Rugby
Rugby Club 2018 / 2019
Captain: Wilfred Sandwell
2017 / 2018
Captain: Samuel Caygill
Secretary: Wilfred Sandwell / James Eggington
2016 / 2017
RUGBY FOOTBALL
Officers: Captain Sam Hancock
Overall Queen’s has had a successful year, the team winning half of its Michaelmas Term games with convincing wins but suffering losses to Trinity/Wadham and to St Hilda’s. The team undoubtedly improved throughout the term, and it was good to have an influx of talented and willing freshers. In particular, the term was spent in turning an entire team’s worth of flankers into the requisite number of backs. The team’s true strength being in the forwards, the playing style never strayed far from its core pick-and-drive tactics and would like to think that it improved in knowing when to send the ball wide having ‘taxi-ed’ it up the middle for a good five minutes.
In Hilary Term the team built on its Michaelmas Term performance, securing promotion to the third division. The term began with a good victory against last year’s Cuppers finalists Osler House, then a loss to Pembroke before victories over Exeter and Magdalen. Both the games against Magdalen and Exeter were exceptionally close, with the matches being won in the last two minutes with late Queen’s tries.
The team’s Cuppers run began with a victory over a stacked Trinity/Wadham side to reverse the previous loss to that team. The next round saw Queen’s face the combined team of two of the largest colleges in Oxford, St John’s and St Anne’s, previous Cuppers finalists, and a team that took Cuppers very seriously. The two-college team rushed into an early lead, but although Queen’s retaliated in the second half, despite sterling efforts, Queen’s was unable to prevent a defeat. The performance put in was a testament to the improvement that the team had made throughout the year. The season then ended rather prematurely with a defeat to Balliol in the first round of the Plate competition, a disappointing result given the improvements that had been made and the potential to go further. Balliol put in a good performance against a Queen’s side stricken with injuries and lack of availability, ending what had otherwise been an excellent year.
The team improved a lot throughout the year, with special mentions being deserved by a number of players who were new to the game and yet came along every week to play, turning into solid rugby players in the process. The Club thanks everyone who turned up to play, and particularly the stalwarts of the team. They will form the backbone of the team in future years.
Colours have been awarded to Sam Hancock, Joe Welford, Ian Lai, Finlay Stewart, Joseph Mash, Wilf Sandwell and Sam Caygill.