Capped seventy-one times by England, including the 1991 World Cup final, Rob Andrew has been a notable figure in English rugby since he first took to the field against the Dark Blues thirty years ago. Now Professional Rugby Director at the Rugby Football Union, he speaks about the cultural importance of the Varsity Match, his long-standing rivalry with Stuart Barnes, and how being a Blue is the perfect preparation for later life.

“It’s changed, everybody recognises that”, he says of the status of the match, particularly since rugby turned professional in 1995. “It’s become more difficult for universities to find their niche than it was in the amateur game, where a lot of international players went to Oxford or Cambridge as part of the journey.” Andrew, a triple Blue who captained Cambridge to victory in 1984 before making his England debut a month later, epitomises this journey, enjoying an illustrious career playing with Wasps, Newcastle and England, which saw him win 3 grand slam titles and captain the British and Irish Lions, retiring with 396 international points to his name; the 3rd highest in English history.

Going toe-to-toe with him all the way was Stuart Barnes, who opposed him at fly-half in the Varsity matches of 1982 and 1983. Emerging victorious on both occasions, Andrew went on to play sixty-one times more for England than his Varsity rival and won the race to the coveted Number 10 jersey for the Lions Test Series against New Zealand in 1993. In relation to this battle for supremacy, their Varsity rivalry was no less meaningful: “In its own way it was just as big. When you’re 19, experiencing matches in front of reasonable crowds live on TV for the first time it’s a big deal.”

The Varsity Match undoubtedly holds a great degree of significance in the University’s calendar. For the players involved, pre-season training starts early in September with all preparations essentially geared to this “mini Test Match”. Such high-level commitment can lead to drawbacks, be they academic, social, or the sacrifice of other extra-curricular interests.

Commenting on this delicate balance, Andrew reflected on his own experience positively. “There are times when you get stressed, you’re late with work and you have to give up a social event. But it’s a really good grounding in time-management. Having the ability at an early age to be busy in lots of different areas holds people in really good stead for the future”
Irrespective of what comes of the current crop of Light Blues in later life, it is the more immediate future that will be concerning them.

Many great sportspeople thrive on the added pressures of the big stage, though Mr Andrew would warn Cambridge against giving too much thought to their surroundings in order to regain the MMC trophy: “You shouldn’t worry about the big picture; it’s very easy to allow the environment to impact on you in games such as these, be it the bus journey to the stadium, seeing family and friends in the car park or the vastness of the stadium itself. If they go back to the fact that it is just a rugby match and do what they do to the best of their ability, they have a very good chance of winning.”

Whichever way the tide turns at Twickenham, Cambridge’s most eminent former Blue will be casting an eagle-eye over a game which he believes to be “a cherished part of the rich history of English rugby”, and wishing Rob Malaney’s side every good wish in their quest for glory.

Rob Andrew represented Cambridge in 3 Varsity matches in the 1980’s, winning on each occasion. He is now an honorary president of the charity ‘Wooden Spoon’, which deploys the principles of rugby to improve the lives of children suffering from physical, mental and social disadvantages in the UK.