At 12:00 on Saturday the 28th February, the Women’s Blues kicked off the 39th Women’s Varsity Match. Despite putting together some of the strongest defence they had played all season, they were unable to match the attacks put forward by the Dark Blues.
At full time, the score stood at 52-8 to Oxford.
We spoke to playing captain Izzi Millar:
Playing against a strong Oxford team in the league above us, the team gave the match absolutely everything they had, but eventually came away with a loss. However, the grit and determination shown by the girls for the full 80 minutes was exactly what had been asked of them, and we were able to come away proud of ourselves for by far our best performance of the year.
Cambridge started strong, rattling Oxford and steamrolling our way into the opposition’s 22 in the opening minutes of the game. Some brilliant attacking play led us to within touching distance of the try line, however it was not to be as a physical Oxford defence forced a knock on less than 10 metres out. Undeterred, we put up a strong defence with plenty of back and forth including a brilliant intercept from inside centre Amelia Edwards which was unfortunately called back for an advantage. Unfortunately, it was Oxford who gained the first points of the match, but despite this heads did not drop, and we made our way back to the halfway line to restart. The rest of the first half consisted of a fierce contest, but the lightning-fast Oxford line speed kept us under pressure and as we made our way inside for half time the score stood at 0-19.
Refreshed from changing room sweeties and lucozades, we ran out to receive in the second half, ready to continue bringing the fight to Oxford. They were certainly a fit, fast and strong team, testing us to our limits, but before long we had points on the board with a staggering try in the corner from fresher Esther Makourin, run in from no less than 40 metres out. This breathed a new life into the Cambridge team, but even with tiring bodies the bravery the girls showed never halted. There was no doubt that Oxford had some experienced players which was daunting against a team with 5 freshers and 18 new blues (equalling last year’s record number), but an unwavering defensive effort led Oxford to concede a penalty right in front of the posts with only three minutes left on the clock, and number 19 Charlotte Cooper effortlessly slotted the kick to add to the Cambridge tally, leaving the final score at 8-52.
It was an absolute honour to lead this exceptional group of women onto the pitch, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. While I must admit it is not the best scoreline we’ve ever seen at Varsity, it does not diminish my pride in the team one bit. This year has not been easy as both our captain and vice captain were ruled out due to injury but the Varsity match was a perfect showcase of what this team is made of. The fearless tackles, the powerful carries and above all the perseverance the girls showed is something every single player should be incredibly proud of. I certainly am.
GDBO
