Harvard athlete plays in Oxford-Cambridge rugby match

Will Johnson ’06 tackles a different sports rivalry.

Will Johnson ’06, a six-foot-three-inch, 270-pound offensive lineman for the Harvard football team, played for Oxford in the annual Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge, the culmination of the rugby season for Oxford’s Dark Blues and the Light Blues of Cambridge. Johnson is enrolled in a two-year program in economic and social history at Oxford. The New York Times report quotes Oxford coach Steve Hill to the effect that “[T]he season is a success or failure based on that one day. At the end of that day, you’re either in heaven or in hell. There’s nowhere in between.” Unfortunately for Oxford, they ended up in hell: on the short end of a 31-27 tally at Twickenham on Thursday, December 11.

Most popular

Crimson Football: Harvard 14, Brown 10

Xaden Benson’s “helmet trick” was the decisive factor in the Ivy opener.

Mindfulness—the unconventional research of psychologist Ellen Langer

Psychologist Ellen Langer's unconventional research. Plus, read about applying mindfulness techniques to eating.

Harvard Weathers a Year of Turmoil

The federal government has launched unprecedented actions against the University. Here’s a guide.

Explore More From Current Issue

A woman with curly blonde hair sits casually against a stone wall, wearing a black top and jeans.

Chloe Chapin trains her Broadway costume designer’s eye on the history of men’s fashion.

A woman with long, wavy hair wearing a white suit, seated in a bright, modern room.

The Harvard graduate’s roundtable talk show touches on hot button issues from religion to sex. 

A flooded office scene with computers, a woman working, and a pink sunset backdrop.

A College student’s attempt to recapture the romanticism of the workplace.