Former co-captain of the University of California and longtime Eagle Eric Fry and former Notre Dame All American and longtime Eagle Nick Civetta represented Oxford in their victory over Cambridge in the Varsity Match at Twickenham in London Saturday.

The historical match has taken place annually since 1872, and Fry is the sixth Golden Bear to achieve the prestigious Varsity Blue distinction. Fry, who has been caped 48 times by the USA, joins former US internationals Derek Asbun, Jason Law, Gary Hein, Don James Jr., and Ray Lehner in the list of Bears to earn their Blues.

Fry’s collegiate career as a Golden Bear took place from 2005-2010. He earned four All-American selections and four national championships under head coach Jack Clark, who remains at the helm of Cal rugby today.

Upon graduating from Cal with a degree in economics in 2010, Fry began his successful professional rugby career. He competed on the US National Team, appearing in three rugby world cups since 2011, and earning the second-most caps in the prop position in history right behind fellow Bear and former assistant coach Mike MacDonald. More recently, Fry has been competing internationally on various professional clubs before landing at Oxford to pursue his MBA and continue his rugby career.

In the match today, the 140th in history, Oxford narrowly defeated Cambridge 21-17. Fry started at tighthead prop for the Dark Blues, while Civetta was at his customary position of lock.

“The legend of Eric Fry just continues to grow,” Clark said. “We’re immensely proud of him.”

According to our records, 16 Americans have earned a Blue in Rugby for Oxford. Of those, nine played for the USA (marked by an asterisk*), and one, Alan Valentine, won an Olympic Gold Medal in rugby (in 1924). 

Here is the list in chronological order with their undergraduate university in parentheses:

Donald Herring (Princeton)
Alan Valentine (Swarthmore) *
Fred Hovde (Minnesota)
Vincent Jones (Dartmouth)
Pete Dawkins (West Point)
Raymond Burse (Kentucky Centre)
Gary Hein (Cal) *
Don James (Cal) *
Ray Lehner (Cal) *
Kurt Shuman (Penn State) *
Adam Russell (Duke) *
Derek Asbun (Cal) *
Jason Law (Cal)
Will Johnson (Harvard) *
Eric Fry (Cal)*
Nick Civetta (Notre Dame)*

You can see the full game below.