The opportunity to watch Oxford’s Blues take on England’s most successful professional rugby team attracted an impressive crowd to Iffley Road on a rainy Monday night, but with both teams still shaking off early-season rustiness and the inclement conditions making handling difficult, the suspicion was always that this encounter might not be a treat for the spectators. So it proved, but there was still much wholehearted effort for the crowd to appreciate in an attritional clash.

I headed my scoresheet with the words ‘Ox’ and ‘Tigers’, and though the punning comparison was unwitting, in truth it was a fair harbinger of how the game would pan out. Both sides were impressively strong and committed, but Leicester’s superior pace and predatory skill would ultimately win the day.

If the greasy ball and the formidable opposition weren’t enough to worry Oxford, they were forced into two changes just before kick-off, with Henry Hughes and Cassian Bramham-Law unexpectedly summoned at left wing and outside-centre respectively.

The Blues’ season did not get off to an auspicious start, as scrum-half Sam Egerton’s kick-off failed to travel the requisite ten metres. From the scrum, the Tigers took possession on halfway and a searing break from their left wing took them deep into Oxford territory. A slightly shellshocked Oxford never seemed to recover, and with five minutes not yet played an overlap on the blindside was well finished by Leicester’s flanker to give them an early 5-0 lead.

Oxford’s restart was mishandled to give them a put-in at the scrum and a chance to establish a foothold in the game. Egerton had apparently recovered his kicking boots by now as he sent an excellent kick into the corner. But this promising position was squandered through ill-discipline as Oxford twice infringed at scrums, allowing the Tigers to clear their lines.

 The game was fragmented, as both teams struggled to go through the phases and the referee, employing the new ‘Crouch-touch-set’ command, officiated fastidiously at scrum-time, often blowing up before the ball had even been fed.

Captain James Harris at openside flanker was increasingly to the fore in this scrappy scenario, with one bullocking run into the Leicester 22 eventually leading to a penalty which Bramham-Law converted to reduce the arrears. Meanwhile, on the other flank, Oxford were soon forced to introduce another unplanned replacement in Mike Rickner.

Rickner wasted little time making an impact, soon receiving congratulations for an excellent piece of work at the ruck to win a penalty. With Oxford firmly encamped in the Leicester half and pressing for the score that would have given them the lead, however, Rickner’s next contribution was less propitious. A late tackle after the whistle had gone earnt him a ten-minute spell in the sin-bin.

Inevitably, Leicester made their numerical advantage tell, and a score before half-time seemed inevitable as they laid siege to the undermanned Oxford try-line. But their efforts were repelled by some heroic last-ditch tackling and when a turnover and clearance prompted the half-time whistle, it seemed the momentum was with Oxford.

Sadly that was not the case as shortly after the resumption a fearsome charge by the Tigers tighthead took Leicester within sight of the try-line and a couple of phases later they crossed in the corner for their second try.

A magnificent tap and run from Egerton offered Oxford brief respite from the Tigers’ increasing dominance, but on sixty minutes the Blues shipped a disastrous interception try as a stray pass in midfield was picked off by the Leicester inside-centre, and the score was duly converted.

That always looked likely to be the killer blow, both for the dispiriting manner of its concession and the fact that it took Leicester out of reach of a single score, and so it ultimately proved. But there was still consolation to be had for Oxford through the livewire Egerton, now establishing himself as the Blues’ outstanding performer with a series of searing breaks.

With the clock showing 81 minutes, the shaggy-locked scrum-half dummied and darted over from close range to give Oxford the try their endeavour surely merited.

This was perhaps an experimental Blues side, with the regular captain and vice-captain joining the injury absentees on the sidelines, but Oxford will take some important lessons with them for the coming season.

Their inability to regularly break the gain-line cost them crucial chances to turn possession and territory into points – they will look to their backs to attack with precision and invention to remedy this failing.

Monday saw the long anticipated kickoff of the JCR Premier Division Season. After three successive promotions, Lincoln’s first taste of top flight action since 2008 was a match-up with St. Catz, who took 3^rd spot in the league last year ahead of Cuppers winners Worcester.

Match day dawned to showers of rain, but following the weekend’s clement weather, pitch conditions were good at Lincoln’s sports ground and the game went ahead.

St. Catz started strongly, winning the midfield battle, and captain Harry Whittle’s pace caused problems for Lincoln’s defence. An early penalty, conceded by Lincoln captain Alec Gower, provided an opportunity for Catz to open the scoring.

Ultimately, the strike passed just over the crossbar, triggering audible sounds of relief from the Lincoln players, but the pressure from Catz did not let off and Lincoln keeper Rob Kelly was called into action for a couple of fine stops. It wasn’t long, however, before they had another chance. Several successive corners were desperately scrambled clear by Lincoln, until Whittle converted in the 25^th minute.

After the goal, the game opened out somewhat, with Lincoln pushing forward and Catz countering. Lincoln freshers Simon Vart and Fergus Morgan debuted in midfield, with Morgan providing pace down the left flank, and having his very own penalty appeal around the 35^th minute. Catz continued to create chances, with more saves from Kelly and a goal line clearance from Lincoln winger Alex West preventing the gap from doubling.

Lincoln had several set piece opportunities, from free kicks, corners and long throws, but failed to convert before the interval. The score at half time stood at 1-0, with both sides very much in contention.

Catz had a dream start to the second half, Whittle slotting a ball through for Joe Davies, who finished in style. Lincoln didn’t let the 2 goal deficit defeat them, and competed fiercely. Sam Townsend and Nathan Riddell linked well in midfield, along with fresher Alex Wilson who replaced West in the 60^th minute. Catz midfielder Tom Larkin carried momentum in attack, spreading the Lincoln defence with some neat playmaking, and a solid performance from centre back Chris Rees provided a platform for Catz going forward.

More set piece chances came for Lincoln, yet the Catz defence was equal to them all, and keeper Joe Kidd maintained a clean sheet. Catz can be pleased for sealing a victory to start their campaign, but Lincoln showed that they can compete with the top sides.

A juicy start for what promises to be an exciting year for JCR football.

As a staunch supporter of Indian cricket, the prospect of meeting Stuart Broad, part of the bowling attack that have tormented India so successfully in recent times, was indeed an exciting one. I could ask him, for instance, what it was like to be hit for six sixes by Yuvraj Singh in the inaugural World T20 tournament, or why Kevin Pietersen was not on the plane headed for Sri Lanka last month: a move that would surely have improved England’s stock in the last few matches.

But my attitude changed when I finally did meet him. Stuart has been on tour, but not of the kind we, as cricket fans are used to. Instead of taking wickets he has been writing about them in his new book My World In Cricket out this week.

As I sat down to interview him, I was immediately struck by the humility and professionalism of his demeanour. There was no arrogance or ego that sadly attaches itself to many  international sportsmen these days. Instead, he was very approachable and willingly giving out autographs.

Hi Stuart, so first of all congratulations on the book, I read a few sections this morning. What inspired you to get involved with cricket in the first place?

I was born into a cricketing family. My old man played for England, Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire, so I was always around on the cricketing grounds when I was younger. That’s where my enthusiasm for the game started. I was lucky to meet some incredible professionals when I was younger, like  Courtney Walsh. It just developed in my back garden. I watched it on TV and it was always just a hobby. I just played it for enjoyment; I never took it too seriously or felt under pressure. My family were brilliant with that. My mum just took me to games and watched: it was never an examination or evaluation: we enjoyed it and that was it. It was a relaxed environment to grow up in.

When you were playing domestic cricket, and got the call up to play for England, did you find that a big step up, especially when considered the pressure put on international players today?

I was still only 19 at the time. I went from playing crowds of 5,000 at Grace Road, Leicestershire to the 50,000 that winter. It was definitely a big step, but I learnt pretty quickly that you simply don’t build it up too much in your mind. At the end of the day whether you’re playing for England in Australia in front of 100,000 or playing for your league side on a Saturday morning, it doesn’t change which ball you bowl, it doesn’t change the skill you have to deliver. So ultimately, it’s about getting yourself in the mental place where you feel comfortable.

So how do you get to that zone where you can feel focused?

I have a lot of routines which I go through every match. They make me feel like I’m at home whether I’m in front of an Australian crowd screaming to kill me or in front of a home crowd; it just makes me feel ready to deliver my skill every time. That’s what’s important to a cricketer.

You talk about this idea in your book, particularly during your time on the India tour of 2009. The crowds over there can often be passionate and intense; what was your experience of this?

It really is a big test as a cricketer to keep your mind clear when you are playing on the sub-continent. The crowds are so passionate about their own players: I’ll never forget when I bowled Sachin Tendulkar out at Bangalore in front of a crowd of 40,000 people. Before that ball, I couldn’t even think straight and when I went back down to fine leg, I saw the crowd were booing and hissing me, because I had bowled their hero out! I was only 21 at the time and that was quite a realisation to me. I thought “Wow, these crowds are so impassioned by their cricket”, and that’s why India is always an exciting place for me to tour. We are hugely fortunate that we have 12 weeks coming up out there with the Test series coming up.

What was it like out in Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup and how would you evaluate your performance there?

We are obviously disappointed that we weren’t able to retain our crown from the 2010 World Cup as it was something we really wanted to do. But if you don’t learn from your experiences, you get nothing from them. We did have a young side while playing the tournament, mostly 22 to 23 year olds, so the next time we do go to a World Cup they will be 26 and 27 year olds ready to exhibit their skills on the world stage. We had some fantastic individual performances during the Cup, and we made some basic errors which cost us. But it given the format of T20, it was such a tight tournament with about six teams that could have won it on their day. So it was really hard to pick a favourite and I actually think that made it more exciting.

As captain of a T20 team, did you find it particularly difficult to lead the team given the fluidity of the format?

You can’t plan for it. You have to always think on your feet, so if one bowler gets hit around the park you have to switch it around and understand what the batsman is feeling. This is why I love captaining the format and I am sure all captains regardless of level will enjoy the format.

Given your upcoming tour in India, where pitches will play very differently from here in England, how is the team looking to adapt to the conditions?

We are very fortunate to have a month of practice matches in India before the official tour starts, so we have a lot of time to get use the conditions. But I think we as individuals have to take responsibility for our actions. For instance, we will look at how we play the spin bowling, and how we are going to bowl. Obviously if we do all these things, we will be in a strong position going into the series. We know the wickets are going to turn in India but we still have to put runs on the boards and we have the talent to do that.

As I left the book-signing, I couldn’t help but think that Stuart was very much what more sportsmen should be like today: passionate and fiery on the pitch, but thoughtful, dignified and articulate. With the India series fast approaching, England have a serious challenge ahead of them, namely, adapting to the slow turning wickets of the subcontinent: a problem for England in the past which Stuart alluded to. Having said that, with adequate preparation and men like Stuart Broad in the changing room, India will certainly have a challenge on their hands in the months to come.