Former Wallaby Joe Roff wants one more highlight before he calls time on an illustrious career – a win for Oxford University over Cambridge in the Varsity rugby match.

The 32-year-old veteran of three World Cup campaigns for Australia will retire from the sport after captaining Oxford in the traditional match at Twickenham on Thursday.

“It’s going to be my last game,” Roff said.

“My wife’s told me to stop embarrassing myself and that I should give it away.

“You have to know when the time is right and to be able to finish at Twickenham, on the stage of a Varsity match seems like a good way to go out.”

Roff, who is nearing the end of a prestigious two-year course in philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, made his Varsity debut for the Dark Blues in last year’s match, won by Cambridge 15-6.

“Last year’s Varsity was a very special highlight personally in my career, despite the fact that we lost,” said Roff, who used to stay in England after Wallabies tours to watch the annual fixture.

“There’s something very special about the Varsity match – it’s still one of the most important games in world rugby.”

Oxford will be looking to avoid their third straight loss to Cambridge’s Light Blues, who have won 59 of the 125 Varsity matches so far, compared to Oxford’s 52, with 14 draws.

Roff won 86 Test caps and featured in three World Cup campaigns, including Australia’s 1999 triumph.

He scored 30 Test tries as a wing or fullback before retiring from the international scene in 2004.

He played for the ACT Brumbies and had spells in France and Japan.

“It’s all about the people that you play with rather than cups or the trophies that you manage to accumulate along the way,” Roff said.

“I’ve been very, very fortunate to have been a part of some wonderful Wallabies teams over the last 10 years and the ACT Brumbies, but I’ve also had the opportunity to go and meet people and make life-long friends.

“I’m hoping that this Varsity match is going to be one of the highlights that will remain a special memory as I move into post-rugby life, if there is such a thing.”

The first challenge of his new life will be to complete his degree.

“I’ve been masquerading as a student now for some time,” he said.

“It feels quite strange knowing that finals are just around the corner, so once I put this game behind us, I’ll have to move on and really knuckle down to some academic work unfortunately.”

© 2007 AAP

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