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Cardiff city centre became a sea of red and green as thousands of students descended for the popular Varsity grudge match.

The capital was flooded with students from Cardiff and Swansea universities as their athletes battled it out for the coveted Varsity shield and cup.

Cardiff University’s sports teams dominated, winning the majority of the sporting fixtures throughout the day.

Out of the 29 events held across the day, Cardiff won 20 while Swansea University scored victories in American football, man’s fencing, women’s football and badminton.

The event culminated in the much-anticipated rugby clash at Millennium Stadium, where Swansea University triumphed, beating Cardiff 21-13.

More than 4,000 students from Swansea University’s “green and white army” were bussed into the city.

Ellis Watts, 21, a student at Swansea, wore his green shirt with pride.

“I come from Cardiff, but I’m here to support my university. We’ve been here all afternoon and the atmosphere is amazing,” he said.

Giverny Barnett, 19, represented Cardiff in the women’s rowing on Saturday.

“We won all our races, but it’s nice to be chilling out and watching the other sports today,” she said.

Pubs across the capital were full of student revellers throughout the day as they warmed up for the evening’s game, which kicked off at 7.30pm.

Emergency services braced themselves for an increase in calls as the day’s events got underway.

The Welsh Ambulance Service had a mobile treatment centre on St Mary Street, supported by St John’s volunteers, which treated walk-in patients and minor injuries.

Before the event, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s head of service for Cardiff, Bob Tooby, urged students to remain safe and responsible.

“There can be a tendency for some students to overindulge in alcohol and become unwell and although we don’t want to be killjoys, we do ask students to act responsibly and look after their friends and colleagues,” he said.

The first Welsh Varsity match was played in Cardiff in 1997, hosted by the Cardiff Arms Park. For the past three years, the match has been played in the Millennium Stadium and broadcast on S4C.

Past fixtures have featured the likes of Alyn Wyn Jones and Dwayne Peel.