140th Anniversary of first game in College Park

It is our particular pleasure to welcome Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club back to College Park on the 140th anniversary of the first fixture between the teams in College Park.

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 Cambridge which was founded in 1872. Only 6 years later Cambridge was the first university to send a team to play Trinity in 1878.

University matches have always aroused great interest in rugby circles in Trinity and none more so than those between Cambridge and Oxford. 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 Cambridge and Oxford. In this they played the role of the the Hawks Club in Cambridge and the Vincent’s Club in Oxford. The Knights tie reflects this connection, with bluish silver for Cambridge, dark blue for Oxford 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.