Who better to ask about the Varsity Matches than Lynn Evans? This stalwart of OURFC was a long-time supporter and spectator even before his involvement with the club, going back to his teaching days.
Lynn remembers taking students to see the game, having lunch at the airport with the other teachers while instructing the students to watch the planes, before making their way over to the Twickenham stadium. Some years, his enjoyment of the game was greater than others, though that didn’t depend on victory or defeat as you may suppose. He fondly remembers having to find his way back to the friends he had met at the bar one year: after having left them half an hour earlier to find the school bus, he returned upon discovery that the bus had left without him some time ago.
Once Lynn had become affiliated with the club as a coach in the 80s, other traditions were established within the club. Taking inspiration from previous years spent at St Luke’s in Exeter, where two hours every Saturday were devoted to singing, at least some of OURFC’s enthusiasm for breaking into song can be attributed to Lynn. Cwm Rhondda, otherwise known as Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer, remains a personal favourite, and was sung nationally and internationally. From Oxford to London for the Varsity Matches, all the way to the Arena di Verona in Rome on tour, Lynn has conducted and participated in the singing of this great tune. This includes when on tour in Romania and instructed not to by Brian Morgan, though one short trip to the bathroom was all the absence that was necessary for Lynn to instigate a performance.
When asked about his favourite match, he fondly looked back to 1988, remembering both the team and his coaching staff. Friends had come in to run special sessions, including members of the Welsh coaching staff. He also remembered particular individuals, including David Kirk, who joined the team off the back of captaining an All Black World Cup victory over France in 1987. Another Dark Blues that year was Rob Egerton, who came over from Sydney University and lived with the Evans briefly while Lynn was away in Australia. He remembers recommending him for a job at the Sports Centre – and receiving the news that Rob had broken their lawnmower.
The turnover of players every year has always been a challenge for university sports, and rugby at Oxford and C*mbridge is no exception. Lynn reflected that with a variety of coaching, embracing the fluid nature of the teams by creating a dynamic environment at training through frequent guest appearances from specialists. He also voices the danger of relying on individual or key players given the unpredictable nature of injuries as well as turnover. He describes the latter as both an inconvenience and an exciting challenge, creating new teams and dynamics each year.
His own coaching style focuses on game-centred play, encouraging reactivity and creativity in his squads and practicing as close to gameday conditions as possible. He comments that the most important part of a Varsity campaign must be the prep: fitness and strategy are essential to success. This strategy was, again, dependent on flexibility, the ability to enact and improve play during the game. To make this possible, the principles of the game were included in all of Lynn’s coaching, establishing a foundation on which players could rely and build both across the season and in individual moments on the pitch. In order to encourage personal responsibility for play and initiative on the pitch, Lynn remembers how many questions he would ask of players, and a particular trick he used to use in the changing rooms. After each game, he would ask players to shout out both an asset and an improvement to the team – either individual or personal. After writing down everything the team had thrown out, he would flip the paper over to his own notes, written earlier. With fondness and satisfaction, he states that 90% of the time the lists would overlap, creating an environment of hard work and tactical thinking throughout the club.
Lynn’s loyalty to OURFC is evident in his still-frequent appearances at the club, dropping off mementos as well as advice every time he enters the offices. Taking the advice he was given by Pierre Villepreux, a coach from Toulouse, on a trip to France in 1981, Lynn’s rugby mantra can be applied to the Varsity Matches: go forward and support your team.
Please find tickets and more information about this year’s matches on Saturday 8th March here.
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