Charlie Amesbury (left), pictured playing for CURUFC against Coventry RFC, has joined the Light Blues from Aviva Premiership side Bristol Rugby Keir Baker

For the second time in as many years, Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club (CURUFC) have a professional player in their ranks. A year after Welsh legend Jamie Roberts took up an MPhil in medical sciences at Queens’, CURUFC have been bolstered by the arrival of Charlie Amesbury, a winger for Aviva Premiership team Bristol Rugby.

The 30 year old winger-cum-full back, who has also represented clubs as distinguished as Harlequins, Sale Sharks and Newcastle Falcons, is halfway through his first term at Queens’, where he is studying for a MSt in Social Innovation. But in some ways, it is surprising that Amesbury is even here: after having played an instrumental role in helping Bristol Rugby winning promotion to the Premiership last season, it is surprising that he has decided that now is the time to take a break from professional rugby and come to Cambridge.

“I’ve had a career of over 10 years in rugby,” he explains, "and I’ve always had an eye on educating myself alongside rugby. I’ve actually had my eye on Cambridge for a number of years too, but I’ve always had a contract that stopped me from leaving rugby. This year, though, I felt that I’d spent enough time in rugby, so I could take a two-month break just to refresh myself and experience Cambridge before, dare I say it, I get a bit too old,” he laughs.

But the life of a professional rugby player is a busy one, and it must be a Herculean task to find the the time to take up a course here at Cambridge? “I play better rugby if I’ve got something else going on elsewhere,” he says, “because if I’ve got a bit of structure in my outside life it helps me get a structure in my rugby life. And rugby has a lot of highs and lows, and for me having something outside helps even out those highs and lows. Okay, the emphasis has gone on the academic work this time, but it’s something I’m enjoying.”

That said, rugby never manages to escape Amesbury's attention for too long. Indeed, his part-time Masters is aimed at looking for ways of using the sport to help people from disadvantaged backgrounds get ahead in life.

A relaxed but never blasé attitude shines through when comparisons are made to Jamie Roberts, who was forced off with injury at half time as Cambridge were beaten 12-6 in the men’s Varsity Match at Twickenham. Indeed, Light Blue supporters looking for the second coming of Jamie Roberts ought to look again.

“There’s just no comparison between me and him,” he says, apparently surprised that anyone would make the connection. “He’s a world class player and I’m a good Premiership player: there’s a clear difference between those two. All I want to do is get my head down and get my studies in order and enjoy what Cambridge has to offer.”

Yet it is inevitable that there is talk of Amesbury’s undeniable sporting quality having a major impact on the result of next month’s Varsity Match. But the prospect of representing CURUFC and being tipped as the key to the Light Blues bringing home their first title in seven years appears to genuinely humble him: “Considering that Cambridge haven’t won it since 2009, it’d be a huge achievement for Cambridge and a huge achievement for me if I was to play in it.”

“This is one of the best amateur traditions left in rugby, it’s one of the reasons I left Premiership rugby, to come and experience what this game’s all about. But also to do that in an environment where you’re being mentally challenged every day on your academic studies, it’s a real juggling act. So if the boys were to get the win it’d be a huge achievement for me and one that I’d definitely cherish for the rest of my life.”

But, with CURUFC still without a Varsity win this decade, it is clear that something be done differently this time out. Amesbury regards the problem as a mental one: “Maybe Oxford have just got the mental edge after six years,” he observes. “It can’t be that they’ve had six years’ worth of better players, so maybe there’s something in that. Maybe there’s something in being able to relax on the big occasion, and that’s something I’d like to be able to bring.  

“I have played at Twickenham before and I have played in front of a big crowd before, and hopefully I’ll be able to bring a settling edge to the team if I can play. Which I think would be needed because I’ve watched the last few games and they’ve been a real joy to watch, just sometimes maybe to take control of the game, to control the tempo, you need someone to put their foot on the ball and calm things down.”

The transition from the heights of professional rugby with big-spending Bristol to a purely amateur set-up at Cambridge University must be a major jolt, and when asked how those two worlds compare, Amesbury is drawn into a big smile. “If I’m honest the pitch is amazing, but there are other aspects that are still old school,” he laughs. “There are certain aspects which are still quite amateur, which is a good thing, it adds character to it, let’s say. And the romance of it is that it’s still an amateur sport, it’s played by students who study first and play rugby second, and I don’t want it to lose that spirit because that’s what really sets it apart from the professional game.

“And the Varsity match’s been played on the same pitch between the same two teams for however many years, so I do feel like I’m playing in something that could be a part of history, which you only get maybe in professional rugby if you get to the final of the Premiership or a European final. If I can get into the Varsity team then that’ll be a big final for me.”

Securing a place in the Varsity team might bring with it a number of risks and challenges, namely a danger that he might be targeted by both the Oxford fans and members of the Oxford team. Yet, as far as Amesbury is concerned, they can target him all they like. “I’ve been playing at Bristol for the last two years, who’ve been the big spenders and who are a big team,” he says. “They were the team that everyone wanted to knock off their block in the Championship, and teams would sometimes just turn out great performances when they have a shared desire to beat a big team like Bristol. So I’m taking my experiences from that into this run of games and hope that it’ll stand me in good stead.  

“But again, if I was to play, I’m only one of 15. There are 14 others out there, if I can take a bit of pressure off them and let them flourish and play their best game, then I’m happy to do that. I like to think that I’ll suck in one or two defenders, and if I don’t get through, hopefully there’ll be space somewhere else to break through. If I put in a quiet game and the boys bring home the win then that’s perfect.”