Marjon’s rugby teams saw mixed results at Brickfields on Monday night, with a strong win from the women starting the evening, and a dramatic late University of Plymouth try beating the men’s team to close off an entertaining event.
A cold and windy night at the home of Plymouth Albion was eased by an entertaining first match, in which Marjon Women’s Rugby ran out 29-20 victors over the University of Plymouth side. This secured Marjon the first points of this year’s Varsity competition. A strong start from Marjon was matched by Uni in the first half, but after half time, Ben Russel’s ladies put on a show, and impressive performances from Ellie Buck and captain Kessen Porter secured another victory for last year’s winners. The support from a packed-out Marjon stand was enough to see them over the line in a commanding second half display, where the Jon’s flexed their muscles and showed their class.
It was a different story from the first minute of the men’s game. An early try for Uni of Plymouth reminded the Marjon side what they would be up against, and the pressure was relentless for the first quarter of the match, allowing Uni to take another try in the opening stages. However, the momentum would shift following a string of yellow cards for Uni players, and Marjon got themselves on the board at the end of the first half, albeit still trailing 12-5 at half time.
The second half started in a similar vein to the first, with Uni of Plymouth dominating early on. Marjon were solid in their defense however and kept themselves in the game by riding out the pressure and picking up a try of their own. That set us up for a dramatic finale to the night, and a late penalty conversion for Marjon had them leading 25-24 going into the closing minutes. As expected, Uni piled on the pressure after falling behind, but the Jons’ back line stood firm until the 85th minute, where a try was bundled over the line, crushing Marjon hopes and sending a noisy Uni of Plymouth end into raptures.
That levelled up the scores after the opening night of Ocean City Varsity 2025, and if the end to the competition can be as exciting as the start, then we are in for a treat this year. A fantastic performance from the women’s team was well deserving of their victory, and a late, late defeat felt harsh after a valiant and courageous effort from the men, who did the Marjon supporters proud.