Once more unto the Breach: College Rugby Returns

Last weekend, Saturday 31st October, saw the commencement of this year's College rugby league, with six games being played across various College Grounds.

Division One saw reigning Cuppers champions St. Edmund Hall hosted by Saint Anne's/Saint John's at "The Fortress" for a clash between Division One stalwarts, whilst New, hoping to start their season well after being displaced as Cuppers champions last season, welcomed Christ Church to the Weston Grounds.

Teddy Hall threw down the gauntlet for their fellow colleges, putting in a dominant performance against Saints. The scoreline reads as a far less even game than is the truth - several last-ditch defensive sets from Teddy Hall denied numerous Saints forays to within five metres of the line. Christchurch dented New's prospects, whose growing injury list prevented them from performing as they might have wished. The most thrilling contest, however, was enacted at Magdalen College Grounds, as Magdalen/Hilda's/Regents and Hertford/Balliol engaged in a seesawing battle for the ascendancy. The home side went into the break seven points up, having had the benefit of the famous Magdalen slope, said to have inspired that of Lord's Cricket Ground, for the first half. OURFC Club President and MCRFC President Emeritus Stu Brown admitted that he did not think his team's first half tally would be enough to support them through a second half battling uphill. The second half proved tense, highlights including Magdalen/Hilda's 35 year old centre Mick, who is studying to become part of the clergy at Wycliffe Hall, nailing a goal line clearance to get them out of trouble. It came down to the last play of the game, with Hertford/Balliol having gone over for a try, and needing a conversion to bring the scores level. The attempt was unsuccessful, and Magdalen/Hilda's/Regents snuck by as winners in a thrilling first round encounter.

Across the way at Trinity Grounds, Worcester/Peter's visited Trinity/LMH/Catz/Hugh's to find a strong team, but fought valiantly nonetheless. While the home side were victorious, Worcester/Peter's will be buoyed by a strong performance against a side with a couple of Blues involved. Elsewhere, Jesus/Oriel and BNC/Corpus/Queen's/Univ fought out another cagey affair, and Keble/Merton/Mansfield ran riot in Uni Parks, putting sixty points past Pembroke/Lincoln/Wadham/Exeter. See below for the rankings after a big first weekend of fixtures.

For updates on the college game, please follow us on Instagram @ourfccolleges. College rugby returns on Saturday 14th November - keep your eyes peeled on the Instagram for updates.

If you are interested in playing college rugby, but have not got in touch with your college captain, or if your college does not have a rugby team, please email us on cb@ourfc.org