First-year clinical Medicine student Ben Jackson will be in the starting line-up in one of the most hotly anticipated sports matches in the Oxbridge calendar - the Varsity Rugby Match on the 2 April.
We caught up with Ben to find out more about his rugby past and what it’s like playing for the University rugby team.
When did you first start playing rugby, and what’s it like playing for the University team?
Interestingly, I spent my childhood playing football and I only picked up rugby at the age of 13, much to my mother’s dismay. I played for Southwell RUFC, my local club, and represented Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, and Derbyshire for several years. After a couple of years playing for the men’s side at Southwell, I was blessed enough to be accepted by Sidney Sussex to read Medicine – little did I know what was in store for me at CURUFC.
The University side’s set up is fantastic. The club has a wide range of coaches, physios, and leaders, all who want to push your development and see you succeed. This year we have had three teams playing most weeks and hence there’s plenty of healthy competition for positions. Above all, the relationships that are built within the squads are second to none and are essential.
Which position do you play? And for anyone who may be a rugby novice, what does this mean your main job is on the field?
I play as a loosehead prop, wearing the number 1 on my shirt. Simply put, this means that I am one of the eight forwards who scrum (after the ball is knocked on or passed forwards) and lift teammates in lineouts (when the ball is thrown back into play after leaving the field.). In scrums I am in the front row and hence I am responsible for getting into a strong position to allow the force applied by the rest of the forwards to be transferred, enabling us to push them back and win the scrum. Aside from this, around the field, I’m expected to make dominant tackles and impose myself physically in attack to help us gain ground and have a good platform to play from.
How did it feel when you were selected for the Varsity match?
Whilst I felt an overwhelming sense of excitement when the captain asked me to be part of the 23-man squad, I know that this is only a small step towards what matters to us. A lot of preparation and commitment was required to be successful at selection, but the celebrations will come when we beat the other place. I cannot wait to take the field on 2 April at Twickenham and I see it as a huge opportunity to show-off the strength of our side.
Enjoy the match, Ben!
Tickets to the game can be purchased on the Varsity Matches website.
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