Home   Sport   Article

Subscribe Now

Fergus Jemphrey describes unreal feeling of Varsity Match tries for Cambridge University at Twickenham




Fergus Jemphrey fulfilled a dream by scoring two tries at Twickenham to help Cambridge University to victory in the 138th Varsity Match.

The Irish winger showed the potent finishing prowess he has demonstrated all Michaelmas Term, with a try in each half in the Light Blues’ 15-0 win over Oxford at HQ.

“It was just so much fun to play in with the crowd,” said the Homerton College student.

“You can hear the noise, it was class.

“You just dream of scoring at Twickenham. It’s a cliche but you get the first one over and think keep going, keep going. You get in the corner but both my tries were quite close as well.

“You’re looking at the big screen thinking ‘did I get it or not?’. I just about got it. I can’t believe it, it’s unreal.”

Jemphrey, Joey Gatus and Tom Lovelace have formed a potent back three this term, although the greasy conditions at Twickenham meant that the opportunities to stretch the legs were limited.

Gatus had quipped in the build-up that there was a touch of Forrest Gump about Jemphrey's running, and the try-scorer explained: “It’s a bit of a running joke that he just hands me the ball and I will just run.

“Joey gave me a great pass for my try and the platform the forwards gave me for that game, especially Flip (van der Merwe) and Kev (James Horwill), is ideal for a wing to play with as go-forward ball is crucial.”

The driving rain did make going particularly tough, but it was the discipline, control and patience of Cambridge that caught the eye.

They stuck to task to make sure they not only played the opposition but also the weather.

“In conditions like that, we talked about kicking the ball early, not having the ball, defending and keeping our discipline,” said head coach James Shanahan.

“I think we made it a bit hard for ourselves, but I felt comfortable without being overconfident during the game. We started to have dominance up front and our kick game and chase was very good.

“Credit to Oxford as they stayed in the fight, made three or four line breaks off our kick-chase and credit that we didn’t concede a point.

“They lost some key players early doors so credit to them to staying in it and making it a real fight which I knew they would.

“We stuck to our processes and we didn’t come off that which is why we got the victory.”



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