Varsity Longform Special: Wasps visit helps build buzz on the road to the Ricoh
Standing tall before the storm: Men’s Rugby 1st Team Captain Matthew Peter Lawrowitsch.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s we enter the month of February there is one thing on the minds of Warwick’s sportsmen and women: Varsity. This year, the most important event in the university sporting calendar culminates with the Men’s Rugby at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. To help maximise their preparation for the big day, UWRFC’s finest men and women enlisted the skills of a man who has played at the highest level.
On 1 February Chris Bell, head of off-field development at London Wasps, led both first teams in two hour-long training sessions. Despite tight time constraints, it appeared that the former centre’s expertise was well received. “It’s fantastic”, said Men’s Captain Matthew Lawrowitsch, “it gives us an insight into what professionals go through every day. They obviously train a lot more than we do, but it’s also nice to have a different perspective from our usual coaches. It’s great to have somebody who has played at that level.”
I won’t say there’s a genuine hatred but both teams really look forward to that day
With the big finish at the Ricoh a matter of weeks away you certainly couldn’t accuse Warwick’s Rugby players of not being focused. The shouts of encouragement that provided the soundtrack to each drill were replaced by an immediate hush when Bell called the team over to issue fresh instructions.
“Wasps are known for their fantastic, aggressive defence and that’s what we always aim to do”, explained Matthew. “He made sure that we worked as a team. It’s all about the communication between the players.” While sessions such as these are invaluable, they are only one aspect of UWRFC’s extensive pre-Varsity schedule. The Men’s 1’s have one match per week during February and a busy fixture list has to be balanced with a sufficient amount of training and recovery.
“We do a heck of a lot of fitness work as part of the performance team” said Matthew. “We just work our way through the league, making sure we’re building on each week and not treating Varsity as different to any other fixture.” Although the Men’s 1’s impressive league form means that their assault on the Midlands 1A title is also of high importance, you could forgive them for keeping one eye on their clash with Coventry. He realises the significance of playing at a stadium like the Ricoh and admits that this will have an effect. “We’ve been many times to watch matches but we’ve never played there. There are definitely going to be nerves as soon as we step out in front of that crowd. At the same time, it’s a once in a lifetime experience and once you’re on that pitch and in the moment then you’re playing the game.”
The phrase “once in a lifetime experience” could be dismissed as a well-worn sporting cliché, but in this case it’s merited.
The phrase “once in a lifetime experience” could be dismissed as a well-worn sporting cliché, but in this case it’s merited. For some, this is likely to be their only chance to grace an arena that has hosted international football and premiership rugby. “We have a lot of third years in our first team” notes Warwick’s captain. “In previous years they haven’t had this opportunity, so we’ve all got to take it the best we can.”
Attempting to prevent Lawrowitsch and his teammates doing exactly that are, of course, the eternal rivals themselves. Warwick and Coventry were denied a Varsity dress rehearsal when their league game on the 27th January was cancelled, but this will only increase the anticipation ahead of the big match.
“I won’t say there’s a genuine hatred but both teams really look forward to that day” said Lawrowitsch. “On the day there are a few names called, but at the same time we’re there to play Rugby, they’re the ones who probably get more involved with that side of the game.”
Hopefully it’ll be no different to being on Cryfield. If there are plenty of Warwick fans cheering us on then I think we’ll embrace it
Tactics such as these are generally nullified by the fact that most players are accustomed to that part of the sport. The men’s 1’s will expect to let their rugby do the talking, but Warwick’s captain reminds us of the importance of getting behind #teamwarwick.“Hopefully it’ll be no different to being on Cryfield. If there are plenty of Warwick fans cheering us on then I think we’ll embrace it.”
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