'The Dark Blues' visit to the Emerald Isle'. Whilst this might just sound like a Varsity match promo, as Cambridge’s ‘blue’ seems to bear a striking resemblance to an emerald green rather than any shade of blue that I’ve ever seen, it is actually a reference to the Oxford teams fixture this week. This week the Blues went international, travelling to Ireland, to play the historic fixture of Oxford vs Trinity College Dublin. They were greeted by a strong north-south gale that they were forced to play into in the last half under dark and stormy conditions. Early doors the Blues looked rather shell shocked and struggled to repel the quick, physical attack of the Trinity forwards. This led Trinity to take a substantial lead of 21-0 in the first 15 minutes. This spelt trouble for the rest of the game, however, as the Blues entered the second quarter they began to front up in the contact area more and force numerous Trinity mistakes. Two notable breakaway runs by the Brasenose due of Otis Walker and Tom Mewes allowed the Blues to penetrate deep into the Trinity half and a poor exit from the hosts gave the Oxford forwards a platform to truck over the line for their first score of the game. This put the half time score at 21-7 and with Oxford having the assistance of the wind in the second half the score line promised an exciting final 40 minutes.
The second half began with various kicking battles between the two teams backfields as both Oxford and Trinity showed a stubbornness in giving away an early field position. The majority of the second half saw level contests in the middle third of the pitch as both teams struggled to make decisive breaks. Ten minutes from the end the two teams had exchanged tries leaving the score at 26-12 and Oxford very much in the game. Unfortunately, this is when Trinity turned the screw and some physical pick-and-go and mauling allowed them to cross the white wash two more times before the final whistle was blown. Final score Trinity College Dublin 38-12 Oxford.
As ever the Trinity boys were great hosts and it was an absolute pleasure for all the Oxford boys to play on their historic pitch and be shown around their beautiful University and city. Up next for the Blues is the ‘Battle for the City’ against Brookes. This is sure to be an absolute sell out so make sure you get your tickets before they’re all gone: