Men's Rugby: Varsity preview

On Tuesday Parkwood will be host to two promising Canterbury Varsity rugby matches between the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church. The 3s match kicks off at 1pm and is followed by the 2s at 2:30pm. These matches are the perfect warm up to the main event at Canterbury Rugby Club, Wednesday at 19:30, when the two 1st teams will face off. Shuttle buses will be running from Darwin, allowing you to get your final Varsity fix of 2019.

Ben Stone will lead out a talented XV in the 3s game, boasting a number of talented runners and impact players. Both Luke Amerio and Stelios West have thrived in the 2s this season and will be keen to prove their worth.

The 3s will shortly be followed by Pete Wampamba’s 2nd team, who have been a force to be reckoned with this season. The forward pack in this team is full of dynamic runners, including Giacomo Saunders, a player to look out for, having made his 1s debut last week. Giacomo will carry hard and dominate the contact, providing space for a rapid backline.

Harry Sams’ 1s are looking for vengeance after a narrow defeat last year. The form guide falls in Kent’s favour, having defeated Christ Church twice, comfortably, already this season. But Varsity is a different kettle of fish and Christ Church cannot be taken lightly. Looking to sign out on a high is Varsity veteran Fraser McIntosh, who is coming to the end of his time at Kent. His leadership from the second row will be vital. Equally important is Alex Meads, who will pull the strings at fly half, and fresher Tom Larke who will look to set the game alight from full back.

Club Captain Meads speaks passionately about the importance of Varsity in the uni calendar, “Varsity is the culmination of a year of work, it’s what everyone looks forward to and is easily the biggest event of the uni sport calendar... it epitomises everything that is good about uni sport”. “We are lucky enough to close Varsity on a Wednesday at Canterbury Rugby Club and speaking from my own experiences, there is nothing like it”.

Get down and support the boys, you won’t regret it!