Ex-Wallabies captain James Horwill goes from student of the game to studying at Cambridge University with Varsity Match goals

Term has not even officially started yet, but it has not taken long for James Horwill to be given a nickname at Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club.

“I possibly could be old enough to be some of their dads – I think they have started to call me dad already! It’s always a good way to start,” says the 34-year-old former Australia captain.

He is talking about meeting his Light Blue team-mates for the first time, and about the “slight age gap” between himself and other members of the squad, which only had a handful of postgraduates last year.

It always proves to be an eclectic group of individuals at Grange Road, studying such a broad range of subjects – some of which are mind boggling to the layman.

That is part of the appeal for Horwill.

“It’s such a diverse group of guys doing such a diverse group of things,” he said.

“It’s really interesting to speak to different people from different backgrounds doing these amazing subjects. Certainly, a unique part of coming to Cambridge is the ability, the people and the minds that are at this university – it’s quite exciting.”

Horwill won 62 caps for Australia, captaining them 16 times including at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, and only retired from the professional game with Harlequins this summer.

It did not take long for the new chapter in his life to unfold, as almost immediately the letter arrived offering him a place to study at Cambridge University.

Horwill always hoped to return to academia after finishing his playing days, and thoughts of Cambridge particularly came to the fore after speaking to a former Quins’ team-mate who was part of the Light Blues’ set-up in 2015.

“It was certainly something I thought about, furthering my academic studies while I was playing,” he said.

“Speaking to a few people, particularly a guy like Jamie Roberts who I played with and spoke so highly of it – and the more people I spoke to about Cambridge University – got me quite excited about the opportunity and possibility.

“I looked at the different options and went through the application process and, if I’m brutally honest, I didn’t think I would probably get through.

“In the end, I was lucky enough to get through to be accepted to do the executive MBA at the Judge Business School.

“It’s a different chapter for me and the ability to play a bit of rugby on the side probably makes the transition from professional sport to outside of rugby a little bit softer.”

The MBA at Queens’ College is for 20 months, offering a broad overview of business structures, and will allow Horwill to shape plans for the future.

“Not being 100 per cent sure of what I want to go into, speaking to a number of people that have done it, the ability to learn different skills, upskill and turbo charge my skill set to get to a higher level was something I wanted to do,” he said.

“Everyone I spoke to about this course spoke very highly of it. I spoke to a few friends of mine that have done MBAs at different universities here and in the United States and they all said how beneficial it was.

“Everyone speaks so glowingly of Cambridge University.”

The challenge will be how Horwill can adapt to the many different tests that await during his studies.

He did an undergraduate degree during his playing days so has had to balance academia and rugby to some extent in the past. But he also has a young family so time management will be particularly prevalent.

“It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but I’m certainly not going to be bored – I will be busy but a lot of people you speak to about leaving rugby, it’s probably the best way to be and not have too much time to think about what’s next,” said Horwill.

“It’s just about getting stuck into what you need to do and you will find a time and a way to make things work.”

Equally interesting will be the adjustment in the quality of opposition and standard of game.

Where Horwill has been used to facing the likes of the All Blacks, England, Crusaders, Sharks, Saracens and Leicester Tigers, it is a very different story at Grange Road.

Opponents this season will include Loughborough University, Durham University, Welsh Academicals and Crawshay’s Welsh XV.

He cannot wait to get going though.

“I think the unique and exciting part about it is that it’s different and not going to be the same,” he said.

“It’s probably a reason why I wanted to retire from rugby. I wanted to do something different and push myself in a different way.

“I had been able to play professional rugby for 15 years at a very high level and I really enjoyed my time doing that, but it’s time to challenge myself in a different way in a different aspect.

“This is certainly going to challenge me academically here, but also the change in rugby and the different side of things is going to be exciting as well.”

Though the Michaelmas Term does not get started until October, things get under way for Cambridge University RUFC next Wednesday (September 18) at home to Loughborough.