Home   Sport   Article

Subscribe Now

Varsity Match 2019: Emma Pierce keeps rich Cambridge University sporting heritage running in the family




Emma Pierce in action for Cambridge University RUFC women's team. Picture by Keith Heppell
Emma Pierce in action for Cambridge University RUFC women's team. Picture by Keith Heppell

It should be of little surprise that Emma Pierce will earn a third Blue for Cambridge University RUFC in the Women’s Varsity Match next Thursday.

If taking up the sport aged 12 and placing playing rugby as a priority when choosing higher education was not enough, then maybe the sporting genes tip the balance. You could even make the case that Pierce is part of Cambridge Blues royalty.

The 21-year-old St Catharine’s College has become a permanent fixture of the Light Blues set-up since arriving at Cambridge to study theology and religious studies.

It is no coincidence though as Pierce made her way to Grange Road even before the start of the Michaelmas Term, and that was in no small part down to that ‘royalty’ connection.

Her father, Duncan, played rugby when he was studying at Cambridge, and was the first replacement in the Varsity Match, in the 1985 game.

Her mother, Susanne, earned an athletics Blue for the 400m hurdles, so you can see the sporting theme runs strong in the Pierces.

“My parents met at Cambridge, and they actually met because while rugby was my dad’s main thing, in his spare time he did a little bit of athletics and a little bit of water polo – and they met at the athletics,” says Emma.

“When I got into rugby, it was quite a surprise for both of us [Emma and her dad]. I have an older sister and an older brother; my sister wasn’t particularly interested and my brother tried for a month or two and decided he didn’t like it.

“I think my dad thought that was it, none of his children would be playing rugby. Suddenly here I was, the child he was always hoping for to follow in his footsteps.”

Given that women’s rugby is still developing, it is more often the case that girls take it up at university which is why the development squad plays such a pivotal role at Cambridge.

Pierce bucks the trend in that regard, having first picked up a rugby ball aged 12 at Bournemouth School for Girls, where the ethos was to provide opportunities to do any sport.

A training session was delivered by Oakmeadians coach Gordon Horsley, who had brought the tackle cylinders to try.

“He lined them up, and in an all girls school said ‘what you’ve got to do is run at these as hard as you can’,” explains Pierce.

“Whereas the other girls were vaguely running up to them and pushing them over, I looked at him and said ‘I can run at them as hard as I like?’. I absolutely loved the session.”

As a result, she was invited to attend Oakmeadians by Horsley and for the first half a season was dilligent in learning how to play the game.

“It was fantastic because the coaches I worked with were very easy to talk to and there were lots of simple rules,” says Pierce.

“I remember talking to Gordon and saying ‘I don’t know how to play, I’ve never played rugby before’ and he said there are three rules I had to follow, ‘you have to pass backwards, run forwards and tackle hard. Everything else, just listen to what the referee says and have fun’.

“It’s the running forwards that’s actually the hardest I find!”

Emma Pierce in action for Cambridge University RUFC women in last year's Varsity Match. Picture: Keith Heppell (22795208)
Emma Pierce in action for Cambridge University RUFC women in last year's Varsity Match. Picture: Keith Heppell (22795208)

Pierce had started in the second row but ,nine years on, she is only about two inches taller, so that has seen her head to the back row and then the front, where she has found a position to make her own at hooker.

“It’s one of the things the Blues team works on now, to make sure each player has at least one or maybe two different positions they can slot into in case of injury,” she says.

Pierce wasted little time in being part of that system as when she was accepted by Cambridge, her father contacted some old friends at the club to find out if they had a pre-season.

The response was yes, and she was provided with the email address of then captain Alice Middleton and coach Jack Baird, and arrived in the city two weeks before term started.

It paid off as she earned a first Blue in the 3-0 defeat in 2016, and was then a replacement for 10 minutes in her second year.

Pierce was back in the starting line-up last year in the 8-5 win, and keeps the No 2 shirt for Thursday, December 12.

Having partly chosen the universities which to apply for based on how good they were at rugby, it was a dream come true to run out at Twickenham for the first time.

“It takes your breath away and is just fantastic,” says Pierce. “The honour of being able to play there is incredible.”

And she believes the close-knit nature of the squad will serve them well at HQ against Oxford next week.

“It’s absolutely fantastic,” she adds. “All of the girls are really supportive. Everyone is aiming in the same direction, everyone wants everyone else to do better and be the best they can, which is lovely.”

Read more:

Varsity Match 2019: James Horwill plays it by the books for life after professional days at Cambridge University

Varsity Match 2019: Coreen Grant seeks to make it second time lucky at Twickenham by helping Cambridge University RUFC glory

Varsity Match 2019: Cambridge University RUFC women's captain Fiona Shuttleworth relishing taking on Oxford at Twickenham

Varsity Match 2019: Captain Stephen Leonard aiming for fast start from Cambridge University against Oxford University at Twickenham



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More