URN

The 2012 Varsity series comes to an end this Wednesday with Men’s Cricket at Clifton Campus. After emphatic wins for both the women’s rugby and football teams at Meadow Lane two weeks ago, the series is tied up in Uni’s favour. For the past two years, this event has been the decider but the Varsity title in the bag will not stop the Uni Cricketers wanting to play with some style and showing that theirs is the better sporting institution.

This season saw the men’s 1st XI win the Midlands Division 1A, beating Trent by 11 runs along the way. But a weather-disrupted season means that they have to wait to find out if they have gained promotion. Weather also played a big part in the team’s only defeat of the season, affecting the squad list over consecutive days of play against Birmingham. With rain forecast, could Trent - winners of last years’ tie – find a way to get the final word on an entertaining cricket season, and the Varsity series?

The 2012 Varsity Series heats up to boiling point on Friday night as the University of Nottingham Women’s Football team seek to undo the heartbreak of a penalty-shoot out loss last year to their archrivals, Nottingham Trent.

With the overall Varsity scores standing at 7-5 in Uni’s favour, a win for the girls would seal an emphatic Uni victory in the Series. Hopes for the Uni ladies are certainly high, with them coming fresh off the back of a hugely successful league campaign which saw them crowned BUCS Midlands 1A Division champions.

Trent, meanwhile, faced the ignominy of relegation from the BUCS Premier North Division and will be hoping to compensate for a thoroughly disappointing season with a win on Friday. Either way, the pressure is high on both teams, as Trent fight to keep their Varsity hopes alive and Uni seek to tie up what could be a resounding victory in the series.

The electric atmosphere at Meadow Lane stadium is sure to provide an unforgettable experience for the players on both sides, who will be giving everything to try and claim glory for their university.

Be sure to follow our live text updates from the game, which kicks off at 5:15pm, at urn1350.net: Your Number One Varsity Source.

Michael Gaffney

Nottingham Uni and Nottingham Trent will wage war again this Friday night at Meadow Lane. The current score in the Varsity series is 7-5 to Uni who need just a solitary win to claim overall victory in the 2012 series. And what fixture is better placed to potentially decide this year’s Varsity than the eagerly awaited men’s football?

It would be no exaggeration to say that the teams who will battle out on Friday night are incredibly well matched, bitter rivals. Only a 97th minute Jake Furman extra time winner could separate the teams last year and we are set for another epic encounter this time around.

Both sides have competed in the BUCS midlands 1A league this year and in scenes comparable to that of the two Manchester clubs in the premiership, only goal difference separated the two sides at the top of the league. Nottingham Uni managed to clinch the title, by just two goals, with 7 points in their last 3 games including an impressive 3-1 victory away at Loughborough.