Luke John on hand to lead Cambridge fightback

By Oli Shapley

Oxford Uni Men …………… 28pts Cambridge Uni Men …… 35pts

Tries: Fankah 8, 34; Roddy 27, 55 Conversions: Bridgewater 8, 27, 34, 55 Tries: Riddington 38, Christey 40, Santos 67, John 76 Conversions: Bland 40, 67, 76

Penalties: Bland 5, 17, 80

Cambridge made it three Varsity wins in a row for the first time since 2007 as they completed an astonishing comeback at StoneX Stadium.

The Light Blues trailed 21-6 approaching half-time but turned it around to snatch the win thanks to a 77th minute try from Luke John.

Match Action

Cambridge had all of the early possession and territory, with three successive penalties which took them up to the line. After two maul attempts they got another penalty, and opted for the posts with George Bland kicking them ahead.

Oxford hit back when a penalty was kicked to the corner and Michael Fankah charged over from the maul to score, with Henry Bridgewater converting.

The Dark Blues were struggling with their discipline which was allowing Cambridge to spend the majority of the opening exchanges in their half, and they were punished when Bland kicked another penalty.

Tim Andrew almost scored a wonder try for Cambridge when he broke down the shortside and gathered his own chip ahead, but Bridgewater got across to cover.

Oxford were beginning to get dominance up front, particularly at scrum time, and they made that count. A penalty was kicked to the corner and William Roddy bundled over from the back of the maul. The conversion made it 14-6.

It got better for Oxford with five minutes to go until half-time, Benjamin Scher’s incredible touch finder put them within striking distance, and after going through the phases Fankah went over for his second from a metre out.

Cambridge got a much needed lifeline with two minutes left of the opening 40. They kept applying the pressure and eventually spun the ball wide to Matt Riddington who stretched over in the corner for 21-11.

The match then flipped on its head just before the break as Jack Hamilton was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and Cambridge punished them straight away with Alex Christey scoring, and all of a sudden it was 21-18 after an enthralling opening 40.

Second Half

It was a frantic start to the second 40 with both sides playing an expansive style and looking to get round the edge of their opponents.

It settled down, however in the final quarter, and Oxford capitalised as Roddy got his second from close range to give them some much needed breathing space.

Cambridge came agonisingly close on two occasions to getting back in the match, one penalty from deep inside the 22 which they couldn’t convert, and then one lineout five metres from the line which was stolen and cleared.

The pressure told with 15 minutes left; a looping pass found Ryan Santos on the right wing and the conversion made it 28-25 to set up a grandstand finish.

There was more drama to come, an incredible break from Andrew took them to the line and John dived over to send the Cambridge fans delirious as they took the lead with four minutes left. Bland kept his nerve to convert, and then sealed the win in the final play with a penalty to register a famous win.