2024 marked the 20th year of Varsity in Leeds with both universities looking to claim bragging rights and get one up over their rival. Three days of sport, two universities, but only 1 uni can take home the trophy.
With 60 teams from each university ready to take to the field in their respective sports, students from across the city were ready to come out in full force to support in the hope of their university getting their hands on the 2024 Varsity trophy.
It’s not just current students and staff that Varsity affects. It is an annual event that even past students and staff tune into each year hoping to see their side come out on top.
“Varsity meant absolutely everything to me!”
Former Leeds Beckett press officer, Sean Freer, worked at Beckett for seven years where he got to oversee all the varsitys’ in that time. Despite covering every sport throughout the year, when it came to varsity this would become a huge part of his life.
Freer said: “Varsity meant absolutely everything to me when I used to work at Leeds Beckett. As my job as the only sports media officer for Leeds Beckett, it was literally my life for three months!”
One thing is certain, and that is the size of the rivalry between the two universities. No matter the results throughout the year, it all comes down to the derby game at the end of the season.
“The expectation for the year was, regardless of league results, the one thing that mattered to students was you beat the University of Leeds at Varsity, that’s where the pressure comes from. In the last 20 years of a competition that has always been the mantra of Leeds Beckett and with that comes pressure, and I think there will be more pressure than ever on Leeds Beckett students concerning how close the competition has gotten now compared to previous years.” Explained Freer when asked about the competitiveness between the two universities.
60 teams, 60 stories
Over the course of the three day period, there was more to watch than just the epic rugby finale at Headingley Stadium. 60 teams battled it out, winning points for their respective university in hopes of being crowned Varsity champions. Matches varied from two-point games such as the first team netball, to 68-0 thrashings shown on the rugby league pitch. All in all, every team put on a show and made this the most competitive Varsity in recent history.
“The great thing about Varsity is that ultimately, every single sporting competition matters. It doesn’t matter if you play football or you play the rugby union finale. They all count equally, no game is worth more points than the other. So every single team is crucial to the success of that regardless of whether it’s a minority sport, or wherever it’s one of the most premium events that we’ve got like the big finale, everything matters.” Explained Sean Freer.
It all comes down to this…
For the first time in Leeds Varsity history, going into the rugby finale at Headingley stadium Beckett needed to win to make the final standings a tie between both universities. After dominating sports such as rugby union, football and basketball, the University of Leeds picked up points in the likes of Lacrosse and hockey to secure points for their side.
As always, the highly anticipated rugby match kicked off at 19:15 on Wednesday with both teams ready to put on a show.
An unexpected first-half performance from Uni of Leeds saw the half-time score being 14-12 to Beckett, however, Uni of went in the stronger side of the two putting Beckett on the back foot but just not being able to take advantage of every chance they got.
The start of the second half saw more of the same however Beckett were able to calm the storm, showing their class and experience to take the game under their wing and secure a fourth successive Varsity rugby win and coming out 27-12 winners.
This result meant that for the first time in history, both universities had to settle for an 82-82 draw across the whole of Varsity.
Looking forward to 2025
With Varsity 2024 ending in a draw, the University of Leeds were handed the trophy after technically retaining it. Now it’s time to look at and celebrate what has been two great sporting seasons for both universities and start preparing for the 2024/25 season.
What can we expect from Varsity next year? Will the trophy be staying with the Gryphons or will it return to the purple side of Leeds?
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