Welsh Varsity

The Welsh Varsity is an annual sporting event contested by Cardiff University and Swansea University, usually in early April. The sports contested include rugby union, hockey, cricket, squash, badminton, lacrosse, rowing, golf, basketball, football, American football, ultimate frisbee, netball, volleyball, fencing and an array of other sports. Profits go to charity. The event is held over the course of a week, with some sports competing over a weekend due to the nature of the sport. The majority of the games are held on the Wednesday afternoon, with the centrepiece rugby union match between the two sides held in the evening and often attended by in excess of 18,000 supporters.[1]

Rugby union

The showpiece event of the Welsh Varsity is the rugby union fixture played between the men's teams of the two universities. The event began in 1997 and for the first six years alternated venues between the Cardiff Arms Park and St. Helen's in Swansea. Between 2003 and 2006, it was played at Brewery Field, home of Bridgend RFC, halfway between the two cities. It returned to the Arms Park for three years from 2007 to 2009, followed by a year at Swansea's Liberty Stadium. Since then, the match has been divided between the Liberty Stadium and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.[2]

As of 2019, Swansea have won 13 of the 23 Varsity Matches played, while Cardiff have won nine, including a record 78–7 victory in the most recent match on 10 April 2019. The only drawn match came in 2001.[2]

Overall
Details Played Won by Cardiff Won by Swansea Drawn Cardiff points Swansea points
In Cardiff 12 5 6 1 254 189
In Swansea 8 2 6 0 119 187
Neutral venue 4 2 2 0 53 58
Overall 24 9 14 1 426 434

Records

Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set.

Record Cardiff Swansea
Longest winning streak 3 (2017–2019) 4 (1997–2000)
Largest points for
Home 78 (2019) 49 (1998)
Away 27 (2015) 28 (2011)
Largest winning margin
Home 71 (2019) 36 (1998)
Away 8 (2018) 15 (1997)

Results
Year Location Winner Swansea Cardiff Attendance
1997Cardiff Arms ParkSwansea2611984
1998St. Helen'sSwansea49131,600
1999Cardiff Arms ParkSwansea137
2000St. Helen'sSwansea28183,300
2001Cardiff Arms ParkDraw10102,900
2002St Helen'sSwansea2133,100
2003Brewery FieldCardiff12193,000
2004Brewery FieldSwansea25112,900
2005Brewery FieldSwansea1683,300
2006Brewery FieldCardiff5153,600
2007Cardiff Arms ParkSwansea1805,200
2008Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff9198,100
2009Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff6910,800
2010Liberty StadiumSwansea161211,400
2011Millennium StadiumSwansea281814,789
2012Millennium StadiumCardiff133315,622
2013Millennium StadiumSwansea211314,103
2014Millennium StadiumSwansea191515,835
2015Liberty StadiumCardiff222716,875+[1]
2016Liberty StadiumSwansea161020,435
2017Millennium StadiumCardiff1535
2018Liberty StadiumCardiff1523
2019Millennium StadiumCardiff778
2020Liberty StadiumSwanseaCancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 N/A N/A Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 Liberty Stadium Swansea 20 13

Notable participants

Some of those who have played in the Welsh Varsity Match have gone on to win international honours. These include:[3]

Welsh Boat Race
Main article: The Welsh Boat Race

The inaugural Welsh Boat Race was held in 2006. The Welsh Boat Race has continued to grow due to support from the respective athletic unions, and sponsorship deals. The venue for the boat race has historically been the River Taff, but the venue for 2010 was the River Tawe. The event was historically held on a Wednesday to coincide with the other Varsity games but due to increasing popularity from alumni, parents and the general public, the event has now been moved to the weekend.[4]

Varsity Shield

Over the course of the day, several sports are contested, with a point awarded for each event won. The university with the most points at the end of the day is awarded the Welsh Varsity Shield. In 2017 the shield was won by Swansea University for the first time.[5]

  • American football
  • Archery
  • Athletics
  • Badminton
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Canoe polo
  • Cricket
  • Cycling
  • Equestrian
  • Fencing
  • Field hockey
  • Football
  • Football (IMG)
  • Football (staff)
  • Golf
  • Karate
  • Lacrosse
  • Netball
  • Netball (staff)
  • Rifle
  • Rugby union (freshers)
  • Sailing
  • Squash
  • Swimming
  • Tae kwon do
  • Tennis
  • Triathlon
  • Ultimate frisbee
  • Volleyball
  • Water polo

Coverage

The Welsh Varsity event is covered in its entirety by both universities' student newspapers and radio stations (Cardiff's Xpress Radio and Swansea's Xtreme Radio). Since 2009, it has also been covered by Cardiff Union Television (CUTV). The men's rugby union match is also broadcast live nationally by the Welsh-language channel S4C.[6]

References
  1. Bywater, Alex (21 April 2015). "A crowd of more than 15,000 is expected for the 2015 Welsh Varsity match". WalesOnline.
  2. "The Rugby". Welsh Varsity. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  3. "The Rugby". Welsh Varsity. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  4. WEROW. "Welsh Boat Race ends in a two-all draw". WEROW. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
  5. Southcombe, Matthew (9 May 2017). "Cardiff University have just been stripped of their Varsity title". WalesOnline.
  6. "Varsity match between Cardiff & Swansea to be shown live on TV". bucs.org.uk. British Universities & Colleges Sport. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
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