Premiership Legend Tom Varndell joins Oxford Brookes
Premiership Legend, Tom Varndell, has been appointed to a newly created role at Oxford Harlequins as Head of Community and, under the partnership between Oxford Brookes and Oxford Quins, Head of Men’s Rugby within Brookes Sport.
Tom made 180 appearances in the Premiership including 82 for Leicester Tigers, 88 for Wasps and most recently 10 appearances for Bristol Bears. He held the record for Premiership tries scored, 92 tries. Tom also has 4 England caps, represented England 7s, and won a Commonwealth 7s Gold medal. At 6 foot 4” and weighing over 200lbs Tom was one of the most prolific try scorers the Premiership has ever seen.
Marcus Boswell, Student Sport Manager, Oxford Brookes University said: "To secure someone of Tom's calibre, as a coach and a mentor, is of great excitement for both our current and prospective students who are looking to play rugby union. It goes without saying that the relationship between Oxford Brookes and Oxford Quins continues to go from strength to strength, and this announcement is another indication of that. We will continue to work hard in all areas of our sporting delivery and wider area of activity together, and reap the successes both on-and-off the pitch for our student-athletes."
Stu Wells, Director of Rugby, Oxford Harlequins RFC said: "As the new Men's Head Coach at Oxford Brookes, Tom will work to leverage the coaching, facility, strength & conditioning and medical & physiotherapy resources made available by Brookes Sport's partnership with Oxford Quins with the Brookes rugby program's coaching delivery now coming fully under the umbrella of Oxford Quins.
This will allow us to further Brookes’ rugby provision, improving the rugby offering at the University whilst also providing tighter integration between the clubs and more opportunities for Brookes students to experience a high standard of club rugby at Oxford Quins. We will work on events together, such as to make the Oxford 7s bigger and better so that it becomes a landmark date in the sevens season. And of course, we’re very excited about the prospect of Tom pulling on an Oxford Quins shirt next season!”
About Oxford Quins & the Brookes Quins Partnership
Oxford Brookes University boasts a Men's and Women's Rugby Union Club and caters for all levels of ability, with 5 men’s XVs & 1 women’s XVs, competing in the Midlands region of BUCS. The men’s 1st XV are the back-to-back reigning holders of the Midlands Conference Cup (2020 & 2022), and the women’s 1st XV play in the highly competitive Tier 1 conference. There are opportunities for further support of talented student-athletes, with both the men's and women's 1st XV receiving enhanced strength & conditioning, physiotherapy, sports psychology and nutrition, lifestyle and personal development support, in addition to Sports Scholarships for individual players.
Oxford Quins is Oxford’s Premier rugby club, with 4 men’s XVs, 2 women’s XVs, an Under 18 Academy and the largest youth section in the region. The men’s 1st XV was promoted last season to National 3, and the women’s 1st XV play in National Challenge 1.
The Brookes Quins Partnership was created in 2019 between Oxford Brookes and Oxford Quins RFC, built on three pillars of participation, career development and community engagement. Since its inception, the partnership has enabled scores of Oxford Brookes students to play rugby with Oxford Quins’ men’s and women’ teams, to engage with the local community through the schools coaching program and HAF holiday camps, and to gain experiences and contacts that have resulted in gainful employment opportunities after graduation.