We have all experienced the pressures of a Cambridge degree. The last minute essay crises, fitting extra-curricular activities into our busy timetables and a lack of sleep have all become ingrained in student life at this university.

Yet, imagine, on top of that, playing simultaneously both cricket and rugby to a county or an international standard. Such was the talent of Alastair Hignell, who spoke with Varsity about his career, life at Cambridge and the upcoming Varsity match, that he became just the second man in history to captain the Blues in both sports.

Hignell arrived at Fitzwilliam College to study History in late-1974, filled with the traditional “hope, ambition and excitement” of many students coming to Cambridge, but was already recognised as something of a sporting prodigy. By that stage, the man who later earned fourteen caps playing union for England was not only playing rugby for England Schools, but also had spent the previous summer representing Gloucestershire at first-class level.

The sixty year-old, born in Cambridgeshire, went on to captain the Blues in both disciplines, as well as playing 170 cricket games for the university, notching four centuries in the process. Hignell still reflects, however, upon the fact that cricket, rather than rugby, was the path down which he initially intended to travel.

“I always planned to be a cricketer…I went to watch my father play and it was the game I always wanted to play.”

In spite of his undeniable passion for cricket, Hignell soon found himself at the forefront of the Blues’ rugby scene as well. Having joined local club Bristol the previous summer in order to maintain high levels of fitness, and indeed to have fun through rugby as a pastime, Hignell was given his chance to impress at fullback for Cambridge, after a chance run of injuries.

With both recognised fullbacks unable to play, Hignell was asked by then-coach Ian Robertson, now a well-known voice on the BBC’s rugby coverage, to move from his favoured scrum-half spot, into the back three. Hence, what began as an experiment transformed Hignell’s blossoming rugby career into an international one as a fullback.

Indeed, Hignell recalls extremely fondly his time playing rugby for the Light Blues. The 1970s witnessed the regular visits of touring club opposition, such as Harlequins, Leicester and Northampton, with the “brilliant surface at Grange Road” providing the atmosphere and venue for many a great occasion.

“We had terrific people wanting to come up to Cambridge and play,” Hignell reflects further. “We also, with Ian [Robertson] as coach, had a very adventurous way of playing which capitalised on our youth and speed, making it a very attractive form of rugby. The crowds came and university rugby had a place and a prestige in the calendar.”

The most important fixture of the year remained, as it does today, the Varsity Match at Twickenham. Hignell graced the event four times as a player, captaining the team in 1977, a year in which Oxford were victorious. The game, however, was the date all the players looked forward to, more than any other.

“Selection for the Varsity Match was the only thing that mattered,” claims the man who still to this day holds the joint record for the number of points scored by an individual in one Twickenham showpiece (nineteen in 1975).

“People who had rugby potential wanted to go to Cambridge or Oxford and to play in the Varsity Match and the atmosphere surrounding it was absolutely incredible…it was, and still is, a celebration both of rugby and of Twickenham.”

The link between the Varsity Match and Hignell himself also remains undiminished, as the ‘Man of the Match’ award is named in his honour and is presented by him to its recipient each year. Next Thursday (10th December) will be no different. For Hignell, it is a huge privilege to see the award named after him.

“I’m really honoured and still slightly shocked! It is a great honour and a great thrill to carry on my association with the Varsity Match. Whilst the role of Varsity has changed over the years, it remains a celebration of why people play rugby and embodies the best traits and characteristics of the game.”

Such an association with Cambridge rugby was made possible by the context of the game at the time Hignell attended the university. The nature of rugby at the time, both a non-professional sport and something “you did in your leisure time” to maintain fitness levels in the close season of cricket, allowed Hignell to continue his involvement in both sports. He has no doubt, however, that such a feat would not be possible these days.

“The likelihood is that I would never have touched a rugby ball if I had been born later… I would have been hot-housed from an early age to play cricket.”

Once his playing days were over, Hignell, whose best performance for Cambridge arguably came in cracking sixty in the 1975 Varsity Cricket Match at Lord’s in helping the Light Blues recover from 20 for three, just five weeks after playing rugby for England against Australia at Brisbane, moved into journalism. First, he stepped into the breach for an absent colleague on a local radio commentary, before successfully applying to become a Sports Assistant for the BBC, winning one of just five places from 2,000 applicants, including the familiar figure of John Inverdale.

Having decided to leave his other employment as a teacher, Hignell was delighted that his move into broadcasting was successful.

“Thankfully the gamble paid off. Gradually I got more opportunities and got to attend the big games at the best viewing point in the stadium.”

Hignell’s days in the commentary and press boxes are, unfortunately, behind him, after he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the late 1990s. Although other opportunities have since presented themselves, including the writing of a screen play for the BBC and an autobiography, there is little doubt that he misses the days out and about at the biggest sporting fixtures.

“I miss being at the really big games,” he says, “but at least I could walk away on my own terms.”

One of the most notable results of Hignell’s fight with the disability has been his foundation of his ‘Higgie’s Heroes’ charity, for which, alongside his services to sport, he was rightly recognised both with a CBE and the Helen Rollason award from the BBC, for achievement in the face of adversity. The charity forms part of Hignell’s wider campaign to raise awareness about MS, yet also to help those suffering from the condition to benefit equally to everyone else. Another charity close to his heart is Leonard Cheshire Disability, an official partner of the Varsity Match, one which “makes society a fair place for everyone…everybody is equally valued.”

In supporting the fund, there can be little doubt that Cambridge as a university is backing a genuinely worthwhile cause.

Hignell’s career has, therefore, been varied and action-packed in every sense. His talent across both cricket and rugby was evident throughout his time at Cambridge, whilst his impact upon university sport remains self-evident, and is one which all inside Twickenham will be reminded of once more next Thursday.

Varsity will bring you LIVE coverage of the entire day of the Varsity Match at Twickenham, from 11am, next Thursday. Visit varsity.co.uk, or follow @VarsityUK on Twitter to catch every minute of the men’s and women’s Blues.

Alastair Hignell will be at the Varsity Match representing Leonard Cheshire Disability, as well as presenting the ‘Man of the Match’ award, named in his honour.

For further details: https://www.leonardcheshire.org/

http://www.alastairhignell.com/

Twitter: @alastairhignell