Postponed from the end of last term, because of a backlog of games due to flooded pitches earlier in the year, no one was quite sure who would prevail in this battle of Turl Street in the Plate Final. Lincoln were arguably the more experienced side and certainly had a size advantage in the pack whilst Jesus, boosted by a large Freshers’ contingent, had put in some dominant displays before the Easter break.

With a seven-week gap since both sides had played a competitive game, fitness was always going to be key and a bit of rust was expected. However, the early exchanges provided the opposite as both sides played with a high intensity from the first whistle. Lincoln dominated possession and territory, but were guilty of several infringements at the breakdown, which, allied with excellent work in the loose by the Jesus forwards, left the game scoreless for much of the first half. Jesus were dogged in defence, continually stifling out half-breaks by the men in blue and making last-ditch tackle after last-ditch tackle. In contrast, they never quite achieved the fluidity in attack they would have liked. Miscues in the lineout and ball-security issues stopped them in their tracks whenever they looked like gaining some momentum. Still, Jesus always looked dangerous whenever they put a string of phases together.

A particularly intense period just before half time saw Lincoln camped in their opposition’s 22, relentlessly pressing for the first score of the game. Jesus’s defence, as it had done all half, refused to yield. Lincoln finally forced their way over the try-line, only to be denied the score as the ball was held up. From the following scrum, with timing running out in the half, Lincoln tried to rumble over once more.

The men in green, desperately looking for a turnover, went off their feet at the breakdown at few phases later and the referee duly awarded Lincoln the penalty. Lincoln’s fly half showed great awareness to catch Jesus’s defence napping, taking the penalty quickly and diving over the line before the opposition could react. He was unable to add the extras leaving the score 5-0 at halftime.

The second half continued much in the same way as the first. Lincoln, again with the lion’s share of the possession, started to find more holes in the Jesus defence and continually exploited overlaps from their set piece. The size advantage in pack also started to tell, as Lincoln caused more and more problems at scrum time.

A turnover in the scrum led to Lincoln’s second and final try, with a score in the far corner extending their lead to 10-0 midway through the second half. Perhaps through slight over-eagerness though, they continued to concede penalties at the tackle area. The referee finally lost patience, sending the Lincoln No. 8 to the bin for flying off his feet one too many times. Jesus were unable to press the advantage despite a couple of visits into Lincoln’s 22, although a successful long range attempt at goal made for a frantic finish with the sides only separated by one score.

The comeback Jesus craved was not to be, and as the referee blew for the final whistle he condemned them to their third defeat in three years in a Cuppers Final. No complaints could be had though as Lincoln were worthy victors and will undoubtedly enjoy the bragging rights this win gives them over their Turl Street rivals for a few years to come.

The history of boxing at Oxford – like many of the more absurd traditions – goes back to the late 19th century. The first ever sporting competition against the Tabs was a cricket match arranged by William Wordsworth’s nephew in 1827, who was to become the first double blue two years later when he rowed in the inaugural boat race. After deciding these classic gentleman’s sports were too polite, somebody set up a boxing club some fifty years later. With an establishment date of 1881, Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club has a claim as one of the oldest clubs still active in Britain and is undisputedly the oldest university boxing club.

The first varsity match wasn’t held until 1897, however, and was a joint affair with the fencing team. Victories in the four boxing bouts were split evenly between the two teams, and the overall match was given to Oxford on the fencing score. The annual varsity match has long since separated from the fencing event and expanded over time to include nine bouts in total, with a full gamut of weight categories ranging from featherweight (57kg) to heavyweight (91kg).

The rest of the sport’s history at Oxford isn’t entirely straightforward to say the least. It became a full blue sport in 1937 (and remains one of the fourteen ‘full blues’ today) but nearly disbanded in 1969 due to a lack of interest. The club was only saved from folding when then-captain Robert Nairac knocked on doors around the city the week before varsity to find enough willing brawlers to make up the numbers – needless to say we lost that match but by a surprisingly narrow margin. Nairac is perhaps more famous for being the most successful undercover operator to have worked for Britain in Northern Ireland in the history of the troubles. He successfully infiltrated the IRA for several years before being caught, effectively managing the operation on a freelance basis but was eventually caught and killed in 1977. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot also boasts a blue, winning one of his two bouts against Cambridge in 45 seconds whilst a Rhodes scholar. Contemporaries of Abbot have often remarked that he possessed a unique ability to block any punch with his face.

As is often the case, the Cambridge clubs alumni pale in comparison. The most notable former light blue boxer is current BNP leader Nick Griffin, who was once knocked out in the heavyweight contest, which may have contributed to his eventual 2:2 and subsequent political opinions.

OUABC have continued the tradition of being more tolerant than our rivals, introducing women’s boxing to Oxford in 2003. In the last ten years women boxers from Oxford have frequently outdone their male counterparts, having won several national titles for the club. Sadly their exists no varsity spot for women due to a lack of reciprocal enthusiasm from Cambridge and the difficulty of establishing a long-running body of women. However five women boxed competitively over the course of last season with many more participating at training.

This year saw the Oxford take the Truelove bowl from Cambridge for the fourth consecutive year, levelling the overall tally and clawing back a longstanding deficit from the early 20th century. The overall score stands at 51 victories each, with a further five draws. Today’s boxing team trains up to eight times a week in Michealmas and Hilary and competes up to three times a year.

Boxing is unique amongst Blues sports as very few of the team have boxed competitively before university – hence the need for such an intense training schedule as the coaches often prepare students for a first bout in a matter of months.

The sport doesn’t demand the same commitment from everyone however, and many students take part on a more casual basis. The club has won the last four Varsity matches but requires a steady influx of new boxers to fill in for those leaving. With the Varsity match almost a year off, Trinity term is often the best time to begin boxing. Training sessions are held on Mondays and Thursdays at 4.30pm and Sunday mornings at 8.30am. No former experience is required whatsoever and further information can be found from the men’s captain [email protected] and the women’s captain [email protected].

All great projects begin on Wikipedia. Procrastination. Last-minute essays. The Wikipedia Game. It should come as no surprise, then, that the group of Balliol sportsmen and sportswomen destined to become Korfball Cuppers champions began their journey in a desperate attempt to work out what it was exactly they were destined to win at.

You, lucky readers, will have to do no such research. Korfball, for those who have been living under a rock their whole lives / have no internet access, is a sport similar to netball, in which two teams of eight – four men, four women – face off against each other in an invariably epic clash. The aim, in a stunning departure from ball-game convention, is to launch a ball into a net. In this case, the goal, or ‘korf’, looks very much like a netball basket. But if you’re thinking this game sounds really quite similar – if not identical – to netball itself, think again. Oh, yes, think again. Indeed, according to the South Australian Korfball Association – a steadfast and reliable source of knowledge over the years – there are “dramatic differences” between the two games. “Dramatic differences”, such as the fact that whilst a netball court measures 30.5m x 15.25m, the korfball court measures 40m x 20m. More substantially, whilst netball rings are positioned at the centre of each end of the court, the korfs are situated one third of the way into each half. This, of course, allows for the 360-degree play all korfball fans know and love. Other differences include the lifting of netball’s restriction on shooting distance: whilst netball players may only shoot from within the goal circle, KorfBallers may shoot from anywhere within the attacking zone.

Last Saturday, teams from seven Oxford colleges gathered at the Iffley Road Sports Centre to do KorfBattle. The ordinary scale of the game had been somewhat reduced – teams were to consist of four players as opposed to eight, whilst the court was to be halved. But make no mistake about it: this was going to be massive.

On paper, New College looked strong, with a core of experienced korfball players, including the Oxford captain Sam Sharp. But paper counts for little in sport – with the obvious exception of the World Origami Championships. Indeed, a strong line-up is little help when the many temptations of Corpus Christi ball lure much of your squad away from the court. Magdalen, too, would have been confident of securing the ultimate prize, with Oxford korfball players Ally Glennie and Alice Thomson forming the backbone of their team. At the other end of the spectrum, there was St Hughs, who boasted not a single regular korfball player.

Tensions were high, as is to be expected in a sporting competition this prestigious. Would the experience of Magdalen or New prevail? Or would Hugh’s brave rookies discover a mass of hidden KorfTalent?

In the end, the twists and turns that we have come to expect from korfball produced an unlikely winner in the form of Balliol. The Broad Street outfit fielded just one korfball blue – the highly talented Helen Davies – but what they lacked in experience, they made up for in sheer sporting ability, embodied in Frisbee enthusiast and general Adonis Will McCarthy. Balliol started brightly, with a 1-0 win over Brasenose. Univ, however, presented a stiffer challenge; neither side was able to break the deadlock, with the result a scoreless draw. At this point, Balliol were reinforced by the appearance of James Kavanagh, of Oxford lacrosse fame. The Kavalry had arrived. Balliol dominated their next game, defeating a highly spirited Hughs side 3-0, with a trademark hat-trick from Davies securing the win.

The next match was to be the decider. Balliol were now faced with a formidable Magdalen outfit, who had made their intentions clear by trouncing Hugh’s by a margin of ten goals. Balliol, however, had been strengthened by the appearance of netball blues Libby Stephens and Bethan Nichol. Some observers likened this to the SAS turning up to your Quasar party. The match was a tight affair, with the netball players struggling to get to grips with the subtle – or rather, ‘dramatic’ – differences between the two games. Balliol went one up, before controversy struck in the form of a disallowed goal from Magdalen on the stroke of half time. We knew there was going to be drama – but this was something else.

Balliol ultimately held onto their lead, securing the title, to the jubilation of fans the world over. Korfball enthusiast and Balliol student Tabby Pinto had this to offer: “We got the tactics just right. At the end of the day, we just korfed the most balls. Simple.” Joe Wardropper, meanwhile, was confused by the whole affair – “I thought korfball was a Swedish delicacy”. After a day of unmatched sporting action and drama, Balliol had come out on top. In the words of the great Sir Alex Ferguson: “Korfball – bloody hell.”

This week’s edition has taken a look into two of the more unfamiliar and unreported sports that Oxford has to offer. Korfball and Patball offer two examples of such sports. Korfball remains competitively institutionalised, whereas Patball (Page 31) seemed to be based on sporadic get togethers, much like flash mobs. This is part of Cherwell Sport’s investigation into unusual sports in Oxford: more coverage coming soon, including sports such as quidditch.