Written by Ruby Hancox (St Anne's)
Varsity day arrived bringing sunshine, excitement, and a team of eager and determined Panthers. The team were keen to re-establish their prowess and back up their earlier victory and it was clear Cambridge’s Tigers were also keen to prove a point and would not bow out without a fight.
The game began with an Oxford kick off immediately putting the Panthers under defensive pressure with numerous strong tackles being made, notably by Emily Cameron, Juliet Hill, and Lucy McBride. Oxford’s first attacking phase began off a dominant scrum, with the forward pack pushing Cambridge backwards, to allow for a well-functioning backs move to get Amy Power (#13) running through the Cambridge defence and moving the Panthers up the pitch. The contest continued and the ball kept changing hands throughout the first 20 minutes with key turnovers by Zoe Gordon and Juliet Hill. The Panthers displayed moments of hard lines, pace and power throughout the squad, however many of these gutsy hard lines were cut down by the Tigers.
After stringing together a series of phases, the Panthers edged towards the try line. Multiple phases and hard fought efforts had Lucy McBride put the ball against the whitewash with Charlotte Scowen sealing the deal - picking the ball up and darting over McBride’s shoulder to ground the ball over the line to the sound of the referee's whistle. With neither player keen to claim all the glory, it must be said that both players should be commended for Oxford’s first try, one that was avidly celebrated among the team. The first half continued more in Cambridge’s favour with penalties putting Oxford firmly in their own 22. The Panthers successfully held off the Cambridge attack resulting in two tries being held up. Eventually both teams headed back into the sheds with the scoreboard reading 5-0 at the half.
Oxford received the ball from the restart and Cambridge put the pressure on with Iona ffrench-Adam (#12) using her boot to get the Panthers out of their 22 and defending, hard hits coming from Liv Rosin and Naomi Thornton. After turning the ball over the Panthers made good ground with solid line breaks from full-back Emilia Perry-Poletti and wing Tillie Lees. Within 5 minutes Oxford had their next moment: off the base of a scrum the backs distributed the ball out quickly and into the hands of Kate Mitchell who then made a dash for the whitewash, spectacularly grounding the ball under the sticks. The first successful conversion of the day was then kicked by Iona ffrench-Adam. The second try of the half came shortly after as hooker Zoe Gordon successfully jackled the ball and sniped round the edge of the ruck finding space and leaving Tigers in her wake. Iona then added a second to her kicking tally.
A series of Oxford mistakes had Cambridge on the rampage, edging closer to the line, their players running and carrying hard ball in hand. Their efforts ended in another set of near misses for the Tabs: knocking the ball on over the line, being tackled into touch, and being held up again. Despite a strong defensive performance, repeated ill-discipline eventually resulted in Naomi Owen taking one for the team and being shown a yellow. It was during this period that the Tigers full back managed to find space on the wing and land the Tabs’ only try of the game, conversion unsuccessful. Oxford regained possession as Emilia Perry-Poletti was gifted the ball from a Tabs exit kick, running their way from inside the Panthers half to the Tabs' 22, being cut down on the line for their last play of the game. Quick hands resulting from the back of the ruck by half back pair, Ruby Hancox (#9) and Jess Chiriboga (#10) had the ball back in the hands of winger Kate Mitchell to land her a second run in under the posts with 10 minutes to go. Conversion again successful by Iona. The remaining minutes continued as much of the game had, with possession shared between the teams.
The final whistle sounded a resounding 26-5 victory for Oxford’s Panthers. Floods of spectators rushed onto the pitch to celebrate the achievements of this team, with team captain Jess Chiriboga lifting the trophy high above her head. Support throughout the fixture was incredible, with Oxford fans out in full voice cheering their team on, and Cambridge fans repeatedly silenced throughout the Panther’s moments of glory.
The effort by this team was astonishing to leave Grange Road victorious and having starved the Tabs of numerous tries. The team trusted one another and worked hard for 80 minutes tackling, jackling, stealing, sealing, flooring and most importantly scoring. An impressive afternoon of rugby and an excellent display of Tabs shoeing by all.
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