The Tab previews the 2014 Christie Cup

A preview of Wednesday’s inter-university Christie Cup between Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester.


The Christie Cup returns for its 128th year on Wednesday 26th March as the Universities of Liverpool and Leeds prepare to knock Manchester off its perch in the ultimate battle of the North.

This year it is the turn of Leeds to host the oldest inter-university competition after the famous Oxbridge boat race. The Christie Championship is recognised nationally as one of the largest sporting varsities with more than 1,500 students taking part. In essence, it’s a pretty big deal!

Liverpool haven’t tasted success in this tournament for over 20 years, with the last victory coming back in 1991, before many of this year’s competitors were even born.

The current BUCS table doesn’t exactly make for the promising of analysis. Liverpool currently occupy 28th place, 18 places below Manchester and 12 below Leeds.

The underdog status is certainly something we have become used to, but hopefully this year all our sports teams are ready to defy the odds.

Here we take a look at some of our team’s chances.

Football

The men’s football team will be using the tournament as a taster for next year. The lads will be fielding a first team with a mixture of 1st and 2nds from the current squad. Whilst a second team will be comprised of the third years who will be leaving at the end of the season.

They will be expecting to offer a strong challenge, though, with it being the first time a lot of them have played together. It’ll be interesting to see how they do on the day.

Our football lads will eager to sign off a successful season by taking gold in Leeds.

Rugby League

The rugby league boys are slightly more optimistic about their chances, as they look set to repeat their success of last year. The lads have won in the Christie Championships four times in the last five years, seeing success in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

The LURLFC lads have achieved their highest ever league finish this season, but both Manchester and Leeds have finished as clear winners of their respective leagues.

Despite the fact they are expecting the most challenging and competitive Christie Cup competition in recent history, captain George Harvey is quietly confident.

“If we perform at a standard we know we are capable of than we can bring home the trophy for the fifth time in six years.”

Rugby Union

Similar to the football team, the rugby union side will be fielding a first team with next season in mind.

Two years ago Liverpool won it on home soil and last year they lost by the narrowest of margins.

Whilst the Blues will try and do as best as they can, it’s not always possible because Liverpool simply do not have the same strength in numbers as their opponents. Manchester are currently in the league above, whilst Leeds are two divisions ahead.

Hockey

Women’s hockey captain, Charlotte Hobbs, is hoping her side will be able to do well against strong opposition. After a mixed season the girl’s would like to finish on a high, especially for those who are currently playing in their last season.

Lacrosse

After success at Christie last year, with convincing wins against Manchester and Leeds, the men’s lacrosse team intend to compete strongly to retain their title.

In the last three seasons they have won it twice, and based on this season’s form, they should offer Manchester a decent challenge for gold.

They played Leeds twice during the regular season coming away with victories on both occasions; however with their home advantage and some talented players the Liverpool side will still have to perform well.

Manchester are currently in the league above so they will provide our team with the greater test.

Captain Matt Collier stated. “We have a strong team with a desire to come home with the Christie title. Also on a personal level it would be a pleasure to have captained a team with a great bunch of lads [to Christie success].”

Basketball

The men’s basketball side lost both their games last year at it has to be said it has been quite a disappointing season.

However, after a dramatic buzzer-beating victory against Bangor to avoid relegation just two weeks ago, they are feeling confident about going to Leeds and get some form of result!

The Men’s Basketball side will be looking for redemption with a Christie win.

Volleyball

The women’s volleyball team have had Christie success for the past two years and they are hoping to win again after beating Manchester 3-0 in the league.

The Leeds side are currently a division below so our ladies will be hoping that they’ll offer only a limited challenge.

The guys will also be competing and remarkably they actually have a team this year! In 2013 the side was a last minute collaboration of Liverpool Uni’s finest male hockey players.

Last year’s makeshift volleyball team.

Squash

After a disappointing 3rd place in the Men’s squash last season, the first team are looking forward to travelling to Leeds for the Christie Cup 2014.

Manchester always field a very strong team but, according to captain Ben Greenfield, “it is always close contest between us and Leeds.”

He continued to state, “Any games or matches we can contribute towards the University of Liverpool final result is great. We’ve got a strong team and hope to put some points on the scoreboard!”

Swimming

The swim team came third last year in the Christie cup missing out on second place by just 1 point! This year they will obviously be aiming to do better!

This year’s tournament will be highly anticipated with a number of our sports teams raring for victory. Let’s hope Liverpool can bash the bookies by returning to Merseyside with the unlikeliest of wins. Here’s to the underdogs!!

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