Captain Kearns returns!

It is our particular pleasure to welcome Oxford University Rugby Football Club back to College Park for our annual fixture – and a special pleasure to welcome back Conor and share our pleasure in the honour of his election as Captain of Oxford.

This is a historic fixture not only in the context of these islands but also in the history of world rugby. As the oldest rugby club in the world in continuous existence, established in 1854 before the IRFU was formed, we share a similar heritage with Oxford which was founded in 1869 before the creation of the Rugby Football Union. While we don’t have a record of the first match against Oxford, the first university to send a team to play Trinity was Cambridge in 1878 and it is safe to say that the fixture with Oxford would have been established soon thereafter.

University matches have always aroused great interest in rugby circles in Trinity and none more so than those between Oxford and Cambridge. This is reflected in the Trinity Knights of the Campanile (sometimes described as a “society of hospitable sportsmen”), established in 1926 to entertain visiting teams – especially Oxford and Cambridge. In this they played the role of the Vincent’s Club in Oxford and the Hawks Club in Cambridge. The Knights tie reflects this connection, with dark blue representing Oxford, a bluish silver for Cambridge and a flash of pink for Trinity.

So, we wish our visitors welcome and look forward to celebrating with them the rich and shared heritage of a long forged friendship between the two clubs.

We look forward to many Members and supporters coming to join us in College Park and afterwards in the Pavilion. Slide1