Blues Look To Break Losing Streak

Last year was at best a tough year for CUARLFC. A long injury list and only a small crop of returning players combined to give the Green Lions the worst of starts– losing their opening five fixtures. Whilst the side’s form improved immeasurably during Lent term, with a number of promising victories including a stunning 34-30 win over Loughborough, the team were never really able to recover from their poor early season performances. The Varsity Match held at the Twickenham Stoop in March saw a dominant Oxford side run out 60-16 winners against a disappointing Light Blue side.

Newly elected club President James Bousher, has been working hard over the summer to ensure that the lessons are learnt from last year’s campaign. Reflecting on the Varsity Match Bousher said: “It was a massive disappointment. We started slowly and they punished us, as all good teams do. It’s crucial that we now pick ourselves up and look to move forward as a club.”

The club has undergone a large restructuring process over the summer with John Evans, head coach for the past 12 seasons, moving into the vacant performance director role. Incoming head coach Andy Champ, himself a semi-pro Rugby League player who has also played Union for Gloucester, Bath and Exeter, will be hoping that his squad can settle quickly. With just over a week until their first league fixture against Brunel, training has mainly been focussed on the basics in order to help integrate the new recruits into the side.

If the Blues are to be successful this year, they will be keen to keep powerhouse winger Tim Rademacher free from injury. The likeable grad student from St Edmund’s has been playing for the German National side over the summer, helping them to their first ever victory in the European Shield. Looking ahead to this year Rademacher commented “It’s an exiting time to be involved with the club. We have a better core of returning players this year and so hopefully with a few useful additions we will have a much stronger squad this year.”

Changes made to the student leagues mean that Cambridge will be facing many of their opponents this term for the first time and hence it’s tough to predict what a successful league campaign will look like. One of the main positives which can be taken from last year was the success of the club’s winter training camp in Malta. The camp concluded with a game against the Maltese (who are currently ranked inside the top 20 internationally) and the committee are hopeful of repeating the trip this January. Next term will see a number of Super League academy sides come to Cambridge, as the squad look to hone their preparations for the Varsity Match.

After receiving such a humbling six months ago, the club’s first priority must be to build a fresh, tight-knit squad and to put a decent run of performances together this term. Only then will they be able to channel their attentions towards this year’s Varsity Match.