of pressure, Halifax failed to covert possession into points – the highlight arriving when Simon Reed’s blazing run was ended just a few feet short of the tryline. However, it would be James, having weathered the storm, who entered the break with a slender advantage following a successful Muntus kick awarded for a dangerously high tackle.

Rob Donell, of James, bursts forward during the second half of today’s 21-0 victory over Halifax. Photograph by Irene Sieberger.

The second-half thankfully represented a contrast. It was not a vintage James performance but, with the rearguard continuing to be impregnable, it was more than enough. Huw Harrow’s enterprising kick and chase early on signalled that the tide was turning against Halifax and, after 51 minutes, they made their superior organisation and preparation pay.

Smith, who was afterwards named Man of the Match, darted past two despairing tackles to touch down between the posts. Muntus, who was starting to rediscover the kicking form which brought him 22 points last weekend, added the extras for 10-0.

Muntus added another three with a straightforward penalty before a moment of madness concluded the game as a contest. Under sustained fire, an attempted clearance kick from a grounded Halifax player flew directly to Green, who had the simple task of running the ball home unchallenged from ten metres out.

Halifax were cursing their luck by this point, disbelieving that, for all their attacking threat earlier on, they had yet to trouble the scorers. An additional Muntus penalty, stretching the score to 21-0, only highlighted their frustration.

The tests continue for James, whose year-long unbeaten sequence will be put on the line against Collingwood College, of Durham, next weekend.

Alex Muntus, James President: “It was good to front up against a Halifax team containing a number of university players. I think it’s probably our organisation which makes all the difference, the fact we train week-in week-out.”

Simon Reed, Halifax: “It was a tight game, with the difference being James finishing their chances. We struggled to get a team together to be honest; I spent most of Friday chasing people up.”

ALCUIN 41 GOODRICKE.LANGWITH/WENTWORTH 0

In the second match of ‘Super Saturday’, Alcuin opened their campaign with a 41-0 thrashing of Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth, in a match marred by injuries.

G/L/W were once again fielding a cobbled together side, and were suffering from a lack of Langwith players showing up to play. However, they once again showed their determination and commitment, and threw themselves around the pitch in an effort to keep Alcuin at bay. In the end, the sheer size of the Alcuin team, and their squad, allowed them to start churning out scores as G/L/W failed to sustain many meaningful attacks.

Alcuin’s opening score came after a period of concerted pressure, although G/L/W were unlucky that a clear knock-on was missed by the referee. The play was allowed to continue and, several phases later, Alcuin vice-captain Ross Gehnich charged over to score.

G/L/W were unable to get the ball out of their own half, and there was only so much goal-line defence that they could muster. The dam finally burst late in the first half, with tries in quick succession from Alcuin’s Benoit Jamous and Tom Ryder to make the score 17-0 at half-time.

Alcuin were only prevented from adding to the score before half-time by a couple of injuries: a suspected broken arm from a G/L/W player and a nasty cut on the back of the head of Alcuin Captain Giles Raymond.

The second-half began much as the first-half ended, with Alcuin piling on the pressure, with Chris To diving over from ten yards out to resume the scoring. A well-worked lineout move handed Gehnich his second try, before an equally well-worked blind-side move from a scrum ended with a Ty Partridge try.

G/L/W did manage to mount some meaningful attacks in the second-half and were unlucky not to score a try. Unfortunately, they couldn’t break down Alcuin’s organised defence, and their misery was compounded with another unconverted try from To late on.

After the match, Raymond commented: “This is a solid start to the season for us. We were a bit rusty and we were missing several back line players. There is plenty to work on this week, but we are pleased with the win.”

G/L/W Captain Charlie Filkry claimed the match was ‘closer than the score-line suggested’, and that they were ‘unlucky with injuries’. He claimed that G/L/W were ‘shown up in the first half as the players didn’t really know each other, but we rapidly improved and were unlucky not to score.’

DERWENT 13 VANBRUGH 5

In the final match of Super Saturday, two Derwent tries from Vanbrugh mistakes in the second- half were enough for victory in a closely-fought and defensively dominated match.

Vanbrugh, sporting what looked to be Irish replica jerseys circa 1970, are considered by many to be the dark horses in this tournament, and they attacked Derwent from the outset. It was a high intensity start from both sides, but the tackling and defensive co-ordination was also out of the top drawer.

Vanbrugh had the possession and territorial advantage for much of the first-half, aided by the slight slope in the pitch, but they were unable to convert their pressure into points. From one such attack, a stray pass led to a break from Derwent, who believed they had scored a try after their forwards piled over a few phases later, only for the ball to be held up by the Vanbrugh defence. From the resulting scrum, however, Callum Douglas slotted over a casual drop goal to give Derwent a 3-0 lead at half-time.

Derwent gradually began to assert their authority from the start of the second-half, and their pressure was rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts from a Vanbrugh obstruction, but the place-kick was missed badly.

Vanbrugh seemed not to have turned up for the start of the second-half, and were struggling to string phases together, forcing passes that weren’t on and making poor decisions. One such decision, to run the ball out of their 22 instead of kicking clear, cost them dearly, as the ball was stolen by Derwent. The ball was picked up by Freddie Harris, who beat two desperate Vanbrugh tackles to score from 25 yards out. The conversion was missed, but Derwent were still 8-0 clear.

Vanbrugh continued to show a lack of ideas, especially in the back-line, and seemed to be wilting under the Derwent pressure. They committed another cardinal sin by allowing the ball to be ripped off them in a mall 30 yards from their own line, and Tolga Necar took advantage to score Derwent’s second try.

This try finally woke Vanbrugh up and they piled the pressure on Derwent, looking for an unlikely comeback. They were finally rewarded by a try to Chris West, but the missed conversion was the last kick of the match.

After the match, Vanbrugh captain Jordan Abbott claimed that ‘Derwent weren’t more skilled than us, we just made mistakes’, while Derwent captain Joe Rankin stated that he was ‘impressed with our defence, but very impressed with Vanbrugh. It was a very close game and a good game’.

Wednesday 28th October – BUCS League 1A

York bounced back emphatically from defeat in their opening BUCS game with a comprehensive 19-6 win over Liverpool firsts on Wednesday.

York’s scoring was dominated by the combination of Emily Lingard and Anna Yeomans, both of whom ran riot against a questionable Liverpool defence that was without several first team players. Both Lingard and Yeomans scored six goals apiece, while the latter also racked up a number of assists.

The first quarter was a scrappy affair from both sides but York settled quickest of the two teams and scored four unanswered goals early on. Liverpool then woke up and started to make a game of it, pulling two goals back after some consistent pressure.

York soon reasserted their dominance, however, and were 6-2 up by the end of the first quarter. The second quarter was much less free-scoring, as Liverpool’s goalkeeper managed to keep York at bay for much of the quarter. Lingard’s fourth goal broke Liverpool’s resistance, and three more goals in a flurry at the end of the quarter saw York go in 10-2 up at half-time and looking comfortable.

After last week’s heavy loss at Durham, this 19-6 win was the perfect response by the women’s lacrosse team. Photograph by Sam Newsome.

Despite some worries that the failing light may cut short the match, the second-half went ahead as normal. York took advantage of their dominance to rotate players in and out to give the whole squad match-experience, but it didn’t seem to slow down their scoring rate, with goals from Izzy Miller, Rose Morrison, Lingard and another couple from Yeomans taking York to a 15-3 lead by the end of the third quarter. A lone goal for Liverpool failed to prevent their heads dropping, with most of their team seeming to have resigned themselves to defeat.

York inevitably took their foot off the accelerator in the fourth quarter, with the match already won, and Liverpool took advantage by scoring three more goals to restore some of their lost pride. York still managed to score four more goals of their own, with both Yeoman’s and Lingard’s sixth goal adding to scores by Helen Streeter and Sarah Saunders.

The win was an important one for York after losing heavily to the likely division winners, Durham seconds, last week, and they will need to keep up their form for a winnable game next week against Durham thirds, who have lost their opening 3 matches.

Speaking to Nouse post-match, York Captain Serena Franklin said: “The game was a bit scrappy, but our attack was very good. I reckon that Emily Lingard was the Woman of the Match.

“It’s going to be close in BUCS this year, and we might be relegated, so it is very important that we win these games by as much as we did.”

Saturday 24th October

While the scoreline was somewhat flattering to James, they were clearly the better side on the day. Their superior organisation, most clearly demonstrated by their matching kit in comparison to their opponent’s motley collection, allowed them to retain the ball far more effectively in the difficult conditions, converting their pressure into points.

The conditions were difficult due to frequent and persistent rain throughout the match. The rain led to numerous handling errors from both sides, particularly from Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth (G/L/W), who committed too many errors to take advantage of their many flashes of good play.

Two of these errors gifted James their first two tries, as G/L/W twice failed to clear their lines under pressure, allowing easy scores for Alex Muntus and Chris Smith.

Determined defence and great disruptive work at the breakdown from G/L/W kept the score to 14-0 at half-time, but they never really threatened to score.

Alex Muntus, the James Captain, contributed 22 of his side’s points in a 42-0 win over Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth on Saturday. Photograph by George Lowther.

The second-half saw the rain relent and James assert their dominance. G/L/W still found it hard to string together any phases, and James’ pressure led to regular tries throughout the half. Tries from Giles Welford, Aaron Rolph and Rob Donnell all came after periods of sustained James pressure. Muntus then capped off the scoring late on with a solo try from 50 yards out, taking advantage of some tired G/L/W tackling.

The combined team also improved their handling and general play in the second- half, seeming to get used to playing with each other, but they were still unable to break down the organised James defence.

Huw Harrow, of James, evades a tackle during Saturday’s opening match of the Emperor College Rugby Championship. Photograph by George Lowther.

While it may have been better to have a closer-fought match to start the tournament, Saturday’s match delivered on everything that is great about college rugby. The game was played with intensity, yet also with a great spirit between the teams, with banter regularly exchanged during the game. There were no ugly incidents in the game, and barely two minutes after the game, the players were mingling together and sharing some beers. They were just unfortunate that the rain had driven away any potential crowd.

However, in terms of rugby quality, there is much more to come. James didn’t look as dominant as many expected, even taking into account the conditions, and will have much stiffer tests ahead against the likes of Alcuin and Derwent. Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth just needs some time on the practice fields to gel as a team and they could become a serious threat.

POST-MATCH REACTION:

Alex Muntus, James Captain: ‘I thought the scoreline was a tad flattering ……… we’re going to have to tighten up massively against the likes of Alcuin and Derwent.’

‘Off third and fourrth phase we pretty much always scored so this is something were going to be working on a fair bit this week.’

Charlie Filkry, Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth Captain: ‘James College clearly benefited from their established position and regular practices last year, dominating most of the game’s set pieces and forcing a number of tries.’

‘I think we should be encouraged though by the evenness of the game in open play and our frequent success at the breakdown, and should largely ignore a scoreline which in no way reflected the realities of the match.’

‘I think we will be a massive threat given even a few weeks of training and are all looking forward to this Saturdays match against Alcuin College.’

SCORE BREAKDOWN:

Tries: Muntus (2), Smith, Welford, Rolph, Donnell

Conversions: Muntus (6)

In a change to the previously publicized schedule, this Saturday’s matches will take place one after the other at Archbishop Holgate School. Times are as follows:

11.00am – James vs. Halifax
12.30pm – Alcuin vs. Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth
2.00pm – Derwent vs. Vanbrugh

This year’s tournament is the first in which all eight colleges have taken part in a XV’s tournament since College Rugby was re-introduced in 2007. Since then, there have been annual tri-college tournaments between James, Derwent and Alcuin and an annual one-day tournament featuring all the colleges. Last year James walked away with both titles.

This year, college rugby has benefited from having a sponsor, Emperor’s Gym, and from a £700 grant obtained from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), thanks to the efforts of the University Rugby Club (UYRUFC), College Rugby President Alex Muntus and York Sport College Sport Officer Paul Guest.

This funding means that college rugby now has its own equipment and is able to organise training sessions, rather than leave the colleges to find any spare bit of grass to practice on, as had happened in previous years.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of rugby pitches on the 22 acres, the matches will be at the Archbishop Holgate School on Hull Road and at local club York R.I.

James College, pictured here, remain the team to beat in this year’s College Rugby championship. Photograph by George Lowther.

Saturday’s match-up looks, on paper, to be a fairly straightforward win for James College. James, even without star forward Will Maxwell, are probably early favourites after their exploits last year, with Captain Alex Muntus declaring ominously that ‘I think we actually have a stronger side from last year.’

The Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth team, on the other hand, is a team cobbled together just this week and have only had a couple of practices together to learn each other’s names, let alone how to co-ordinate as a team. However, once they have played a few games together, I think they may surprise a few people later on in the season.

It seems likely that the title will be decided between James, Alcuin and Derwent, due to their experience and large squads, but both Halifax and Vanbrugh are capable of beating anyone on their day and both will be eager to beat one of the ‘big three’.

Ask anyone who has been involved in setting up this tournament and they will assure you that this will be the best season of college rugby yet. The combined training sessions have seen a high standard of rugby from all teams and a real commitment to college rugby. All we can hope for now is that we see some close, competitive matches and have a title race that goes down to the wire, so that hopefully college rugby can be improved and expanded even further next year.

First Fixture: James vs. Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth – Saturday, 2pm, Archbishop Holgate School

Forthcoming Fixtures:

- Saturday Week 3: James vs. Halifax; Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth vs. Alcuin; Derwent vs. Vanbrugh 10am-4pm, Archbishop Holgate
- Saturday or Sunday Week 4: James vs. Collingwood [Durham] tbc
- Sunday Week 4: Vanbrugh vs. Alcuin; Halifax vs. Derwent 2pm, York R.I.
- Sunday Week 6: James vs. Derwent; Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth vs. Vanbrugh 2pm, York R.I.
Also: Alcuin vs. Halifax 2pm, Archbishop Holgate
- Sunday Week 7: James vs. Vanbrough; Derwent vs. Alcuin 2pm, York R.I.
Also: Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth vs. Halifax 2pm, Archbishop Holgate
- Week 9: James vs. Alcuin, Halifax vs. Vanbrugh 2pm, York R.I.
Also: Derwent vs. Goodricke/Langwith/Wentworth 2pm, Archbishop Holgate

Nouse will be offering comprehensive coverage of the Emperor College Rugby Championship at www.nouse.co.uk/sport

The match ended two minutes early when York’s backup Quarterback, Lloyd Gunter, suffered what looked to be a potential neck injury. However, he was up and walking after only a few minutes, to the amusement of the other York players.

The game had already been shortened by a lengthy delay when the attending ambulance was forced to take York linebacker Jim Mckinlay to the hospital with a shredded forearm muscle, with BUAFL rules stipulating that no play is allowed without an ambulance present.

The outcome of the match hinged on a contentious fumble-recovery decision midway through the second quarter. York were leading 12-6 and riding high on adrenalin when they thought they had scored another touchdown after recovering a Lancaster fumble. However, the ball was spotted at the one yard line and York were given four downs to drive it into the endzone. Their failure to do so seemed to take all the wind out of their sails, and Lancaster‘s superior size and experience began to tell.

York’s defence recovered from a disappointing start to put up some great resistance, but they were unable to cope with Lancaster’s dominant running game, with most of their yards coming through the backs. The key players in defence were linebacker Steve Braid, who tackled any Lancaster player who came near him, defensive tackle Ben Adams, who held up well against the superior Lancaster offensive line, and defensive back Josh Baines, who showed why he is being scouted for Great Britain.

The offence suffered due to the line’s inability to give the quarterback any time to throw, or the running backs any holes to run through. Inevitably, York gained few yards through the air and had only slightly more success along the ground.

York’s two scores came in the first quarter, from a bulldozing 11-yard fullback dive from Nick Walter, and a superb 36-yard catch and run from wide receiver Tom Lee, showing what York’s passing game was capable of when York’s quarterback, Josh Hoult, was given time to throw.

However, York were always the underdogs against the established BUAFL Lancaster team, and can take a lot of pride from their first fixture to take into the league next year.

York’s Captain, Sam Asfahani, praised his players’ effort after the match, declaring that the ‘defence was amazing today, and I’m so proud of my boys’. He also claimed that ‘the size of the crowd and the great atmosphere, before the rain came down, means that the University has to stand up and take notice of our sport now’.

While obviously York is a great university, one of the best in the country, I do sometimes find myself wishing it was like American universities. You know, the ones the size of a small town, in terms of facilities as well as students.

Now, I realise that this isn’t possible. This country has 130-odd Universities, not to mention other higher education institutions, for only really a tiny little nation. A state of corresponding size in America will have a fraction of these institutions. That is what allows them to have enormous, sweeping campuses and populations larger than some countries. 

But that isn’t really why I want our Universities to be like those over the pond. What I want are their sports facilities and structure. The better games in the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) American Football games get crowds of around 80,000 people. 80,000 people, just for University sport. Our teams are likely to get a maximum 30 supporters, if they are lucky, and most of those will be other members of the club, either injured or just bored of going to training. 

Even at Roses, individual games are only watched by a few hundred at most. The fact that those big American universities have stadiums that can even house 80,000 people is just staggering. There are only a few stadiums of similar size in the whole of this country, and no university would get a sniff at playing in one of those, except for in prestigious National competitions. Even then, the paltry crowd drawn in barely makes it worthwhile.

But most of all, what I really want is the structure of sport in America to be replicated over here. In the US, athletically gifted kids will get scholarships to high school, then get scholarships to a certain university, and then have to complete that university course before being chosen by one of the clubs in the country to play professionally. This is the case for such sports as American Football, Baseball and Basketball, where the best university graduates are chosen by the best teams in what is known as a Draft. For other sports, such as Track and Field, the rules are bent slightly, allowing younger and younger American runners to compete nowadays. 

Some may argue that sports such as American Football and Baseball can let the best players play out their University careers before turning professional, because they will never have to organise a team to play any other countries, whereas in Europe, countries are always looking for the next big thing to play on the international stage.

So this ‘university then Draft’ mentality may not work for sports over here, but I think it should be given serious thought. It would prevent the exposure of youngsters to national attention before they are able to handle it, while also giving players a good qualification  when their playing days are over.

However, to get into this  position, we need the standard of University sport to be raised considerably. NCAA sport has a huge following in America, because it’s standard isn’t far short of national level and it is, some say, more entertaining than professional sport. There is also, obviously, a huge amount of money put into sport at US Universities, staggering amounts compared to even our best sport unis, Bath and Loughborough (let alone the pathetic amounts delivered by our dear University).

What I wish is that University sport had as high a profile over here as it does in America. And surely forcing all of our sportsmen through University can’t be a bad thing. Ok, so there are a lot of hurdles to overcome, but why can’t we have 80,000 people watching our sports games? I wish.

York 1sts                                25      Keele 1sts                                  0

Last?Wednesday,  the Lacrosse  women’s team opened this year’s BUCS campaign with a convincing victory over a very inexperienced Keele University side.

York showed very few signs of early-season rustiness, but were never really troubled by a Keele side that contained a number of freshers who were unable to handle York in defence, or to seriously threaten York in attack.

York dominated play from the outset, opening up a three-goal lead within minutes, with goals from Helen Streeter, Emily Lingard and Kiera Linton. The third goal was something of an embarrassment for the Keele goalkeeper, as she seemed to turn her back to the ball as it was shot, giving her no chance to save it.

Keele began to battle back, but were unable to keep the ball out of their half to give their defence some respite, and York stretched their lead further with goals from Lingard and Streeter, whose pace and skill was too much for Keele.

York’s early dominance was highlighted by the manner of their sixth goal. It was scored by Carina Topham, who carried the ball 60 metres from defence to attack to score a superb individual goal.

A further three more goals for York meant that they ended the first quarter 9-0 up already.

Keele managed to briefly stem the flow of goals in the second quarter, beginning to defend their area better, forcing York to the outside. It also seemed as if York already knew they would win the game, as there was not the same intensity as in the first quarter.

Despite this, York still managed another five goals, including two more for Lingard, to go into half-time at 14-0 and coasting to victory.

Keele continued to struggle after half-time, although they were able to hold York to only four more goals in the third quarter, although York’s attack was slowed by the loss of Streeter, who left the field towards the end of the first half.

Their were rumours on the sidelines that York would bring on their freshers in the fourth quarter if they stayed so far ahead, as the freshers were down on the 22 acres for a practice. However, York settled for bringing on all of their reserves to give everyone some game time. 

This barely slowed York’s attack and they continued to pile on the goals as the Keele players’ heads dropped. The final whistle was a relief to the Keele players, and somewhat to the York supporters on the sidelines, who felt embarrassed by the ease of victory. 

York’s girls were just too fast and skillful for Keele, most of whom had clearly only just started lacrosse. York will face far tougher tests ahead in their BUCS schedule, especially from a Durham 3rds team who beat them last year, and who dispatched Northumbria 1sts 20-0 in their opening match.

The NEMBLA league is played between any clubs, not just Universities, and the Brooklands team featured both young teenagers and veterans edging into their 50’s. However, any advantage might have gained from having a more physical team was nullified by the fact that take-outs were banned as being unfair on the youngsters.
Brooklands started the better of the teams, and were quickly ahead as York struggled to find their rhythm early on. However, a quick break by Chris Armstrong set up Philip Harrold for the equaliser, before Rich Ramsbottom put York briefly into the lead. Both side’s defences struggled in the first quarter, and a Harry Collins goal for York was quickly cancelled out by two for Brooklands.

The Manchester team’s young and naturally gifted players then began to run rings around York’s defence, and the first quarter ended with Brooklands 5-3 up and in the ascendancy.
Both defences began to assert themselves more in the second quarter, with Brooklands being limited to only 2 more goals in the second fifteen minutes. However, York’s finishing let them down, with several decent chances being squandered with shots either flying well over, or being tamely struck at the goalie. The whistle blew for half-time with Brooklands 7-3 up and looking ominously good.

Whatever was said during the break in the York huddle immediately began to pay off after the restart, with the whole team looking sharper all over the pitch. The revival was spear-headed by Armstrong, who came alive after a quiet first half, while the defence and goalie also upped their games.

Quick goals from Armstrong and Ramsbottom were split by a brilliant save by York goalie, Ben Robinson. However, the Brookland’s goalkeeper kept them on top, pulling off save after save, before Brooklands widened their lead to 8-5 against the run of play.

A top quality dodge and shot by Armstrong reduced the deficit, but Brooklands were quickly back on top, pulling out to a 10-6 lead.

York refused to let their heads go down, and Armstrong inspired them to three quick goals in succession, including one where he took the ball from the restart and ran straight down the pitch to score.

A stunned Brooklands side were forced to use a time-out to recover their composure, and managed to halt York’s momentum, adding another goal themselves to win the game 11-9.
The game was lost for York in the first half. as their defense failed to cope with Brookland’s combination of wise old heads and the natural exuberance of youth. York’s shooting was also woefully under-par in the first-half, although Brookland’s 14-year-old had an exceptional game, winning the game for his team. He was so impressive that Robinson referred to him as “the best goalie I’ve ever seen”.

York regained their composure and attacking threat in the second half, but were again guilty of wasting chances through poor finishing or over-elaborating. York graduate Chris Armstrong was York’s best player, coming to life in the second-half to nearly inspire York to victory, but the team will need to improve their cutting-edge in front of goal to make strides in BUCS this season.

York’s captain, Harry Collins, attributed the defeat to a “sloppy 1st half”, but declared himself pleased with how they played against a team which, despite the young age of some, were much more experienced, while adding that the “preseason training really started paying off in the 2nd half”.

York kick off their BUCS campaign on 22nd October against Leeds Met Carnegie.

Final Score
York 1sts: 9
Brooklands: 11

The day is the first step of Lacy’s aim to “create a more cohesive AU”, and he wants York Sport to be “not just a safety net for clubs, but as a way to unite clubs to move them forward”.
He sees the rebranding of the Athletic Union into York Sport as a sub-commitee of YUSU with a new constitution pending, as an opportunity sports clubs at York to become more focussed on a common goal, rather than their own individual interests.

Lacy also used his the opportunity to push his own aims for the year, which he summed up as, “better sport, better facilities, win more and get more people playing”.
He launched a tirade against the University administration, in which he claimed that one of the main things dragging sport down at York is the lack of a Sports Department, or even an administrative job that deals with sport or sport development.

Lacy seems keen to take the fight to the University when it comes to improving sport at York. His plans to form outdoor fitness classes involve getting as many people as possible to use the running track for things such as tyre-pulling and fitness circuits. “I want to be able to say to the University, ‘look at the number of people using a track that is barely suitable to run on. It needs to be replaced’”.

This reflects a theme that Lacy was keen to emphasise during the day – that individual protests can be ignored, but collective protests would force the University to act.

The training day also addressed the controversial issue of club initiations. York Sport are not imposing an outright ban on initiations, which some Universities have attempted to do after the furore surrounding the recent initiation video from students at the University of Gloucestershire. Instead, they are forcing clubs to sign a strongly-worded policy which implies that any complaints made will be swiftly followed up on.

While clubs will be allowed to hold initiations, the policy forbids them to force people to drink, or to coerce them in any way. The policy also bans clubs from using the term ‘initiation’, to protect the University from negative association.

The penalties that can be imposed on clubs for breaking these rules vary from individuals being banned from competing in BUCS competition, to entire clubs being expelled from York Sport altogether, and the freezing of clubs financing. Alex Lacy was keen to emphasise that any complaints would be followed up very seriously, with York looking to avoid the same controversies surrounding other Universities recently.

The day also featured several workshops on things ranging from finance and development to welfare. YUSU sabbatical officers, such as Matt Burton, helped run some of the workshops, reflecting the new role of York Sport within YUSU. The training day was a resounding success, with a high turnout from club commitee members, and will have done nothing but good for York’s sports clubs for the coming year.

The Men’s Lacrosse 1sts even had to return over a week early to play a North of England Men’s Lacrosse Association fixture on Saturday 4th. Fortunately, they were playing a weak Hull team and they thrashed them 17-2, but the fact that they had to return that early just isn’t right. And now the merger of BUSA and UCS, and the subsequent rearrangement of the league system, has has put the final nail in the coffin.

In previous years, the AU had managed to rearrange BUSA matches that were unfairly early for our teams because the BUSA format was a league, followed by a cup competition in the Spring term.

However, now that BUSA has transformed into BUCS, the league and cup competitions now run concurrently. So, whereas the cup competition used to be for the top teams in their leagues, it now runs as an FA-cup type competition, in which every team is entered and has to work their way through the rounds.

This means that there will now be more fixture congestion, making it harder to rearrange early matches, and the congestion will no doubt disadvantage York teams later in the term.
What makes the problem even worse in the eyes of York’s sportsmen and women is that few of them really know why we start so late. Even the AU President isn’t sure, believing it to just be a tradition that would take too much effort to change.

Another reason given is that we start late to allow time to squeeze in more conferences, which the University organise to subsidise their income while us students are on holiday.
Whatever the reason, the situation needs to change. Who would honestly prefer to have a ridiculously long summer holiday, and only 3 weeks at Christmas? A five-week Christmas holiday makes far more sense.

But the main benefit would be to the sports teams, who will finally be able to actually hold trials before they begin their BUCS campaigns, and will avoid the awkward fixture congestion that results from having to re-arrange matches.

It is time for us, the students, to make our voices heard. It is the start of a new year, the Athletics Union has been re-branded as York Sport, and we have an AU President who genuinely wants to take the fight to the University over improvements. It is time for a new start.

We need to press the University to change our late start. And while we have their attention, we must press them over better facilities, in particular a new running track. The track that we have is barely worthy of the name. The fact that College Sports Days take place on it every year without major injuries is nothing short of astonishing. We are now forced to pay £40 for AU membership and for the sports centre. It’s about time we started getting value for money.

Dylan Moran’s fourth solo tour, What It Is, lacked new material. The jokes and stories felt like material recycled from his previous tour, Like, Totally, only worded less humourously.
His opening piece, a sweeping journey of racial stereotypes, similar to his mockery of Germany and Australia from Like, Totally, was intended as a commentary on how stupid these stereotypes are: how they stop people from just getting along.

However, the only laughs he got from the audience were laughs at the stereotypes, leaving me to wonder whether the message was sincere, or whether Moran had used stereotypes as a sure-fire way of getting fifteeen minutes worth of laughs in his show.

The show suffered from the lapses in rhythm that so often plague an opening night. However, Moran’s naturally rambling stage persona turned these pauses into laughs from the audience.

This is unsurprising because, for all the minor quibbles about recycled themes and material, Moran is still a comedian at the height of his powers, with tremendous stage presence, natural comic timing and ability to engage with his audience .

There were moments in this show, such as his musings over what exactly ‘women’s issues’ entailed, or his claim that every time Silvio Berlusconi smiles an angel gets gonorrhea, which left me laughing so hard I nearly fell off my seat.

Vanbrugh comfortably defeated pre-tournament favourites Halifax 6-2 in the final, despite only finishing as runners-up in their group behind Goodricke.

Halifax had also finished 2nd in their group, narrowly losing out to James in a close-fought game. With Langwith, the only other team in the group after Wentworth failed to turn up, struggling to field University players, both Halifax and James cruised through to the semi-finals.

The other group was a closer affair, although Goodricke finished comfortably top. Derwent and Vanbrugh ended up level on 4 points, with Vanbrugh progressing on goal difference after a 9-2 demolition of Alcuin. Goodricke having lost Richard Ramsbottom, the University’s top goal-scorer, after the group stages, succumbed meekly 5-1 to Halifax in the first semi-final, while Vanbrugh overcame James 3-1 in the other.

However, the tournament was not an unmitigated success, with widespread confusion over the rules leading to some, such as the offside rule, being entirely abandoned.There was also a clear split between those who were there to win and those who were there to enjoy the day. Langwith, undoubtedly in the latter category, were one of the few colleges to play as a team, whereas other colleges, notably Halifax, relied entirely on their University players, to the detriment of the tournament as a whole.

Incoming President Jack Wakefield was a prime example of this, being both aggressive and derogatory to non-University players both on the sidelines and on the pitch, putting off many players from other teams who had merely come to try out a new sport.

In fact, one of the reasons for Vanbrugh’s victory was that they combined in-form University players, such as Josh Whittingham, with talented “amateurs”.

Sam Waterson, Lacrosse President and organisor of the tournament along with AU Vice-President Jack Kennedy, was “very pleased at the good turnout from people who had never played Lacrosse before”, and stated that he was “determined to carry on the growth of Lacrosse as a college sport”. In response to the attitude from some of the University players, he admitted that it was “inevitable that there will be differences between those who play regularly and those just playing for fun”.

What does the average student care about more – College or University sport? For many the answer would be neither, but the question was raised recently after yet another club versus country debate in English football.

The initial debate stemmed from the proposal from FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, to limit Premiership clubs to five non-national players in any given XI. It was generally agreed that such a change would no doubt strengthen the national team, while adversely affecting the performance of club teams.

The debate over which of the two people cared more about, their club or the national team, then moved onto campus sport, with college sport taking on the mantle of “club”, and University sport becoming the “national” side. There are differences – the University sides aren’t picked from the best of the college players for instance – but the analogy still holds.

So where do people’s loyalties lie? Seeing as we are a collegiate university, I suspect that most people would identify themselves more in terms of their college than as part of the University as a whole. Most people don’t even identify with their colleges, preferring instead just to get their three years here over and done with so they can carry on with their lives. But for those who get involved, many value their college over the University, as evidenced by the recent rumblings of collegiate discontent from colleges such as Vanbrugh.
The simple truth is that many people don’t really follow University sport, aside from a brief burst of sporting patriotism during the three days of Roses. Members from certain clubs, such as Netball and Rugby, often follow each other’s progress, usually over a few shots in Ziggy’s, but for those people who don’t play University sport, the success or failure of our teams is mostly ignored.

The low profile that sport holds at the University is no doubt part of the reason, along with the fact that it is hard to build up any sort of following for any particular club with people spending only a very brief period of their lives here.
So do people care about college sport more? Well, judging by the poor turnout to many of the sports, one is inclined initially to say no. Small colleges like Langwith often struggle to find enough people to play in some of the less popular sports.

However, the huge participation in this year’s Football College Cup, along with the high turnout in both the autumn and spring Football leagues, shows the large number of people who are interested in college sport. This was demonstrated further by the relative success of the College one-day tournaments this year, especially the Rugby tournament last term, which was highly competitive and well-supported on the sidelines.

This success led what should now be a regular fixture in the sporting calendar, College Barbarian matches. There have already been Barbarian matches, featuring the best of the college players against University teams, for Rugby and Cricket, and I would not be surprised if this was extended to other sports, which can only be a good thing.

In the end, it’s only people who play University sport who care about it. For everyone else, even those who have no interest in sport, the success of their college probably matters more than the success of the University. So, while it may be a contentious claim, I am inclined to say that, actually, more people do care about college sport.

I am lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you want to look at it) in that I have two supervisors, being a joint honours student. This gives me the chance to compare the two in their roles. In doing so I have realised the simple truth is that your supervisor is only as good you need them to be. I haven’t seen my English supervisor since I realised that I had absolutely no need to see him. On the other hand, my Philosophy supervisor was enormously helpful last term when I got into a difficult situation.

There is no doubt that the work that supervisors do can be invaluable. The stress that University work can put on people means that there will always need to be a friendly and helpful voice to turn to.

So supervisors are certainly necessary. Whether they should get an award or not is debatable, seeing as they are technically just doing their job. I suppose it is a nice idea, and it’s a good way for particular students to say thank you to a supervisor that has helped them, but it all just seems a bit redundant to me in the end.

There should not need to be an incentive to be a good supervisor. Introducing this award suggests that some supervisors just couldn’t be bothered before, but now they might perk up at the promise of being dubbed Supervisor of the Year.

Personally, I would like to think that all of the supervisors are doing their best to help out all of the students in their care, and don’t need an award to encourage them to do so. If they do need an award, they shouldn’t be a supervisor in the first place. Because at the end of the day, nice idea though it is, the implication behind the award, that those in charge of our welfare need to be encouraged, is a little worrying.

Social Secretaries Max Hardy and Luke Reilly proposed the 46 strong trip to Blakenberg, Belgium in the weekend of week seven. However, after only attracting 17 students, the trip is believed to have made a loss for the JCRC of approximately £1,900.

Goodricke Chair Joe Clarke, described the no-confidence proposal, put forward by Vice-Chair Katie Saunders, as a “shock reaction to losing so much money,” and called for a “constructive debate on the motion.” The no-confidence vote is scheduled to take place at the JCRC Open Meeting on Thursday, June 19.

At the time of going to print Nouse was unable to reach Saunders for comment.

Hardy claimed the vote of no-confidence in himself and Reilly was unfair. He said: “[We are] being made scapegoats for a mistake that due to factors entirely beyond our control.”

The incident has highlighted tensions within the Committee. Shortly after the meeting in which the full scale of the financial damage was revealed Nouse received an anonymous letter levelling a series of accusations against Clarke.

The letter, believed to have been written by a member of the JCRC, reads: “I have passed this on to you as I believe the University and the College must be made aware of the conduct of this Goodricke’s Chair since being elected. I believe most people would be shocked with polices and remarks that have been made [by Clarke] this year.”

None of the allegations in the letter could be substantiated.

When shown the contents of the letter Clarke rejected the accusations as “untrue” and “defamatory.” Clarke admitted that there were “problems on the JCRC at the moment” and that “commitment to the JCRC does drop towards the end of the year.” He denied there was a rift in the committee.

A number of factors were cited for the failure of the Belgian trip, including the fact that nine foreign students who had reserved places were unable to attend after their visas failed to arrive on time.

Some students also found they were unable to get permission from their departments to attend the trip, which was due to leave on a Thursday. An online application system also meant that many students reserved places, and then backed out later when it came to payment.

The college looked into down-sizing or even cancelling the trip, but found themselves unable to change details with the date of departure so near.

The Social Secretaries had hoped to follow in the footsteps of other, successful college trips abroad this year, such as Langwith’s trip to Prague at Easter, which reached capacity.

However it is believed that the £125 price of Goodricke’s trip discouraged many students from taking part.

Clarke remains optimistic that the committee will recover from what he refers to as a “glitch”, saying the loss was “only a tiny percentage of our annual turnover”, which is believed to be approximately £30,000.

As in previous years, most of the positions are uncontested, with Mike Leahy and Adam Clark looking set to secure the important positions of Treasurer and Vice-President respectively.

The only contested positions are that of Events officer and the College Sport Referee Coordinator. The latter is likely to be an important position in the coming year, after the much-publicised difficulties finding referees this year, particularly in college football.

Most of the questions put to the two coordinator candidates concerned how to find referees and how to pay for them, with Lizzie Hollins proposing to give out a list of fixtures to all sports teams at the start of the year to make sure referees turn up to fixtures.

While Philip Walker argued that the money for referees “must be found from somewhere” because referees are “essential if college sport is to continue”, Hollins was more realistic, stating that unless the AU was given more money, “alternative options need to be looked at”.

They also differed in their opinions over whether referees should be paid if the University has paid for their course., with Hollins in favour of full pay for the referees, while Walker instead proposed paying them a reduced rate.

Mike Leahy, running for the key position of treasurer after being Lacrosse treasurer and AU Tournament secretary, seemed to focus mainly on re-budgeting rather than on schemes to raise more money, completely rejecting ideas such as charging for college sport.

According to one member of the Lacrosse exec, Leahy “rescued the club’s finances from the terrible state they had previously been in”, but he was hesitant to commit himself to policies until the AU’s budget was decided. He sat on the fence over whether to provide more funds to bigger or smaller clubs, claiming “I want to finance the big clubs to get the big results, but there are also BUSA points available in every sport”. He did state that he wanted to “develop non-BUSA sports, pushing them towards a BUSA standard”.

Adam Clark, a Derwent sports rep running uncontested for Vice-President, focused unsurprisingly on promoting inclusivity in college sport, seeing it as a “stepping stone” to University participation. He was also very much in support of further college barbarians matches, considering the success of the College rugby select VI against the Rugby 2nds, and declared that, if the one-day tournament later this term is successful, then he would look to establish Lacrosse as a college sport.

In response to a question about a college rugby league similar to the one in place for Football, Clark was hesitant to make any promises. He explained that the problem was in finding pitches, as the University teams don’t want college rugby matches on their pitches, and that he would be looking into other options.
The turnout for hustings was poor, with four candidates running for uncontested positions not turning up, while no-one is running for Communications Officer.

Speaking afterwards, Jo Carter stated that there would be a by-election for the position in the next few weeks, stating that she knew “a couple of people who may be interested.”

This struck me while I was at the hustings for the AU elections last Thursday, particularly when four of the candidates failed to show up to give a speech. Perhaps one or two of them had good reasons, but potential secretary Harry Collins was, according to reliable sources, on a date.

It didn’t take long to realise why they did not turn up. It was because they knew they would win. None of the four missing candidates were contested for their positions. But also, they know that they will win because they are in the clique, they will be voted for by their friends.

This process is pretty standard across a large amount of society and club elections. I’m not saying that it is wrong – if the pre-determined winner is competent, as well as being very sociable and politically tactful, then well done them.

What did strike me as odd is why have the hustings anyway? There were, at most, 30 people actually listening to the speeches, discounting those chatting at the bar or those taking a break in the Langwith versus Derwent pool showdown.

So why have the hustings, especially for the uncontested positions? No-one really seems to care what the individual candidates policies are, and honestly they didn’t really differ. The speeches were not recorded by anyone but me, and this edition will come out too late to really affect the voting. In the end it will just come down to the traditional University system of voting for who you know.

Under this system, it seems likely there will be a distinct Lacrosse feel to next year’s Exec, barring any surprise RON-ing, with well over half of the positions likely to be Lacrosse or ex-Lacrosse players, not to mention Alex Lacy, AU President-elect, himself a keen player.

This is perhaps indicative of the rapid rise to prominence of Lacrosse on campus, reflecting the fairly growth of Lacrosse in general both here in Britain and in America.

This is clearly why some of the candidates decided not to turn up. People will vote for team mates in their own club, and it is clear that the Lacrosse club has a knack of getting its members on the Exec. It could be that people who play Lacrosse are more attracted to administrative duties, but I can’t see an obvious link.
They will face a choice for Events officer, which sees two Lacrosse members running against each other. Frankly, one of them should run for Comms officer, it would make more sense.

So, it seems that in our cliquey University society hustings have become obsolete. The whole ceremony of asking for written or verbal questions seemed out of place at an event which consists mainly of candidate’s friends writing witty written questions such as “is RON just too strong this year?”

I mean, who could forget the hour’s worth of irrelevant questions that Rich Croker received last year when running for Treasurer? I was pleasantly surprised the whole affair lasted only an hour and a half.

Hustings for the non-sabbatical positions are fairly pointless, as are possibly hustings for Union positions in general. Students are going to vote for who they know, or who they bumped into once in Ziggy’s in a drunken haze. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it seems silly to kid ourselves that hustings make a difference when all the evidence points to the contrary.