This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Leeds chapter.
After a long day of competition between the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett featuring a huge range of sports including hockey, korfball, athletics and badminton, Varsity came to an end at Carnegie Stadium in Headingley for Leeds’ biggest rugby university game of the year. I had standing tickets, which turned out to be better than expected as I could fully get into the spirit of the game without anyone telling me to sit back down!
The atmosphere was extraordinary; a huge stadium, chants being thrown back and forth, and an intense sense of expectation in the air.
Both teams ran out on to the pitch, the Uni of team donning their green and white kit with pride and Leeds Beckett looking strong in purple and black. As my friends and I were stood at the Western Terrace behind the posts, we had a fair view of the players warming up, much to our delight!
Suddenly, the crowd settled, the whistle blew and the first ball was thrown.
Cut to 32 minutes later and Leeds Beckett had scored a try and were in the lead, with most of the first half played near the Uni of goal. That said, Uni of did do their best to defend their half and an had some moments of outstanding play.
Despite this, by half-time the score was 10-nil to Leeds Beckett and for Uni of supporters the situation was looking bleak. However, all hope was not lost. The teams switched sides and the game began again, and following some good play by the Uni of side the tables turned and our score quickly rose to six. 20 minutes later, the score was 20-13 to Beckett.
Not long afterwards, a procession of streakers flooded the pitch – one guy was floored by an unimpressed looking player, while another did the full Monty and stormed the pitch to the delight of the jeering crowd.
Once everything had settled down and everyone’s clothes were back on, the game picked up again. There was some great play from both sides, but to the disappointment of Uni of and the delight of their Beckett rivals, the final score was 27-13, with Leeds Beckett winning the Varsity Champion for the 12th time.
Even a rousing defeat couldn’t dampen Uni of spirits though, (although this was perhaps something to do with all the beer…) and laughter and chanting continued all the way home. Onwards to the after parties!
All in all Varsity was a brilliant day for everyone, from players and avid sports fans to the total newbies like me. University sports can be taken rather seriously, and although the rivalry between Leeds Uni and Leeds Beckett remains firmly intact, the whole day demonstrated a brilliant coming together of both universities.
Until next year, GO TEAM!
Images
All images are author’s own