Last week saw the Blues’s footballers dig deep to rescue a hard-won point against then table-toppers Coventry. In a season which has looked promising without truly sparkling so far, the squad will hope to build on an encouraging performance which drew attention to the character in this year’s team. With captain Jack Fletcher from Exeter still hampered by niggling injuries, and the prospect of this year’s new intake bedding in, Oxford University Association Football Club (OUAFC) should be looking good when the luck starts to go their way.

Last Wednesday Coventry thieved an early goal against the run of play and then consolidated, taking confidence from a controversial Oxford goal which was disallowed due to a somewhat questionable offside from Matt Smith. As half-time loomed OUAFC had the midlands side pinned in their own half but were unable to make this extra pressure tell before the referee blew for the half-time oranges.

The second half began in unfortunate fashion as a defensive mix-up from a goal-kick led to another Coventry goal which the balance of the game found hard to justify. However the Oxford team took going two down well, and centre-half Richard Smith – late of Harvard and Sunderland Academy – capitalised on a half-hearted punched clearance from the Coventry keeper to volley home in spectacular style. Evidently this was only half the battle though, and this was reflected as the cavalry arrived in the shape of recovering injury-victim Fletcher, who came on

for his first game of the season in a last roll of the OUAFC dice.

Gamble made, the Blues laid siege to the Coventry goal as full-time loomed – plenty of other battle related metaphors would appropriately describe their mentality at the point – but it looked like a forlorn hope as the opposition defence kept their lead intact. Deep into added time OUAFC won a last-ditch corner though, and Richard Smith was there to double his tally with a towering header, which, no doubt aided by his impressive 6’6” frame, nestled in the back of the net.

All told, whilst 2-2 was a result which Captain Fletcher described as “feeling like a win”, it could have been so much more after a cohesive and entertaining performance from the Oxford team. Fletcher summed it up saying that “so far it has been a stop-start season for us. We have lost two, drawn one and won one. But I think that the draw against Coventry, who were top of the league when we played them, could be a real catalyst for our season.” He went on to bullishly agree that “in the end a draw felt less than we deserved” before noting that “it’s been very frustrating on a personal level to have not been able to contribute this season and I am desperate to get back playing again as soon as I can.” Amen to that, as with a fully fit starting XI this OUAFC team could begin to fulfil its obvious potential and start tearing up trees in the British Universities and Colleges Sport League: I’m sure that the rest of the league campaign will not be lacking for passion.

OUWRFC beat Cardiff University 68-0 in their recent BUCS encounter, propelling the girls into fourth position on the table.

The home match was do-or-die, as Oxford, Cardiff, and Glamorgan battle it out in a three- way fight against relegation in the BUCS Premiership South. The top three teams in the Premiership – Gloucestershire, Exeter, and national champions UWIC – feature dozens of international players between them, meaning that a successful season at this highest level of university rugby is more about staying in the league than it is about being named champions.

The Blues quickly rose to the challenge. For ten minutes, the match was in a deadlock. However, after a series of impressive Oxford scrums the Blues were camped in Cardiff’s 22. Several strong rucks resulted in the first try of the match, scored by flanker Ann Tivey.

Although Cardiff initially appeared ready for a fight, the Welsh defence quickly collapsed as Oxford found tries from all corners of the park.

Both the forwards and backs found points, showing the impressive breadth of the mostlynew Blues team for this season.

Try-scorers included Kelly-Anne Ferguson, Libby Knowles, George Rought Witta, Charlie Brown, Ann Tivey, Rachel Kan, Jessie-Joy Flowers, Ellen O’Connell, Mairi Robertson, and Carly Bliss. Several conversions were also made by Flowers and Robertson.

Oxford’s defence was equally as impressive, keeping the Welsh to nil despite several breaks made in both halves of the pitch.

Prop and try-scorer Libby Knowles was modest about her woman-of-the-match performance, commenting that “this was really a team victory more than it was about any individual performance – although I am stoked to have scored my first try at the top level of university rugby.”

OUWRFC now prepare to face Glamorgan in Wales during Fifth Week, another important encounter that will count in the battle against relegation as the season heats up.

OURFC succumbed to a 31-24 defeat at the hands of the Russian Federation last Sunday.

With the sun setting over Iffley Road Stadium on a glorious November afternoon, the conditions were perfect – thanks largely to the tireless work of the groundsmen – as Oxford kicked off. And it was the Blues who started the better of the two sides, dominating territory and possession in the opening fifteen minutes. With a clear game plan centred on attacking down the left, Oxford twice came close to opening the scoring – Blues captain John Carter was especially unlucky after being tackled into touch just before the tryline following a strong charge – only for the home side to be thwarted by the stubborn Russian defence.

The deadlock was finally broken on sixteen minutes, however, as yet another Blues attack proved too much for the Russians. Expertly dodging a tackle, no. 8 Gavin Turner managed to outpace the Russian backs down the right wing and score the game’s first try, with flyhalf Jonathan Hudson pinging the egg-shaped ball sweetly between the posts to make it 7-0 to the Blues. Though Oxford increased their lead by a further three points following a superb penalty from 40 metres by centre Matt Janney, Russia soon reminded the hosts that they were no pushovers with a try of their own from second row Andrey Garbuzov, which was duly converted by fly half Yury Kushnarev – his nerve and composure as cool as the Siberian winter of his homeland.

This wake-up call only served to galvanise the Blues, who managed to score two more converted tries before half-time, the first coming from wing Henry Lamont (impressive throughout the game) while second row Will Rowlands touched down for the second. As the referee’s whistle tooted with a piercing shrill that cut through the increasingly chilly November air, the Blues trudged back into the changing room with a 24-7 lead, much to the delight of crowd of students, families and rugby enthusiasts populating the cobwebbed stands of Iffley Road Stadium.

The second half of the match was an differentstory, however. Clearly chastened by their first half ordeal, the Russians began in scintillating fashion, with Denis Simplikevich scoring a try within two minutes of the restart – it was no simple manoeuvre, that’s for sure. Though the conversion failed to clear the posts, Russia continued to dominate relentlessly, much to the despair of the hosts. After a period of sustained pressure by the Russians, they once again managed to breach the Blues defence and then successfully added the extras. Try number three came shortly afterwards as the ruthless Russians capitalised on an Oxford sin-bin by putting immense pressure on the Blues scrum, giving the referee no option but to award a penalty try, which was once again converted. With the game drawing to a close, this gave Russia a slender 2 point lead, and although Oxford once again had a chance to reclaim the lead in the final minutes with a Janney penalty, his kick failed to sail over the horizontal bars The cold-hearted Russians then decided to punish the Blues even further with another try which came in the final phase of play, and so as the referee blew for the final whistle, the scoreboard read Oxford 24-31 Russia.

All in all, it was superb second-half fightback from the Russians then, and though they will be disappointed, the Blues will look to pick themselves up, starting with a match against Major Stanley’s XV on Wednesday. The Russians, meanwhile, face Japan in Wales this weekend.

On Friday of 6th Week, four Oxford pugilists will be boxing for the university in the first bouts of this season at the Oxford Boxing Academy’s show, held at the Kassam Stadium. OUABC will be represented by Richard Beck (Somerville), Heman Joshi (St Edmund Hall), Men’s Captain Iain Holland (St Benet’s) and President Jack Straker (Queen’s). The bouts have been well-matched, and it is a valuable opportunity to box early in the OUABC season; all four boxers have been putting in the hours inside and outside of the gym, and look forward to a great evening’s sport.

Anyone wanting to come the 6th Week boxing show to offer support is encouraged to go along – with a three-course dinner, followed by boxing matches in various weight categories. Billed by the organisers as “Oxfordshire’s finest boxers fighting top class boxers from all over the UK”, this promises to be a hugely entertaining night. Tickets are £40 per head, and £55 per head for ring-side (tables of ten available only). If you would like to come, even if you do not necessarily have a table planned, get in touch with [email protected].

OUABC is looking in very good shape this season: its membership continues to grow as people get ‘hooked’ (excuse the pun) and keep coming back for more; the pool of those with some boxing experience is larger than ever; the coaches have said that they have never before seen a squad this strong at the start of the season. That goes for men’s boxing as well as women’s boxing, which is in an excellent state. The core squad is training hard together, and everyone has been focused on augmenting their fitness in anticipation of the Town vs. Gown match which is on the horizon: Wednesday in 3rd Week of Hilary, at the Oxford Union. OUABC will be ‘taking on the town’ in what will, as usual, be one of the highlights of the Oxford calendar. 

Wednesday 6th November saw the mighty Oxford University Rugby League Blues continue their battle in the top flight of the student game after a well-earned promotion last season. A light drizzle adorned the pitch and mud squelched underfoot as Oxford and Northampton ran out to meet each-other in battle.

The opening exchange saw Oxford establish their dominance with Jack Barber swooping in for a try in the first ten minutes and Joe Davies successfully adding a conversion. Northampton were, however, the next to score as mistakes entered into Oxford’s game, with two knock-ons occurring in the space of ten minutes and several repeat sets being gifted to the opposition. Responding to the rallying cries of captain J. Baker as well as the vocal sideline contingent, Oxford turned the next fifty five minutes of play strongly to their advantage. Hard running from Gareth Davies down the middle helped create space outside for Joe Davies to score a brace of tries before halftime, leaving the score at 14-4 to Oxford at the break. Yoni Dennis carried the ball like a mighty ox on several occasions, with one notable instance seeing him advance twenty-five metres, scattering Northampton players like bowling pins.

The second half saw a further four unanswered tries for Oxford bring the score to 324. Oxford’s defence was aggressive, with hard tackles made by the forwards. Prop Ted Stone forced a knock on and Yoni Denis continued to impress in defence, allowing the backs to capitalise on the positioning and possession the forwards managed to secure. Returning Blue Ross Williamson ran the ball hard and fast, earning substantial ground for Oxford, whilst pivot Jack Baker marshalled the backline like a Roman general.

Towards the middle of the half the game became completely dominated by Oxford, with the team gaining 75 metres in three tackles at one point as the difference in fitness began to tell. Northampton failed to track back to support team-mates when the ball was kicked and a large prop received a ball to the face from his hooker to shouts of “You would have caught that if it was a cake” from the sideline.

Oxford still have much to improve on, as mistakes crept back into their game in the last fifteen minutes with Ben Claxton letting a kick drop right through the breadbasket and horribly slicing one of his own out on the full into row Z. Northampton took advantage of this and scored two late tries. One of them was created by their dreadlocked second row who streaked down the sideline, hair trailing behind him like a majestic mane, leaving the final score at 32-12. In all it was a successful day for Oxford with much for the team to be proud of.

After the game, Blues captain Jack Baker, euphoric in victory, quipped, “I am happy. It was good” whilst Leonard Bentley remarked “My calves are looking deadly.” Next week sees Oxford take on Nottingham Trent away, a game which the Blues will be looking to win after a stalwart performance against Northampton.

Business as usual this Michaelmas term at the Oxford University Fencing Club (OUFC), with the anticipated jumble of old and new faces turning up Monday and Thursday evenings (and, so I’m told, unpleasantly early on Wednesday morning) to cram themselves into the Iffley cricket schools.

Anyone who has ever made a foray into the depths of Iffley will be familiar with the perilous trek to this destination: dodging the climbers hanging onto the narrow corridor, and avoiding the sprinters on the track to reach the Siberian outpost that is the cricket, shooting and fencing building. This noisy room, crowded with sweaty flailing fencers, would be eerily reminiscent of OUFC trips to Park End, if not for the greater likelihood of physical injury in the nightclub.

Things are gearing up for the main event of term, the first round of the BUCS fencing competition, at the end of fifth week. As always Oxford has a strong team – one of the few advantages of fencing’s private school bias – but faces competition for its spot at the top of the league from several London-based fronts, as well as the ancient enemy : the light blue-wearing, fen-dwelling Cambridge team. Varsity takes place in Hilary term, but BUCS competitions always provide a good chance to scope out the opposition, cueing involved discussions at the pub ofstrategies and tactics, before the arduous cycle back into town.

And no, I don’t think “arduous” is an overstatement; if anything it doesn’t quite do justice the Odyssey that is my bi-weekly cycle from Iffley to Worcester college.

UCL, as it turns out, now boasts a national foil champion, and Imperial has its share of more-than-competent fencers too, so things are looking interesting for the next few weeks. As a warm up for tough times ahead, we fenced a friendly against Trinity College Dublin last weekend. Clad in red and black socks, Trinity’s fencers made an imposing appearance, but were no match for an on-form home team.

If Ireland is the Persia of Britain, then Oxford is the Spartan contingent from 300. In all respects apart from appearance, number and propensity for inspiring speeches.

Trinity College also brought a novice squad to compete with ours; as with every year, a huge influx of enthusiastic novices have joined the club, who also get a chance to compete in various events, in particular Varsity. The coming term is key for the sporting success of the club as it gears up for said annual event against Cambridge which it has lost for two years running. This year is Oxford’s turn to host, with the Exam Schools providing the lavish and appropriately themed setting (think large paintings of 17th century academics for whom fencing was probably not a sport but a means of self defence). The battle frenzy tends to build slowly through the year, up to the familiar pre-match chants of “shoe the tabs” in Hilary and the always tense contest, which often comes down to a few points, and a whole lot of yelling.

Despite all the fencing yet to be fenced, OUFC is nevertheless planning to make its regular mid-term outing to Park End, with fencers kept under the watchful eye of the team captains.