Oxford’s Men’s Blues Rugby Team were defeated by a Leicester Tigers outfit at Iffley Road on Friday 16 October, but by a 26-50 scoreline that they can be proud of.

‘Mauled by the Tigers’ might be all the rage in the headlines these days as Hull City take football’s Premier League by storm, but the Blues were competitive in defeat to Leicester’s own Tigers, whose senior side are currently fourth in the Gallagher Premiership after three games, and are also competing in Europe.

Indeed, for the first five minutes, it was the Blues who looked like the pro team. They threatened Leicester’s try line through quick passes to the backs, and only unbelievable last-ditch tackles from Tigers prevented first Anthony Poole, then Ben Shaw, from going over. The sustained pressure paid off as Blues captain Reed Prinsep, playing at number eight, powered through to score the first try of the day.

Unfortunately for Oxford, Leicester’s forwards quickly woke up and imposed themselves on the game. Replying with a try of their own in just a few minutes, Leicester then put sustained pressure on Oxford’s left side deep into the Blues’ own territory, and were awarded a scrum in front of the try line, sixteen minutes in. Taking full advantage of their physical dominance, Leicester broke through to score a second. 

Three more tries, and an additional penalty try, were to come for Tigers in the first half as the Blues struggled to cope with the power of Leicester’s drives, and the speed with which they could get the ball to the flanks. Leicester centre Charlie Myall was a particular menace to the Blues, consistently breaking free of Oxford tackles to put his team on the front foot. Oxford’s attempts to kick on the attack were also thwarted as Leicester’s superior fitness gave them an edge in footraces for balls in behind the defence. That said, a try for Oxford at the end of half gave the slightest glimmer of hope.

The half-time team talk no doubt latched onto that, and Oxford came back out to play their best rugby of the match. Blues lock Henry Henderson grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, taking his team up the pitch with a magnificent solo rampage that ended in a penalty for the Blues. Oxford elected to kick into the corner, and from the resulting maul Thomas Bessant was able to get the Blues over the line for a try on his debut.

Leicester inevitably responded with a try in the corner, but uncharacteristically sloppy play to give away two penalties in quick succession gave Oxford their fourth try of the match from a forward drive. 

A final Leicester try closed the match after heroic defending from the Blues in their own 22 in the last ten minutes.

Defeated but not Disheartened

To the untrained eye, a 26-50 scoreline might seem comprehensive, but in context, this was a strong performance from the Blues. Tigers sent their Under 23 team, which is still a squad of players who have aspirations of making rugby their full-time career, and who are paid to play the sport. Myall spent last season scoring tries for Champ Rugby side Nottingham RFC; Blues players balance sporting commitments with the same labs and essay crises we all face – this was not a level playing field, with full respect to the Oxford players. That this was a competitive game at all is testament to the hours the Blues players have found to put in on the training pitch and in the gym.

It also demonstrates the influence of crowd favourite Reed Prinsep rubbing off on the team. The former professional, who represented the Maori All Blacks (a New Zealand team selecting only players with Maori heritage) internationally on ten occasions, started an MBA at Oriel College this year. He was the inaugural recipient of the Liddell Oxford Rugby Scholarship, which offers retired pros the chance to prepare for a career after sport by studying a degree whilst playing for OURFC. Prinsep, who captains the team and selected the side, has spoken of his desire to “give back to young lads and give something to OURFC… the fire still burns to win.”

A Piece of History

Matches between university sides and top rugby teams are a long-running tradition, a legacy of the time before the league system existed (a relatively recent invention of 1987), when the rugby season was made up of a series of invitationals. Rugby Union was also fully amateur until 1995, making matchups against student teams theoretically more even. A neat historical touch in this game was that Leicester’s shirts were lettered, not numbered, as was commonplace for Tigers sides before numbering was enforced in the broadcasting era (though this makes figuring out what is going on much harder for the amateur sports journalist, it must be said!).

Lastly, praise must be given to the Blue’s fans, and to the hospitality on offer. Over 2,000 made it to Iffley, including a strong contingent of schoolchildren, whose nonstop chanting brought much joy to myself and to the Oxford Blue’s Managing Director. Their postmatch churros were well-deserved.

The Men’s Blues have a packed schedule for the rest of the season, playing Richmond RFC on 24 October before a tasty encounter against Harlequins on 30 October.