Men's Blues v Leicester Tigers: Match report

Match report: Men*s Blues vs Leicester Tigers

The Men*s Blues marked their return from their Australia tour with a Friday Night Lights fixture against premiership side Leicester Tigers at Iffley Road last Friday. With only three games before the Varsity Match, every fixture of this term bares critical importance for the Blues squad and so it was a vital fixture in the context of the season.  

As the final spectators took their seats in the West stand, the Blues started the game strong, with early pressure on Tigers’ kick-off receipt yielding an early scrum and establishing a battle that would continue to bring joy from the Oxford kick offs. The Blues failed to convert this into points however as the heavier Tigers pack took advantage at scrum-time. The Blues’ set piece continued to struggle throughout the first half, with attacking lineouts failing to provide a platform to play and penalties being yielded at the scrum. It did not take the Tigers long to capitalise on these mistakes, going 14-0 up through a combination of penalty kicks to the corner and mauls. Without a foothold in the game the Blues continued to leak points throughout the first half and despite Henry Henderson diving in from close range to register the first Oxford score of the match, the home side went in 28-5 down at the half.

Oxford started the second half with several sets of resolute defence, bolstered by debutant Reed Prinsep, playing in his first fixture since calling time on his 11-year Super Rugby career. It didn’t take long for him to make his mark in attack either, as mounting pressure from captain Hamilton’s forward pack saw the Tigers’ defence breached by the Māori All Black flanker. The second half also saw second year winger Ben Shaw touch down for yet another try this season, scooping up a kick from full-back Bridgewater and running it in in front of the onlookers in the Pavilion (pic below). Despite these counter punches, Oxford were unable to withstand the onslaught of attack mounted by the Leicester backs and despite the continued battle at both scrum and lineout, the Tigers’ set piece continued to reign supreme. A South-African-style emptying of the bench in the final stages of the game was not enough to catalyse a meaningful comeback for the Dark Blues and the Tigers continued to knock down the door until the final whistle blew: 40-17 to Leicester.  

The Blues are next in action at home to local National One side Rams, on Friday 13th February kicking off at 7:15pm. Get your tickets here for the final Blues home game of the 2025/26 season ahead of the Varsity Match at StoneX on 28th February.