Last year’s 31-28 defeat to Durham, which saw hooker George Gosling held up over the line in the game’s final act, was the first time Exeter had suffered Varsity defeat at Sandy Park and the side will be determined to not let that happen again when they take on Loughborough.

In this article, we take a look back at previous Varsity fixtures.

2015 saw Exeter hammer West-Country rivals Bath 41-0 to secure the BUCS Premier South A title. After a cagey first half, Exeter lead 12-0 following scores from winger Struminski and a superb individual effort from scrum-half Waltier who produced a moment of genius to gather his own up and under and sprint clear. Second half scores from hooker Davis, fullback Parker, replacement second-row Skinner and a final play try from fly-half Doe allowed Exeter to romp clear, the final try adding the gloss to a solid team performance, as a turnover allowed Parker to break clear from inside his own half, feeding Doe to race in under the sticks.

2016 saw a similar scoreline, Exeter securing a 46-8 victory over Bath, with the 6 try victory against their West-Country rivals a crucial building block on the way to a BUCS Championship victory over arch-rivals Loughborough at Twickenham

2017 saw Exeter maintain their 100% Varsity record in a 42-17 victory over Bath. Despite Bath scoring the first try of the match, a try from flanker Callum Young and 8 points from the boot of Ted Landry gave Exeter a narrow 13-12 lead at the break. In the second half, two tries from Jack Owlett, on top of scores from Chris Swash and another double from captain Simon Linsell, eventually allowed Exeter to pull clear in the final 20 minutes.

2018’s fixture was an altogether tighter affair, Exeter eventually securing a 36-28 victory in front of a buoyant Sandy Park crowd. A penalty try, along with a score from outside centre Haines saw Exeter edge a nervy first-half 17-14, Bath knocking on over the line with the half’s final act. The second half continued in tight fashion as, despite a score from Simon Linsell, Exeter found themselves 28-24 down approaching the final 20 minutes. After another score from captain Linsell regained the lead, a 73rd minute try from Josh Pieterse took the game beyond Bath, eventually sealing a hard-fought bonus-point victory for EURFC.

2019 saw a change of opponent, with a fast-improving Durham side securing a shock 31-28 victory. Exeter came into the match chasing a victory that would all but secure them back to back BUCS Super Rugby titles but didn’t have it all their own way as Durham asserted themselves from the off. Despite the pressure from the visitors, Exeter found themselves 21-5 in front at the break following tries from Rory McMeikan, Joe Salkeld and Sal M’Boge. After Durham rallied to 21-19, a Ralph Marchant try looked to have reasserted Exeter’s control with 20 minutes to go before Durham closed the gap with a score of their own. Exeter held out with a slender 28-26 lead until a 77th minute try for the visitors stunned the home crowd. In the game’s final act, hooker George Gosling was held up over the line, much to the disappointment of the huge Sandy Park crowd, with Durham inflicting Exeter’s first defeat in a Sandy Park Varsity fixture.

With a large proportion of this year’s side playing a part in last year’s match, they will be keen to prove that the result was a one-off in front of a packed out Sandy Park crowd, knowing that all those in attendance would love nothing more than a victory over a Loughborough side Exeter haven’t suffered defeat to since 2016.