Friday, January 24Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Sports & Socs

Sports & Socs

An Interview with… MTS & Women’s Rugby!

I'm sat in Founders south quad on a gorgeous summer day. Across from me are Lewis Mullins, Pippa Gentry and Matt Abrams from the Musical Theatre Society. Lewis is the President, Pippa, President-Elect, and Matt has been Musical Director of various productions including Little Shop of Horrors and Summer Cabaret last year. I feel awkward to have propositioned these people that I barely know to interview them about their past achievements of the year. And what achievements they are. Lewis dives straight in with the statistics I suspect he’s quoted many times before. Three productions, and the intensive weekend show with twenty musical numbers. Not always easy to remember, Matt cuts in. Imaginably so. Volunteering has been a massive part of the year, with shows entertaining Melwood Old P...
Sports & Socs

Fresher’s football future at Royal Holloway

Are you looking to meet new friends and have a great social life at university as well as playing competitive sport week in week out? Whether you are a Fresher or a returner, RHUL Men’s Football is the place for you. As the biggest sports club on campus, featuring six teams and over 100 members, Men’s Football welcomes players of all levels, whether you are new to the game or have been playing since before you could walk. With two games and one or two training sessions a week, regular socials, various volunteering opportunities and an end-of-year football tour, Men’s Football promises to make your time at RHUL as good as it can be. Last season the club knew great successes, with the 1st team winning the LUSL Cup, and the 2nd and 4th teams getting promotions in both BUCS and LUSL l...
Sports & Socs

A ‘Rumble in the Jungle’

After a successful development 7s tournament last year, RHUL Women's Rugby are back again with a BIGGER and BETTER event; ‘Rumble in the Jungle' 7s. Women's Rugby is taking over Windsor RFC on the 8th June to showcase 7s talent from a range of South-East University Women's teams. The day is all about developing the 7s game at University level to give teams the chance to play more 7s whilst the Sun is still shining. As the name gives away, the tournament is themed so every team takes part as an animal (three guesses on which we will be?) It should make the event a light-hearted, fantastic tournament, similar to the great atmosphere of the London Sevens tournament. With music provided by Insanity Radio, a BBQ, face-painting, raffles and much MORE, the tournament is set to be a showc...
Sports & Socs

A Review of the Ashes

Australia have annihilated this wretchedly poor England side. England have been pilloried by the Australian media, pulverised by the pace of Johnson and Harris and battered submissive by the tenacity of the Aussie batsmen. The (deranged) English Supporters who presumed the series to be a foregone conclusion have been made to look foolish. England were ‘marmalised' in Brisbane by a colossal 381 runs thanks to hundreds from the pugnacious Warner and captain Clarke, sandwiched in between the mustachioed Johnson's extreme pace, frightening the England batsmen into handing him 9 wickets in the match. In Adelaide, England were similarly thumped by 218 runs. Australia's 570-9 dec was built upon hundreds from Clarke and the irrepressible Haddin. The English reply was nothing short of atrocious wi...
Sports & Socs

January’s Four to Watch!

The Ping-Pong Revolution is afoot! As we enter the second term of the year and the second term where RHUL has been graced by their sparkly new Table Tennis team, things are looking good for our young ping-pongers! The Men's team currently sit unbeaten at the top of their league following their most recent victory against Middlesex University and at this point in proceedings are virtually guaranteed promotion. The Women's teams are currently gearing up for a big match – against each other! – for a place in the semi-final for their division. As well as all of this good news, 3 Men's players and 3 Women's players are looking to enter the BUCs Individual Championships which will take place in Nottingham later in February. Good luck to them! Lastly a nod to our friends over at the A...
Sports & Socs

Ballond’Or: RHUL Men’s Football Discuss Who They Feel Should Have Won

Cristiano Ronaldo What a blockbuster year 2013 was for CR7! The fact his Real Madrid side had a trophy-less campaign is of even greater credit to his stellar performances and standout solo contributions for club and country. The highly coveted accolade of FIFA Ballon d'Or is an individual award and, one against one, nobody comes close to the Madeira-born celebrity. His staggering statistics for the 11 months prior to the closing date for voting are absolutely astounding! Ronaldo struck 67 goals in 56 appearances – somehow bettering his total tally of 63 in 2012. All is placed into perspective when fellow contenders Ribéry and Messi managed to net 64 between them! A magnificent term culminated with the talisman's titanic triple in the 2nd half of that World Cup play-off 2nd leg against Swe...
Sports & Socs

Sporting History: Muhammad Ali

Whether it be the Ancient Greeks and the Olympics, the Romans and the coliseum, Kamakura Japan and sumo wrestling, medieval jousting or football and the ‘hooligans' in the terraces, sport has had a key role to play in how society has developed. From the roles it plays in the economy, politics and media coverage and more, sport has always had an impact on day to day life. This new recurring feature will look at different sporting events or sporting figures that helped shape their sport for the better, or the worse in some cases. So, where, or who, else would be better to start off with than “The Greatest of All Time,” Muhammad Ali? More specifically, his first title defence against Sonny Liston. The fight dubbed ‘First Round, First Minute' was the eagerly anticipated rematch of their bout ...
Sports & Socs

RHOscars: The RHUL Red Carpet Event of the Year

The life of a student is rarely associated with glamour. One night of the year, however, we dust off our bow ties, scrub our faces and revel in the glory that comes with prancing along a red carpet and actually having freshly washed hair. We arrive on the arms of handsome men, and the majority of us stumble out a few hours later, with a lucky few drunkenly brandishing the revered ‘little golden man.' While we spend the majority of the year at each other's throats, battling over deadlines, rehearsals and meetings; this is an evening which quite simply reminds us why we have so much love for what we do. Since 2007, the RHOscars have been uniting all manner of performance loving folk. Bringing the techies down from the rigs, the musicians away from their pianos, and the actors down from the ...
Sports & Socs

RHUL Badminton Club: A Season of Uphill Battles

Looking at the fixture lists for all three badminton teams; men's first, women's and men's seconds, was not pleasant summer reading material. With long journeys to Portsmouth and Chichester on the horizon as well as visits to sport driven universities Surrey and Brunel, all three respective captains knew they had a hard task of managing their squads to get the very best from their players as they looked to once again secure divisional status for the 2013/14 season. All teams got off to a tough start, leaving it until the end of the second week of fixtures before the club earned their first point. A true captain's knock by Harriet Mortimer inspired her girls to a 4-4 draw at St. Mary's University. Not to be outdone by the girls, both men's teams would have their first points after two work...
Sports & Socs

RHOscars: The RHUL Red Carpet Event of the Year

The life of a student is rarely associated with glamour. One night of the year, however, we dust off our bow ties, scrub our faces and revel in the glory that comes with prancing along a red carpet and actually having freshly washed hair. We arrive on the arms of handsome men, and the majority of us stumble out a few hours later, with a lucky few drunkenly brandishing the revered ‘little golden man.' While we spend the majority of the year at each other's throats, battling over deadlines, rehearsals and meetings; this is an evening which quite simply reminds us why we have so much love for what we do. Since 2007, the RHOscars have been uniting all manner of performance loving folk. Bringing the techies down from the rigs, the musicians away from their pianos, and the actors down from the ...