The tension in the team was palpable for the first Women’s Blues BUCS match of the season against the notorious University of Gloucestershire side, 2015 BUCS Champions. The first twenty minutes were slow and scrappy from both sides with neither side taking control, with the game being dominated by forward play. 20 minutes in Gloucester manage to spread the ball wide to their back line and their full-back snuck past Oxford on the blind side to score. This gave Oxford the wake-up call they needed and they started playing more aggressively and entered Gloucester’s 22 where a blind side move put loose head prop, Jenny Smith, in to space. Jenny made some ground and then gave a perfectly timed pass to her fellow prop, Cecilia Peker who rumbled over and through the home winger to score in the corner. This was followed by a sensational conversion from fly-half Catherine Wilcock to make it 7 points all at half-time.
Next Wednesday the Women’s Blues travel west again to take on newly promoted side Bristol University.