Oxford take the Varsity spoils
09th December 2010 15:52
Despite being hammered at scrum time, Oxford ran out 21-10 winners of the annual Varsity match against Cambridge at Twickenham on Thursday..
Cambridge failed to recover from conceding two first-half tries as Dark Blues backs Alex Cheesman and James Crozier struck for scores that helped Oxford build an imposing 15-3 interval lead.
Although Cambridge gained a penalty try on the back of a dominant scrum, which skipper Jimmy Richards converted following his earlier penalty, Oxford comfortably did enough for victory.
Fly-half Charlie Marr chipped in with three penalties and a conversion - he missed just once from five shots at goal - as Oxford avenged last season's 31-27 defeat.
Oxford established early territorial supremacy, yet both sides were guilty of technical indiscipline that referee Andrew Small punished.
Mistakes abounded during a scoreless opening quarter, but Oxford then went ahead through an opening Marr penalty after Cambridge flanker Jason Kururangi infringed.
And Marr's strike launched a points blitz as the Dark Blues posted two well-worked tries in four minutes.
Cheesman scored the first following quality approach work by his fellow centre Sean Morris, before Cheesman turned provider by sparking some slick threequarter work that resulted in Crozier crossing unopposed.
Marr converted Cheesman's touchdown, leaving Cambridge 15-0 behind and their coaching consultant - Wasps and Wales defence specialist Shaun Edwards - with plenty to ponder.
Richards kicked a penalty on the stroke of half-time following a botched earlier attempt, but Oxford were good value for a 12-point interval lead despite Cambridge showing glimpses of set-piece authority.
Cambridge had a try disallowed in the 54th minute following a forward pass - wing Robert Stevens saw his effort erased - but escalating scrummaging control meant the Light Blues remained in contention.
And a penalty try arrived just three minutes later when Small's patience ran out with the Oxford pack, and Richards' conversion set up an intriguing closing quarter.
But a second Marr penalty eased Oxford nerves, before he completed his penalty hat-trick in the final minute after Cambridge hooker Jamie Gilbert had been carried off injured.
The scorers:
For Oxford:
Tries:Cheeseman, Crozier,
Cons: Marr
Pens: Marr 3
For Cambridge:
Try: Penalty try
Con: Richards
Pen: Richards
Oxford: 15 James Crozier, 14 Luke Fenwick, 13 Sean Morris , 12 Alex Cheesman, 11 Luke Jones, 10 Charlie Marr , 9 Nick Haydon (c), 8 Stanley McKeen, 7 Louis Mather, 6 Daniel Guinnes, 5 Karl Outen, 4 Tom Evans, 3 Will Kane , 2 Govind Oliver, 1 Hamish Macdonald.
Replacements: 16 Anthony Connor, 17 Lewis Anderson, 18 Alex Rowe, 19 Ian Swan, 20 Jeremy Mather, 21 Harry Guinness, 22 Thomas Yusef, 23 James Wisson.
Cambridge: 15 James Richards (c), 14 Ilia Cherezov, 13 Fred Burdon, 12 Paul Loudon, 11 Robert Stevens, 10 Gregory Douglas Cushing, 9 Sam Hunt, 8 Ben Maidment, 7 Tom Stanton, 6 Jason Kururangi, 5 Charles Baird, 4 Tom Harrington, 3 Stuart Brown, 2 Jamie Stuart Davidson Gilbert, 1 Niall Conlon.
Replacements: 16 Christopher George Hall, 17 Tom Harris, 18 Andrew Daniel, 19 Scott Annett, 20 Ben Martin, 21 Matthew M Guinness-King , 22 Miles Daly, 23 William Briggs.
Venue: Twickenham
Referee:Andrew Small
