Both light blue outfits were outmatched by resurgent Oxford teams at StoneX stadium on Saturday, as the women fell 52-8 and the men succumbed 37-25 in the 2026 Varsity Matches. A much-changed men’s Blues were riding the momentum of three consecutive Varsity wins, but Oxford’s pack physically dominated throughout, and an ill-disciplined Cambridge failed to execute in key moments.
For the women’s Blues, it was a chastening defeat at StoneX, as Oxford successfully defended their title for the first time since 2014. This year’s game was always going to be a tough test against a side ranked a division higher in BUCS this year. Cambridge’s challenges were compounded by their captain and vice-captain being ruled out due to injury, alongside record inexperience in the squad – which featured five freshers, and 18 new players.
Nevertheless, the women in light blue had stormed out the blocks to the Oxford 22 within minutes, before marauding runs got them within yards of the try line until Oxford forced a knock-on. Having stalled the early momentum, Oxford then roared back in the opening ten minutes, but Cambridge kept them at bay, including on the try line as two defenders brilliantly stopped four dark blue players from bundling Estelle Onwuka over the line. Cambridge then forced a knock-on, but Oxford made their pressure count and subsequently broke the deadlock.
“Oxford experience soon became telling”
Flanker Harris-Lovett powered away to score near to the posts, and a conversion duly followed. This sparked Oxford into rhythm, but while they advanced with pace, Cambridge held them off and had chances to fight back. Inside centre Amelia Edwards intercepted brilliantly, but an almost-certain try was called back for an advantage. It was Oxford who would score second, a resilient Cambridge defence struggled to release the pressure, and it told through Onwuka’s power. A gutting end to the half followed: Cambridge were yards away from the try line, before Oxford took advantage of both a penalty advantage and Cambridge fatigue to score another try, meaning the light blues went into halftime 19-0 down and with it all to do.
Oxford started the second half strongly, but a crucial knock-on prevented a fourth try. Errors compounded when Liv Rosin conceded a yellow from a Cambridge scrum, but the dark blues kept up enough pressure to eventually add a fourth. Nevertheless, Cambridge would soon have their magic moment. Clare winger Esther Makourin broke a tackle on the halfway line and carved a wonderful, curving 40-yard run through the Oxford line, outsprinting everyone to score brilliantly in the corner – a wonderful moment for the fresher that made it 26-5.
Unfortunately for the light blues, Oxford experience soon became telling in the second half, and they continued to rack up more tries to seal Varsity victory. However, it would be Cambridge who had the final word, winning a late penalty 20 yards out, which number 19 Charlotte Cooper converted with aplomb to leave the final scoreline 52-8. The result will be tough to swallow and the scoreline made a grim read, but the performance was defiant against stacked odds. There were lots of positives to take from the match, and a young team in transition will continue to grow ahead of next year’s encounter.
“Patches of positive momentum would build for the light blues, for it then to be disrupted”
Scarcely an hour later, the men’s Blues had the opportunity to avenge their female counterparts. In a particularly windy game in North London, the opening passages foreshadowed the game’s overall theme. Oxford scored its first points of the game off a driving maul in the fifth minute. At set-pieces, they were able to apply sustained pressure throughout the game on the smaller Cambridge pack.
That said, just under fifteen minutes gone, Cambridge replied with a try of their own. James Wyse, the light blue loosehead prop, bundled over, with Cambridge’s captain George Bland adding the extras. Two turnovers in the space of consecutive minutes from fly-half Nate Bottomley looked to give Cambridge the momentum to push on, but lineout malfunctions interrupted the light blues’ efforts to sustain a sense of tempo to the game. Subsequently, opposing fly-half Josh Hallett – who pulled the strings of the Oxford attack – set up winger Wolfe Morn for Oxford’s second try of the game, giving the dark blues a 10-7 lead. However, a George Bland penalty then took Cambridge level after 32 minutes.
Just before half-time, Oxford utilised their rolling maul again to give their hooker Will Roddy his second try of the game and snatch a 15-10 lead going into the break. The first half left the matchup evenly poised for either side’s taking, despite Oxford having the defensive edge.
Following a Cambridge kick-off to start the second half, one of Cambridge’s key men, Nate Bottomley, was forced off injured. This led to a complete shuffle of the backline, with Bland moving to 10, Ollie East to 13, Jodie Bardell to wing, and substitute Ben Barlow to fullback. In the 44th minute, Oxford capitalised on another driving maul to score in the far corner and give hooker Roddy his hat-trick.
“For Oxford, this represented a fightback, both physically and symbolically”
Cambridge’s glimmer of hope came through Patrick Shrimpton, who continued to threaten Oxford’s defence, bursting through the gainline on multiple occasions. Despite almost scoring off a crash ball line in the 47th minute, the light blues’ inside centre scored on the second time of asking five minutes later. This brought the score to 20-15. A continued lack of cohesion in midfield and precision on set-pieces thwarted any sense of momentum for Cambridge however. Oxford soon scored again, putting their advantage out of a converted try distance after 55 minutes.
An ensuing exchange of penalties between Bland and Hallett left it 30-18 in favour of Oxford with fifteen minutes to go. However, Cambridge failed to take their opportunities, especially while their opponents were down to 14 men following a yellow card. Dropped balls and stolen lineouts in the last phase of the game cost the light blues dearly. After yet another Oxford rolling maul gave Roddy his fourth try of the game in the 73rd minute and make the score 37-18, Cambridge had left too much to do. A late consolation converted try for Lewis Cooper, following a clever overload by light Blues’ versatile forward Arnaud du Roy, left the final score at 37-25.
In phases of the game, both teams threatened the other and looked evenly matched in places. However, Oxford’s physical dominance and consistency at set-pieces ultimately overwhelmed the Cambridge defence. Patches of positive momentum would build for the light blues, for it then to be disrupted by poor discipline or simple errors. The lineout and maul defence was a particular worry for Cambridge, conceding four tries in a similar fashion. A lack of real cohesion between the backs also let Cambridge down at times, often failing to release Tim Andrews or Ollie East on the wings during the first half. For Oxford, this represented a fightback, both physically and symbolically, having failed to pick up a win in the last three Varsity games. Following this performance, they can take real confidence going into next year, while a transitional Cambridge side will look to rebuild and counterpunch.
