‘Match at Twickenham is great for women’s rugby’

The Oxford University Women’s Rugby Blues will step onto the hallowed pitch at Twickenham Stadium in December to take on old rivals Cambridge for the Varsity match.

It will be the first time in its 27-year history the match will be played at the national stadium on the same day as the men’s match.

This is a huge step for women’s rugby at Oxford University. It is a tribute to a lot of players and administrators, who have worked tirelessly down the past three decades to establish women’s rugby as an option for students at the two universities.

All four clubs, the men’s and women’s of both Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University were involved in pushing the idea forward and it’s a massive step forward for women’s rugby and women’s sport.

This is a massive win for women’s rugby, with England winning the world cup last year and now this, things are really moving forward.

It means that 2015 will be remembered as a landmark year for women’s sport at Oxford, with the women’s rowing team due to race on the Tideway on the same day as the men’s.

Sadly I won’t be leading the Blues squad to their first Varsity victory at Twickenham as by then I will have completed my year-long captaincy.

My fellow player, Carly Bliss, will have that privilege as the new captain.

On the pitch we will have our work cut out for us. Our last match against Cambridge was earlier this month in which there was a high-quality contest between the two sides.

Cambridge’s dominant season meant they were well drilled in attack, with some very strong players hitting great lines of running.

The Oxford team was relentless in defence, putting bodies on the line time and time again.

In a highly physical game, Cambridge’s advantage of size in the forwards proved detrimental to the Oxford set piece and, sadly for us, we were defeated. There was a silver lining, however, which came in the form of the seconds' team, the Panthers, who put in a dominant performance and only conceded one try in a 26-5 win.

From the standard of their clash with the Cambridge Tigers, it was clear both clubs had worked hard on player development.

With squad preparations for Twickenham already under way, the cyclical and developmental nature of university sport makes the Panthers’ victory even more significant.

December is looming and the club is looking to expand and grow, focusing intently on player development as it faces one of the most crucial years in its history.

The move to Twickenham is not only a huge step for women’s rugby, it is also an opportunity for us to raise our club to the next level, building an atmosphere of professionalism within university rugby.

Our preparation for moving the game up to the next level has already begun.

This month the women’s club voted for a merger with the university’s men’s club.

In light of the new challenges the move to Twickenham will entail, this will help to raise the standard and profile of the women’s game.

The move to Twickenham contributes to raising the profile and development of female athletes from all sports.

We have a taster day at the start of each year – and for the coming season we will definitely be using the lure of Twickenham to get people involved. The day will be an opportunity to come down – whether they have experience or not – and see what it’s all about.

People might think it’s scary, terrifying and that they might get hurt but we want to show them there is a great team atmosphere and more than just getting smashed.

We have been increasing numbers year-on-year and hope playing at the national stadium will allow this to continue – I think a lot of people don’t know it is available to them. Oxford and Cambridge will set aside sporting rivalries to raise the profile of women’s rugby in this pioneering year and in years to come.

However, on the day of the big match – December 10, 2015 – we will be as keenly competitive as ever.

For details about the team go to ouwrfc.org.uk