Cambridge were beaten 29-7 by Worcester Cavaliers at Grange Road on Wednesday evening, on Welsh international centre Jamie Roberts’ first appearance for the Light Blues.

If those in attendance were expecting fireworks, the only pyrotechnic display came from over the Main Stand at Grange Road, from a nearby celebration as Bonfire night approaches. On the field, it was also the visitors who flew out of the traps to leave Don Stevens’ men reeling.

With just five minutes on the clock, Dave Spelman was sin-binned by the referee for an infringement inside his own twenty-two, before three Worcester scores in five minutes put the visitors almost out of sight.

The resulting scrum saw Mat Gilbert crash over, before centre Max Stelling and winger Blake Edwards also capitalised on their team’s man advantage, rounding off free-flowing moves.

19-0 behind with under a quarter of the game gone cannot have been how Roberts, capped 74 times for Wales and with three additional British and Irish Lions appearances, or any of the Light Blues, would have wanted to mark his first game since the World Cup. Indeed, almost twenty-five minutes had gone by before, to a large cheer from the 250 or so supporters behind the dugouts, the Welshman received the ball in an attacking area.

Every time Roberts took the ball, he looked dangerous, with his effectiveness on the crash ball particularly noticeable. Oxford certainly will not be looking forward to the prospect of defending against it at Twickenham in a month’s time.

Indeed, the Light Blues then mounted something of a resurgence, buoyed not only by increased possession of the ball, but also a more error-strewn display from Worcester, after their initial burst, not helped by the ever wetter and greasy conditions at Grange Road.

A string of penalties saw the Cambridge set piece show its potential; James Kilroe, lively throughout, finished off the resulting driving maul and, suddenly, six minutes before the interval, the Light Blues were right back in the game, playing with confidence, reflected in the perfectly judged conversion slotted home by captain Don Stevens.

The second period began much as the first had finished, with Cambridge in the ascendancy against their Premiership opponents. Stevens pushed a penalty kick narrowly wide of the left upright from thirty-five metres, before Fraser Gillies almost rounded off an exquisite individual effort, with the ball just evading his grasp two metres from the line. The interplay between Gillies and Roberts, as well as the delectable kicking, with both feet, of early replacement George Williams, the stocky full-back from Clare College, served as other notable highlights.

With the Light Blues unable to find the breakthrough, it was Worcester who then added undeserved gloss to the score line. The last four minutes saw Cambridge reduced to thirteen men, both for cynical play in the eyes of the referee, at rucks presenting the visitors with quick ball. Cavaliers’ fly half Jamie Shillcock, a standout performer throughout, helped himself to a penalty, then converted his own try, scored via a quickly-taken tap penalty, to increase Worcester’s margin of victory.

The win was one, on balance, which Worcester deserved. Yet, for at least sixty-five minutes, the Light Blues matched and even dominated their opponents. Indiscipline was punished but, in reality, it was an even contest bookended by five minutes of class from the visitors.

For Roberts, studying for an MPhil at Queens’ College, the experience must have been a world away from the World Cup fixtures last month, yet his willingness to play for the Light Blues is testimony to his desire to help them on and off the field in any way he can. The impact he can have, not only physically in the upcoming Varsity Match, but also psychologically upon his team-mates, could well be telling in Cambridge’s attempts to avoid a record sixth consecutive defeat in the famous fixture.

The Light Blues entertain Durham a week today at Grange Road as they continue their build-up to the Varsity encounter. Despite tonight's defeat, there were many positives to be taken out of this clash against high-calibre opposition.

Read Varsity's interview with Cambridge's men's and women's rugby captains here.