Third year Physical Education and Coaching student and fly-half for the University of Gloucestershire’s Rugby team, Gavin Deane, is set to take part in his second Varsity fixture against the University of Worcester next month.
“ I played in my first Varsity game last year,” the 21-year-old said. “It was a good game, played at Sixways in Worcester, which is a Premiership Rugby stadium.
“The atmosphere was electric, it was amazing.”
In preparation for this one-off game, the 30-man squad endure an intense 5-6 week training schedule, which includes a drinking ban.
“There’s been a lot of early morning, but it’s worth it,” Deane said. “You see a lot of the boys come up from the second team and really start to develop.
“As a unit, as a team, we’ve become a lot closer. All the training is really starting to pay off.”
On the drinking ban, Deane commented: “It has been hard, obviously with the Six Nations going on, the nice weather as well.
“Usually you’d go out with the boys, have a beer and watch the rugby. With the drinking ban, we can’t do that.
“But it’s good because we’re constantly switched on, you’re not getting drunk and waking up the next day feeling horrible when you’ve got training.”
The first team have enjoyed a successful season, becoming BUCS Rugby Union Western 1A Champions last month.
But for a lot of the team, including Deane, winning Varsity means that little bit more.
He said: “It means a lot. For me personally, if you get selected, it means you’ve been doing something right throughout the year. You’ve earned the right to get the chance to play in the shirt.
“When we won it last year, for myself, it was a huge sense of achievement because in my first year I was playing in the third team all year.
“To go from that to Varsity, I was really proud of myself.
“For the team, it’s what we work towards all year. It’s always in the back of our minds and it’s an amazing feeling when you win.
“It’s difficult to beat that feeling.”
There was a huge sense of positivity and confidence among the players as they sat down for interviews at the Pre-Varsity Media Day and Deane was no different.
“We’re pretty confident,” he said. “Not complacent, but we’re confident in the structures and the player’s we’ve got that we can go and make it four in a row.
“We’re wary that they (Worcester) will want to win their first Varsity in three years.
“They’ll come with fire in their bellies and passion, so we need to match that and be confident in ourselves.”
Date Written: March 25th 2019 | Part of university assessment
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