It was an action packed day in Treforest and Pontypridd with drama and feisty fixtures between two university rivals
Text credit: Liam Owen, Michael Addison, Flynn Galliford, Niall Griffiths, Harry Tovey, Archie Tooth, Joe Tunney, Jake Hastings and Gareth Rees
Eight sports teams ventured across the Severn Bridge to the University of South Wales. The atmosphere was building ahead of the second varsity against the University of West England and it was all to play for.
The University of South Wales Students’ Union president, Jamal Abdilahi said: “there is a need for varsity here because it is important to showcase the talent of our students.”
First up, a trip to the Sport Park in Treforest for the Volleyball. The men’s volleyball clash at the Sport Park was abandoned after the third set following debate about USW bringing on a female player. This switch was met with confusion from UWE as there were separate fixtures set out for the men’s and women’s teams to play and no mention of a mixed gender game.
At the same time outside, UWE mens’ lacrosse completed an inspired comeback to beat USW 4-3 in a very tense varsity affair. Goals from Archie Fletcher (2), Elliot Keynes and Neil Webb were enough to complete a fightback for the visitors in a feisty affair at the Sport Park. The UWE women’s team thrashed USW 12-1 in the varsity showdown thanks to goals from Eva Maslin, Flo Johnson, Grace Conday, Eden Reynolds and Molly Ryan.
The action was also happening three miles up the road at the Sports Centre – where the University of the West of England badminton team opened the 2024 Varsity event with a 9-4 win against hosts University of South Wales. In an afternoon of competitive action the event started with the women’s singles and doubles with Crystal Shin Thant Mai of UWE defeating Gabriella Rossi of USW 21-9 and 21-16, before Jess Lai and Myat Yamin extended the visitors lead beating Tamara Gill and Helen Jephcote 21-9 and 21-18. The action continued with the men’s singles and doubles, where USW picked up their first point of the day after their standout performer Yu-Gene Wong defeated Lewis Brimble 21-11 and 21-5. UWE finished strongly, picking up the final two points of the day to secure them the spoils overall with a comfortable 9-4 scoreline.
With very little breaks from the sport, the men’s football kicked off on the 4G pitch. UWE went back to Bristol with the football bragging rights after a 1-0 victory. Striker Sevi Bala’s first-half goal was enough to hand the visitors victory in a game that was evenly matched for long spells.
Also in the afternoon was the netball, the USW netball champions completed their unbeaten season with a dominant varsity triumph. As the side completed the double after a 60-17 thrashing of UWE at the Sport Park, thanks to a dominant performance from goal-attack Ali Chan.
Over at Sardis Road in Pontypridd, the University of the West of England made it back-to-back Varsity wins in an aggressive encounter. Tries from Jake Powles, Will Hughes, Angus Buckland and two from Ben Evans accompanied by on-point kicking from Tom Wilton proved to be the difference, as UWE emerged 36-26 victors to follow up last year’s success – this time on Welsh soil. USW made the visitors work hard as tries from Lloyd Morris, accompanied by one try and accurate kicking from stand out performer Callum Edwards proved not to be enough at Pontypridd RFC’s House of Pain.
It was a mid-afternoon start for the hockey with the USW men savouring a big turnaround as they claimed a revenge win in Varsity hockey. Goals from Andrew Smith, Ellis Tootil and Juan Peralta saw USW avenge a 10-1 thrashing suffered at the hands of varsity rivals UWE a year ago. Memories of that dark day served as motivation for the return clash on Welsh soil – and a 3-2 win was testament to a staggering improvement. The women also proved too strong for UWE as USW claimed a 2-0 win.
The basketball fixture was cancelled in the afternoon, leaving many fans disappointed.
Cricket was the last sport on the fixture list, with UWE comfortably seeing off a battling USW in the first ever women’s indoor varsity cricket match. Captain Anna Humphrey led her side to victory as the visitors posted 172-3 batting first and gave USW a mountain to climb, with the hosts ending on 66 all out. Despite the defeat, quick decision making in the field gave USW three run-outs with UWE eager to add to their run tally throughout the course of their 12-overs. USW captain Lucy Nicholson was determined to rally her side back into the affair with a strong 24-run batting performance despite playing with a shoulder injury. The men convincingly defeated UWE cricket in their match at the same time.
Mixed fortunes for the university but it was an action-packed day which offered great viewing for all spectators.
