Saturday night brought torrential wind and rain to Iffley road, along with over 2,000 Blues and Brookes fans, who, braving the adverse conditions, came expecting a spectacle of flowing rugby. They weren’t disappointed. After the Men*’s Whippets had missed out in a close game earlier in the day, and the Greyhounds had taken a convincing win, the scene was set for the battle for the city, as both teams vied for ultimate bragging rights over the city of Oxford.
Atmosphere had been building throughout the fan zone all day, with a great game of rugby from the Women*’s Blues, and two six nations fixtures, so by the time kickoff rolled around, Iffley road was rocking. The atmosphere gave the Blues as close a replication to the atmosphere of the Varsity match as they’re going to get before the big day. The Brookes supporters came ready to back their team to the end; the beating of their drum rang out from the East Stand throughout the evening. It became clear that their support was not unfounded. As the kickoff was hoisted high into the air, the Brookes forwards in particular began to lay down a statement of their physicality, marching the Blues back down the field. After a nervy first ten minutes for Blues fans, the hard work of the Brookes pack bore fruit, as they touched down under the posts for the first score of the game. The pink and blue fanzone erupted; the conversion was unsuccessful, but the gauntlet had been thrown down for the Blues.
The returning kick off gave a chance for the boys in dark blue to regroup, reset, and push Brookes back into their own half for the first time, with the hope of disrupting their exit. In a pattern becoming very familiar for the Blues, Harry Bridgewater’s restart, lifted high into the opposition 22, was doggedly chased by Danny Stokes, looking for yet another dominant tackle. Thankfully for any nervy onlookers, the Blues settled into their rhythm, owing largely to their impressive defence, a high percentage of dominant tackles slowing up Brookes’ ball, whilst simultaneously pinning them back in their own territory. It was a day on which the mutualistic relationship between backs and forwards became more prevalent than ever. The Blues lineout was challenging the accuracy of their opposition’s drill, and the slowed up ball was then capitalised on by the backline, racing up to tackle anything within reach. The match made for far less stressful watching when it became apparent that, off a lineout or scrum, any combination of Ben Hartigan, Jack Sander or Danny Stokes were going to drive into the ribs of their pink and blue counterpart. Even flyhalf Ben Scher got invovled with a few shots of his own, not letting his old age or his position as standoff stop him from putting his name forward as a defensive operator.
This mutualistic relationship became apparent in attack, also. The forwards shored up the set piece, establishing a dominant set piece off which the backs could play. The front row secured several penalties in the scrum, whilst the maul often moved more than 10 metres, Oli Kirk cleverly tying in several Brookes forwards to ensure their attempt to draw penalties by standing off the maul was unsuccessful. The efforts of the forwards on a wet, muddy day began to show results, matching Brookes’ opening try with several of their own in the first half, going into the break almost 20 points up. This attitude did not quieten after the interval, rather increased as the Blues opened up, and began to flow more freely. Despite the horrible weather, the Blues were determined to play as fast a style of rugby as they are capable of, making ground as Ben Shaw and Tom Mewes got onto the end of several crosskicks. The forwards continued to facilitate quick ball for their halfbacks, both in the tight and the loose. The heavies seemingly never tired of piling into breakdowns, reinforced off the bench by Jack Botham and debutant John Belcher-Heath, clearing pink shirts from the ball. Similarly Mike O’Donnells darts were accurate at the lineout despite the downpour, giving a fantastic platform to play off. It was a credit to the Blues that they managed to maintain a high skill level throughout the evening, despite an exceedingly greasy ball, evidenced by tries run in during the second half by outside centre Danny Stokes, and winger Tom Mewes. By the 75th minute, the beating of the Brookes drum had been all but silenced, as the Blues ran in two more tries, answered only by a Brookes penalty kick. With 2 minutes to play, the score stood at 38-8, as Brookes spilled the ball in one of their few visits into the Blues’ half. In an emphatic conclusion, the Blues exhibited some of their best rugby of the day, going the length of the pitch for Ben Hartigan to eventually flop over the tryline, capping off a fantastic performance. Final score: Blues 45, Brookes 8.
Thanks to everyone who helped in putting on a fantastic day at the club, from those who helped organise, to the opposition, who were worthy opponents, making nothing easy, and ensuring the Blues worked out of their skins for 80 minutes. As the Blues build toward the Varsity Match on March 8th, it is very promising to know that the city is resoundingly Dark Blue.
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