Two Cambridge forwards have been selected to represent the English Student’s team in their upcoming series. Hooker Pat Crossley and No. 8 Ben Maidment found out about their selection when the squad was announced earlier this month. Both of the Cambridge players helped the University to their victory in the Varsity Match in December and now Cambridge have beaten their rivals again as only a single Oxford player was selected for the England Students squad. It’s lucky that we don’t have a historic rivalry with Durham too as they will have a strong influence in the squad with six players being selected.

Maidment has played for the England Students before but it will be a new experience for Crossley and no doubt it will be a testing one. The squad, who will take on some tough opposition in their first match against Portugal, has changed dramatically since last year. Coach Phil Westgate does not believe this will be a hindrance and said “We believe we can compete at this level”. He continued to say “If we can put out a good performance against Portugal, who went to the 2007 Rugby World Cup, that will say a lot about the squad and the players.” This match will kick off on Friday the 5th of February and will be a crucial start to the series which will also see the team take on the Irish Colleges and the French Universities side.