Blues v Bath: If it's Yellow, Let it Mellow. If It's Blue, A Game Winning Pen WIll do!

Written by Poppy Burrows, OURFC President, Blue #425

Iffley Road was eager to welcome back the Women’s Blues this Wednesday, after an electric home atmosphere two weeks ago saw the side emerge with a dramatic score in the dying embers of the game. It would prove to be another nail-biting fixture that graced the turf this week, as the Blues took on West Country opposition: Bath.

Just ten minutes into the game, a well worked attack spread Bath like butter from left to right across their twenty-two, and a commanding display of quick hands put fullback Izzy Corbett nicely over the line to open the score for Oxford. The thrilling start was followed by a stint of back and forth phase play that put the crowd on tenterhooks for the next twenty minutes. Biting back from the early concession, it was then Bath’s pacey winger that broke the Oxford line from halfway, with a successful conversion nudging the opposition into a narrow lead. This lead then opened up into a larger gap, as Bath scored once again in quick succession after their first. For a hair-raising ten minutes it looked as though the momentum was in danger of well and truly shifting.

However, soon after the restart, the Blues dug deep, and kept their composure, as ferocious defensive pressure forced a critical handling error from Bath in their twenty-two. Izzy Hedges pushed Oxford tantalisingly close to the tryline with a commanding carry, before a perfectly timed line from Amelie Miller delivered the final blow. As she powered over the line for the Blues second try of the game, the Bath lead was reduced to just two points.

Less than ten minutes after Miller’s magic, it was time for another score from the Oxford centres. Beth Anker – player of the game at the Women’s last home match against Brunel – put on another display of power (evidence of her extensive prior experience in the pack) as she finished a slick move from Hawley, who delayed a pass to put Anker neatly through the gap. Hawley put the icing on the cake, delivering her first conversion of the game to well and truly obliterate the opposition’s lead.

As Oxford went into halftime up 17-12, the atmosphere was alight, and hoards of happy fans trundled down to the pav to fuel up before the thrills of the second half began. Kicking off again, it wasn’t long before Oxford scored a fourth try, this time courtesy of Chloe-Marie Hawley. The masterclass in entertainment didn’t stop with the backs; the back row demonstrated unmatched ferocity all over the park, with critical lineout steals from Liv Rosin, and multiple jackal turnovers from Sophie Shams and Freya Davey. The front and second row too turned on the pace, with Annika Gruenert, Leila Wang-Gauoette and Daisy Heintz making meters upon meters with every touch of the ball.

Oxford wouldn’t go unchallenged in the second half however, as Bath scored a late try off a lineout on the five meter, and a conversion to even the scoreline in the last fifteen minutes. The air was now thick with tension, the smell of beer and the mist of baited breath. As whispers of ‘last play’ were thrown about the stands, the Blues stood tall and hungry, determined not to let a home victory slip from their grasp. With a lineout opportunity just inside the opposition half, the Blues could not afford to be messy; set piece practice now had to come to fruition, hands had to be steady and assured. With a prop-sneak pulled out the bag, the Oxford attack pushed on with a gritty resolve. Left to right, and ever forward, a simple 1-3-3-1 structure took us ever closer to the tryline, a series of phaseplay almost brought to an end by Emma Jones who was (controversially) called ‘held up’ over the line. With a penalty advantage however, the tap and go from Wang-Gaouette made critical ground, before another penalty was given. Set to the backdrop of Sam Beverley’s increasingly frantic drumming, Sophie Shams attempted a quick tap and bundled over the line to a roar from the crowd. The celebration was, however, excruciatingly premature – and supposedly so was the quick tap decision – as the referee called us back to the mark.

The crowd screamed for another attempt at a try, the drums grew louder and louder and the committee box watched on, all of us on the edge of our seats. A call from Hawley then pierced over the hubbub – and a tee was produced to answer her. Upon realising that the Blues were going for points right in front of the posts, Iffley Road fell silent. You could have heard a pin drop as Chloe lined up the tee and made her approach. As the ball sailed through the air, passing neatly between the posts, the West Stand erupted into mania – the drums continued louder than ever, the bench stormed the pitch and the Blues snatched a victory from the jaws of a draw.

In their most critical fixture of the season, against a stronger Bath side than in years before, the Blues rose to the occasion. Tested, tired and ultimately on top, it was a game for the books, and a performance the squad will look to replicate from tougher opposition next week against Exeter. You won’t want to miss them.