BUCS Super Rugby Final Preview: Loughborough target double and Hartpury back at the big dance
Loughborough clinched the BUCS Super Rugby league title last month while Hartpury are into their first final for six years
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‘The best league in the land’ returns for its annual showpiece event as two stalwarts of the men’s university game - Loughborough and Hartpury - clash to see who will become BUCS Super Rugby champions.
After two years at Saracens’ Stone X Stadium, which saw back-to-back thrillers between Exeter and Loughborough, the 2025 final will take place in South Wales at Rodney Parade.
Last year, Loughborough came out on top and exacted their revenge on Exeter and now Martin Webdale’s men are aiming to become back-to-back cup champions.
As well as this, the African Violet are also looking to achieve something that has only been done once before in BUCS Super Rugby history; the illustrious league and cup double.
The only other team to do the double? Wednesday’s opponents Hartpury in 2016/17.
Last month’s storming 52-7 victory over Swansea confirmed Loughborough as league champions in a campaign that saw them beat every single side at home whilst they have lost just twice across the entire season.
“We’ve definitely talked about it [doing the double] because it's there,” Loughborough boss Webdale tells TRU. “It's there to be talked about. These opportunities don't come around often,
“It's only been done once before, so it's there staring us in the face now. You've got to embrace and really take those opportunities as and when you’re afforded them.
“I think for the guys, being able to win both would be a huge achievement and they’re two very different achievements.”
Loughborough have charged their way to the final. An impressive 22-5 victory at home against Leeds Beckett in the quarter-finals was followed by a hard-fought 31-24 success over old foes Exeter as they booked their spot at Rodney Parade.
“I was pretty proud of the lads for that performance [in the semi-final],” talismanic Loughborough fly-half Morgan Meredith explains.
“Obviously, we went down early [Loughborough trailed 12-0 after 10 minutes], and it's tough to bring it back but when we were under the posts, we just talked about a reset and playing our own game.”
“What was really pleasing was in the first 20 minutes of the second half, we really found our straps and the ability to close out a close game,” Webdale added. “I think the two games we've had against Leeds Beckett and against Exeter stand us in good stead.”
And for the last two weeks, all of Loughborough’s thoughts have been on defending their championship crown.
After a mightily impressive league campaign, where the African Violet statistically boasted the best attack and defence in the division, Meredith explained the confidence it has given his side.
“Obviously, we were undefeated at home so we feel pretty positive that we've beaten all the teams,” he says. “We bring a lot of confidence in winning the league but like Martin touched on before, the cup is different.
“In the final, we’ve just got to play well, playing how we have all season, taking confidence from the league and into the cup. We know as a team we can get through those tough times in a game and it’s just now really coming up to the pressure.”
“I think it's two different entities [league and cup], but you have to take what's already been there, and the boys have had a fantastic season,” Webdale adds.
“They've achieved a heck of a lot, both on and off the pitch, which is brilliant.
“The key thing would just be to lean on the experience. A lot of our guys have been to a final before so having that experience of that big occasion in front of the spectators and the whole atmosphere that it brings is great.
“Knockout rugby is certainly a different beast. That pressure element can't be underestimated.
“For me, it's really important that we've got the mentality that we're the hunter, not the hunted, to go out and go and win something else.
“You're always going to be more hungry if you haven't tasted it. Our boys have tasted that success this season, but we've got to be the hunter still. We've got to be even more hungry.
“You've got to go and play to win a final. You've got to go out there and be brave. You can't go out there just to try to avoid losing. It is about putting our game onto Hartpury and seeing where that takes us.”
Despite their confidence, Webdale is under no illusions about the challenge that awaits them on Wednesday.
“Hartpury have probably been the form side since Christmas so it will be a huge test,” he continues.
“They are a very good team with threats all over the pitch, tactically very astute, and really well-coached.”
And it is Dan Murphy who is in charge of that well-coached Hartpury outfit, and he’s just as revved up about Wednesday’s clash as his Loughborough opponents.
“I’m so excited about the game because it’s been a long time coming,” he tells TRU. “I’ve been saying it for a while about putting Hartpury back where they belong in finals and big games.
“The way we’ve set up the programme, we’ve worked for a while on building long-term success like Loughborough have in the last couple of years. They are a great side. It’s going to be a hell of a challenge on Wednesday and a great game.”
It certainly has been a long time coming for Hartpury. This will be their first final since 2019 and in the first three seasons of BUCS Super Rugby, the cup competition was dominated by those in the red and black.
Under the guidance of now Wales Women’s head coach Sean Lynn, Hartpury proved to be an unstoppable force as they picked up a hat-trick of titles at Twickenham.
But six years on, they are back at the big dance - and deservedly so - after a 43-34 semi-final extra-time victory over Cardiff Met.
“The semi-final was an amazing advert for the league,” Murphy says. “The boys' grit, determination and resilience was brilliant.
“They trusted in what we’ve been doing. It was great to see them execute in unknown territory. It was a completely new experience for all of us, but we knew if we continued doing what we had been doing all year, it would get us through.
“It’s about calling on experiences and places you’ve been before, and now we have been through that experience and that can only help us learn.
“Hopefully, the final isn’t 100 minutes long again! But I’m sure it will be an entertaining game, and if it does go to that, then we know we can draw on experiences.”
In the league campaign, Hartpury finished second and four points behind Loughborough but they did string together the longest winning run of any team (13).
In fact, if you add in their quarter-final victory over Nottingham and their semi-final success against Cardiff Met, they are currently unbeaten in 15 games.
Their last defeat did come against Loughborough back in October but perhaps more notably, Murphy’s men did defeat the reigning champions as recently as February following a 40-26 triumph.
“We hadn’t actually recognised the league form until we were 10, 11 games into it,” Murphy admits.
“We’ve just been next job and next task mentality the whole way through, and that’s what helps get us through games.
“That mentality stays throughout. It was the same in the semi. Even when we were down, the mentality was about what the next job was, and of course, it’s been an aim to get into a final, but it hasn’t been the sole focus.
“It’s been about the finer details, the behaviours and actions that we can build upon to get us to that point.
“We spoke in depth in training this week about our emotional control in the lead up to Wednesday.
“It’s been a while since we’ve been in a final, and we need to make sure we are at that point where we can perform on Wednesday. It’s about putting in a performance for the boys around you.”
