OURFC Go Down Under As Aussie Taylor Wins Captaincy

It’s official: Jacob Taylor is OURFC’s next captain.

I, for one, welcome our new Australian overlords.

Taylor was elected on Friday night, after several hours of discussions and voting. The 26-year-old Australian is no stranger to such responsibility – prior to Oxford, Taylor was a senior member of the Australian national rugby sevens team – but will still be faced with a stiff job replacing John Henry Carter.

Carter, 32, retired for the third time in December having secured three Varsity wins in an unprecedented three years as Oxford captain, immediately prompting speculation over his possible successor.

And they say there are no heroes anymore.

Taylor, who has only been a student at Oxford since arriving on a Rhodes Scholarship in September, was a somewhat surprising choice for the role, but indications are that he’s in it for the long haul – the OURFC website reports he is currently in the process of applying for a DPhil in Neuroanthropology.

Multiple years of this dynamism? Can you say ‘ten-peat’?

Taylor holds the interesting distinction of being the sixth Australian to hold the post of captain since 2000 – the other five are Brett Robinson (2001), John Allen (2003), David Lubans (2004), Joe Roff (2007), and Nick Haydon (2010).

Speaking to inattheside.com, Taylor said: “It is a huge honour to be elected by my peers. I’m excited about the opportunity and motivated by the challenge of maintaining OURFC as a place where individuals can flourish and teams are successful.”

He’s a leader of men, and make no mistake.

“The match against the British Army is a fantastic fixture to re-focus the club for the season ahead, and the guys can’t wait for the kick-off.”