Welsh Varsity

The Welsh Varsity is an annual sporting event contested by Cardiff University and Swansea University, usually in early April. The sports contested include rugby union, hockey, cricket, squash, badminton, lacrosse, rowing, golf, basketball, football, American football, ultimate frisbee, netball, volleyball, fencing and an array of other sports. Profits go to charity. The event is held over the course of a week, with some sports competing over a weekend due to the nature of the sport. The majority of the games are held on the Wednesday afternoon, with the centrepiece rugby union match between the two sides held in the evening and often attended by in excess of 18,000 supporters.

Rugby union

The showpiece event of the Welsh Varsity is the rugby union fixture played between the men's teams of the two universities. The event began in 1997 and for the first six years alternated venues between the Cardiff Arms Park and St. Helen's in Swansea. Between 2003 and 2006, it was played at Brewery Field, home of Bridgend RFC, halfway between the two cities. It returned to the Arms Park for three years from 2007 to 2009, followed by a year at Swansea's Liberty Stadium. Since then, the match has been divided between the Liberty Stadium and Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

As of 2025, Swansea have won 15 of the 27 Varsity matches played, while Cardiff have won 11, including a record 78–7 victory in 2019. The only drawn match came in 2001.

Summary

Overall Details Played Won by Cardiff Won by Swansea Drawn Cardiff points Swansea points In Cardiff 13 7 6 1 273 204 In Swansea 11 2 8 0 119 187 Neutral venue 4 2 2 0 53 58 Overall 27 11 15 1 552 493

Records Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set. RecordCardiffSwanseaLongest winning streak3 (2017–2019)4 (1997–2000)Largest points forHome78 (2019)49 (1998)Away27 (2015)28 (2011)Largest winning marginHome71 (2019)36 (1998)Away8 (2018)15 (1997)

Results Year Location Winner Cardiff Swansea 1997 Cardiff Arms Park Swansea 11 26 1998 St. Helen's Swansea 13 49 1999 Cardiff Arms Park Swansea 7 13 2000 St. Helen's Swansea 18 28 2001 Cardiff Arms Park Draw 10 10 2002 St Helen's Swansea 3 21 2003 Brewery Field Cardiff 19 12 2004 Brewery Field Swansea 11 25 2005 Brewery Field Swansea 8 16 2006 Brewery Field Cardiff 15 5 2007 Cardiff Arms Park Swansea 0 18 2008 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff 19 9 2009 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff 9 6 2010 Liberty Stadium Swansea 12 16 2011 Millennium Stadium Swansea 18 28 2012 Millennium Stadium Cardiff 33 13 2013 Millennium Stadium Swansea 13 21 2014 Millennium Stadium Swansea 15 19 2015 Liberty Stadium Cardiff 27 22 2016 Liberty Stadium Swansea 10 16 2017 Millennium Stadium Cardiff 35 15 2018 Liberty Stadium Cardiff 23 15 2019 Millennium Stadium Cardiff 78 7 2020 Liberty Stadium Swansea Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic 2021 N/A N/A 2022 Liberty Stadium Swansea 13 20 2023 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff 19 15 2024 Swansea.com Stadium Swansea 28 44 2025 Millennium Stadium Cardiff 69 0

Notable participants Some of those who have played in the Welsh Varsity Match have gone on to win international honours. These include:

Alun Wyn Jones (Swansea University) Richie Pugh (Swansea University) Dwayne Peel (Swansea University) Jamie Roberts (Cardiff University) Rhys Williams (Cardiff University)

Welsh Boat Race

The inaugural Welsh Boat Race was held in 2006. The Welsh Boat Race has continued to grow due to support from the respective athletic unions, and sponsorship deals. The venue for the boat race has historically been the River Taff, but the venue for 2010 was the River Tawe. The event now takes place in whichever city is hosting the Varsity like most of the other sports. The event was historically held on a Wednesday to coincide with the other Varsity games but due to increasing popularity from alumni, parents and the general public, the event has now been moved to the weekend and the points still count for the Varsity Shield.

Varsity Shield Over the course of the day, several sports are contested, with a point awarded for each event won. The university with the most points at the end of the day is awarded the Welsh Varsity Shield. In 2017 the shield was won by Swansea University for the first time.

Coverage The Welsh Varsity event is covered in its entirety by both universities' student newspapers and radio stations (Cardiff's Xpress Radio and Swansea's Xtreme Radio). Since 2009, it has also been covered by Cardiff Union Television (CUTV). The men's rugby union match is also broadcast live nationally by the Welsh-language channel S4C.

Welsh Varsity

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