Oxford Gutsy in Defeat
Oxford Women's Rugby team showed great strength of character against an impressive UWIC side, as they battled against a gusty wind to a 1-point defeat.
UWIC, a formidable opponent who haven't lost a game in three years, were put under pressure by the Oxford pack who dominated in the scrummage. The first converted try, however, went to the visitors. Oxford had a large majority of the pressure, but did not seem able to break through the UWIC line. The first points to Oxford came from a penalty for offside. After 30 minutes of the first half gone the UWIC winger Hailey Baxter ran 60 yards for her first of 3 tries, beating the Oxford fullback for pace and agility. UWIC looked hungry for another try and it inevitably came again through the winger Baxter; however it was not converted. Oxford went into half time 19-3 down.
Yet it was not all bad news for the Blues. They had had several good passages of play and were unlucky to be behind by so large a margin. Frustration was evident upon the faces of the UWIC players as their Captain constantly shouted for them to slow the game down, as they were finding it difficult to keep up with the vigorous pace set by the Oxford pack.
After the restart Oxford dominated and eventually a try came from the centre Elizabeth Ethun (Jess Gretton converted). Helen Taylor raced over the line for the second Oxford try, and a pushover try closely followed. The score was now 19-20 to Oxford. This spurred the UWIC team on and the winger Baxter ran in for her third try. Yet Oxford did not give in, but battled back to gain the last score of the game: Laura McMullen, the scrum half, capitalised upon a charge down. The final score was 26-25 to UWIC and showed a vast improvement to the last time the two met in Cardiff (61-0 to UWIC).
Rosie Collins, the Oxford Captain, was delighted with her team's performance and the build up to the varsity. Elizabeth Ethun had a brilliant game for Oxford, being instrumental in advancing over the game line and produced some crunching tackles against the UWIC centres. Cambridge will need to produce a strong side if they are to present a real challenge to this team.
12th Feb 2004