Varsity

I went to see the Varsity (Oxford vs Cambridge) Women's Rugby match this afternoon, to support Clea (from college) and Zahler (from my department).

To be honest, much of the standard wasn't too high. Long kicks downfield proved quite effective, because they were generally mis-fielded by the other team, thus allowing possession to advance a great deal.

The Oxford dark blues played well though, the numbers 7 and 10 probably most impressive - but Clea did make a couple of good runs.

Five first half tries without reply led to a 30-0 halftime lead (sadly only one had been converted - the efforts were particularly poor, and not helped by us often scoring so far to the right). To their credit, the tabs fought back and narrowly won the second half, to finish 35-7 down.

Despite the quality of rugby on offer, and my limited understanding of the game, I had a good time. There was plenty of atmosphere, and a vocal if not very large crowd.

It's a shame but 'Oxford' is not a chant that rolls off the tongue quite like 'Jesus'. Still, there was some good natured bantering between the two sets of supporters ("you're not singing any more", "I'd rather be a leper than a Tab", and a rendition of 'Final Countdown') that all added to the occasion.