James Kilroe (on right) celebrating victory with UCT
Born: 29 November, 1991, in Cape Town
Ht / Wt: 1.95m / 108kg
Position: Lock
School: Diocesan College (Bishops)
University: University of Cape Town
College: Robinson
James Kilroe is one of the new recruits at Cambridge University RUFC for the 2015/16 season and he already knows a lot about Inter-Varsity rugby from his time at the University of Cape Town. Among the ‘highs’ was winning the Varsity Cup in 2014, while his biggest ‘low’ was losing to Stellenbosch 45-12 in 2012. Last season Oxford University included two former UCT players in their squad in Sam Peter and Alex MacDonald.
James has also played for Western Province Under 21s, the Western Province Vodacom Cup team and he was a member of the World University Barbarians team that played against Sydney University in a curtain raiser before the decisive third Test between the Wallabies and the third British & Irish Lions in 2013, playing alongside Cambridge University Blues Scott Annett and Will Briggs. Two years on, he could find himself playing alongside the Lions centre that day, Jamie Roberts, in the Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium on Thursday, 10th December.
He also knows a thing or two about the rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge. His Godfather, Andrew Everett, was captain of the Dark Blues in the 1991 Varsity Match at Twickenham. Cambridge triumphed that day and James is determined to add another victory to the Light Blue cause this year.
A product of the famous Diocesan College in Cape Town, the 23-year-old back five forward is heading to Robinson College, Cambridge this year to study an MPhil in Technology Policy in October. His first degree was a BSc in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cape Town and he is currently completing an MPhil in Space Studies at the same University. James’ research topic for the moment is PADD (Passive Aerobrake De-orbit Device), which is a small deice that can be installed on a miniature satellite prior to launch into space to increase surface area and aerodynamic drag.
As you might expect, James is interested in both technology development and start-up companies, and he will welcome the opportunity to study at the Judge Business School with all of its connections to local and international business. He is also looking forward to “pushing my teammates on and off the field to become better players and people” and is hoping that the “College experience” at Cambridge allows him to “meet like-minded people from all over the world with similar passions”.