Cambridge lost. If truth be told, they did not threaten victory. For all but a few of these eighty minutes, the Light Blues trailed; Oxford, with more adventure, more directness, and more possession, deserved their triumph. Fifteen unanswered points in the second half confirmed superiority, and so these seasons are defined.

Cambridge’s preparation, admittedly, had not been ideal. That week, Frank Sanders had been ruled out with a broken foot. Then, within twenty-four hours of the kick-off, CURUFC was informed that hooker Nigel Conroy was ineligible for Varsity competition: he was not a matriculant of the university. Still, these matches are cup finals; the run-ups irrelevant when the whistle blows. In any case, the front row held up.

Nerves were settled, then, as Downing’s Steve Townend – the fourth fly-half to start for the Blues this Michaelmas – converted a simple chance offered when Oxford openside Louis Mather failed to roll away. Three minutes gone, 3-0 up.

The Oxford response, however, was immediate: stolen line-out ball was shipped wide and, following some neat offloading from Cassian Bramham-Law, tighthead Will Kane was bundled over from close range. Bramham-Law converted and soon added another penalty as Oxford stretched their lead to 10-3.

Another score here and the Dark Blues might not have been caught, but Cambridge rallied. Full back Tom O’Toole countered, chipped and chased, but missed; Don Blake also kicked on, but he missed too; O’Toole rejoining the chase, then thought he touched down; the TMO decided Oxford full-back John Hudson had got there first. He had – but it did not matter: the ensuing scrum was demolished and, dragging it down on their own line, the Oxford pack was appropriately penalized.

Parity regained, then. Well, for a while – Scott Annett then tripped Oxford scrum-half in front of ref Dave Pearson and Bramham-Law knocked over the penalty to give Oxford a lead of 13-10 at the interval.

In the second half, Oxford strode away. First, Karl Outen was driven over as Cambridge failed to defend against the maul which they had so often used themselves this term. Bramham-Law then added another penalty before Tom Mitchell, the England Sevens player and Oxford fly-half, jinked through the second channel. The margin, 28-10, was not unkind to either side.

At the heart of this Oxford win was their captain John Carter, the man of the match for everyone but adjudicator Tyrone Howe.

Perhaps a wild and feral nature drew closer attention to him than to others, but he was a colossal presence, ripping from Cambridge hands, marauding in the loose, and stealing the line-out which led to Oxford’s first score. For all but ten minutes of the match, he controlled it.

[Those ten minutes, he was a blood injury, split open by the right hook of Cambridge eight Dave Allen. There had been needle, but at best this was animalistic and savage, at worst a cynical and deliberate effort to remove the Oxford captain from the field. In either case, part of the game or not, it was disgraceful.]

Yet, there was more to Oxford than Carter. Back-row colleagues Mather and Derek Asbun did much to neutralize Don Blake, who had been central to most of Cambridge’s good work this season. Fly-half Mitchell weighted his passes beautifully, easing his centres and Morris – regularly off his wing – through widening gaps in the midfield. Morris, Bramham-Law and Hudson meanwhile formed a back three which dealt comfortably with the repeated – but repeatedly infield – bombardment from the Cambridge half-backs.

Still, the Oxford scores were more the consequence of Cambridge indiscipline than just reward of creative brilliance. Thrown short, the first Cambridge line-out was stolen and Oxford would score within five phases. Penalties in front of the posts were conceded when Townend dropped a straightforward pass from Blake and when Scott Annett tripped Oxford scrum-half Sam Edgerton in front of referee Pearson.

The final score – Mitchell’s sojourn through a tiring midfield – was prepared by a loose turnover as Cushing’s clearance was charged down. Perhaps, and simply, these Cambridge errors were punished more clinically and fatally than any of Oxford’s.

If pressure told, or if form ran out, then neither was the first time. Each captain, though, told his own story. Carter cited the cohesion of his side: ‘Our work, our emotional togetherness were crucial. This [elation] is a group feeling, which makes it more magnificent.’ From the other corner, Guinness-King reflected on a victory wrought from a full match’s worth of excellence: ‘They sustained their effort for eighty minutes. We competed well early on, but we just couldn’t get the ball. Their discipline and commitment were exceptional.’

Add to that the scrappy loss in the U21’s game before lunch and it was clear that this was to be Oxford’s day.

Defending champions Cambridge initially kept pace with Oxford after early scores from both sides, but once Oxford no.8 Ben Girling snuck over from the line-out just inside half-time, they never looked back. The final score 19-11 in the Dark Blues’ favour, but it was far from close.

In truth, Cambridge were shambolic. Only last year’s match winner and Blues prospect Will Smith did himself justice, but even he was guilty of running infield too often where the dominant Oxford pack turned over ball all too easily.

The Oxford side, ably stewarded by lock Will Fell, had learnt their lessons from last year’s defeat it seemed. Winger Sam Wareham stuck like glue to Smith throughout, whilst outside centre Oscar Vallance had far too much pace for his opposite number, Cambridge’s Andy Murdoch, marauding through the midfield unchecked.

Light Blues captain Tommy Palacios, it must be said, carried the ball well and made the yards that his pack could not. However, he was bizarrely subbed off early into the second half without - it appeared - injury. The Cambridge comeback was never on and but for better hands from Oxford, the score would have been embarrassing.