UCL crowned Varsity champions with storming men’s rugby victory

University College London have claimed victory in the London Varsity series against King’s College, with a final score of 20 - 13.

They took back the trophy from King’s, entering the final day of the tournament having already secured their win with a score of 18 victories to 12 and just three more sports to play for.

Crucially, having lost for two years in a row, the men’s rugby team achieved a storming victory with a score of 16 - 10.

The UCL and KCL men’s teams seemed fairly evenly matched with strong forwards. Possession was fairly evenly split but UCL managed to keep the ball in their half with some particularly aggressive tackling.

UCL scored a penalty and a try in the first half, taking the score to 8-0, much to the delight of fans who took up the charming chant: “Who sucks rugby dick? King’s suck rugby dick!”

King’s dug their claws in during the second half, winning two tries much to the delight of their fans, who had gone quiet as underdogs UCL made further points gains.

The final score was UCL 16 - 10 KCL, with UCL supporters flooding the pitch to celebrate their victory in the most important game in Varsity.

Earlier in the night the women’s rugby had been a resounding victory for King’s, who comfortably defeated the overall Varsity victors.

After an embarrassing 48-0 loss in the 2016 Varsity series, the bar was set low for UCL’s women’s team.

They had a shaky first half in which the ball rarely left KCL’s half of the pitch, giving the reigning champs a 17-0 lead.

King’s worked well to keep the ball moving and give themselves opportunities to score, leaving UCL to fight fires as they struggled to counter KCL’s attack.

However possession was much more evenly matched in the second half. UCL managed some spectacular tackles and prevented King’s from scoring again, as well as taking opportunities to try and score.

Though the match became much more exciting in the second half, neither side managed to win any points, giving King’s a 17-0 victory.

Full results for the 2017 London Varsity Series are available here.

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