Off field controversy dominated proceedings during this pre-season match after spectators were barred from coming into the Iffley Road site, forcing scores of Oxford Brookes fans to scale one of the perimeter fences and watch from there. The eleventh hour decision to play the match behind closed doors was made when a facebook group was discovered suggesting large numbers of Brookes fans would show up, something the Iffley Road authorities were not prepared to deal with. This meant that the game was somewhat robbed of what would surely have been an entertaining atmosphere – although credit must be given to the Brookes fans who watched the game from the fence making as much noise as they possibly could.

Seeing as the game was now being played entirely behind closed doors I had quite a task to get myself in so I could watch the match. I had to spend some time convincing the security guards on the way in that I was not some undercover Brookes student intent on wreaking havoc in the stands, but fortunately through a combination of smiling politely and refusing to go away I was eventually permitted to come in and watch. As a result I have little idea of what happened on the pitch inside the first twenty minutes, except that neither side scored.

The Blues were just in the ascendency for part of the first half I was able to watch. Adam Zagajewski was causing problems for the Brookes defence with his pace and trickery but his only real chance of the half was screwed high and wide of the goal. This was greeted by howls of derision from the gaggle of Brookes fans watching on from the fence – but given how far away they were from the action it is a wonder that they managed to see what was going on. Two headed chances for the Blues towards the end of the half from Adam Healy and then Leon Farr came close to breaking the deadlock, but the teams trudged off at half time with the score still nil nil.

Buoyed by their boisterous travelling support the Brookes team began the second half playing much better than they had ended the first, and after about ten minutes of sustained pressure deservedly took the lead. A loose ball on the edge of the Blues penalty area was rifled into the top corner leaving Blues keeper Dwayne Whylly no chance. Cue delirium amongst the massed ranks atop the fence. One Brookes fan took his celebrations a bit too far however, stripping completely naked and running on to the pitch. He was perhaps hoping for a security guard to come on and attempt to rugby tackle him – in reality everyone on the pitch gave him a look which seemed to say “what are you doing, you look like an idiot?”, and he sheepishly took his place back on the fence. Of further embarrassment to him was the fact that it was quite a cold autumnal day, if you know what I mean.

The Blues responded well to going a goal behind, bellowed forward by goalkeeper Whylly – who almost single-handedly made up for the lack of any Blues support in the stands with his constant shouting.

Zagajewski had the ball in the net with about ten minutes still to go but, to the delight of the men on the fence, it was ruled out for offside. Minutes later the same player curled a free kick onto the bar, and then Blues striker Healy placed a free shot inside the penalty area into the grateful hands of the Brookes keeper – it seemed clear it wasn’t going to be the Blues day. With only seconds left on the clock full back Tim Squires hit a shot from the edge of the box which was brilliantly tipped round the post, robbing the Blues of an equaliser they probably deserved and me of a potentially brilliant ‘Dreaming Squires’ headline.

As the whistle blew the Brookes players ran over to celebrate with their fans, whilst the Blues players trudged off dejectedly. It’s not an important game in the Blues’ calendar – one player told me as he came off that it was the second most important game of their season so far, and that they’d only played two.

Sport is full of irony. In the same way that the player with the best boots is usually the worst at football, the most enjoyable part of sport is the bit that’s worst for you: the social. Whilst the days of kicking lumps out of each other and then having a warm bath together after the game may be consigned – unfortunately, some might say – to the annals of history, the post match celebration lives on in Oxford in the form of rubbish curries and club ties in Park End.

As I write this, teams across Oxford are not only gearing up for their first match of the season, but also for the yearly ritual of initiating their new freshers. This arrangement is given extra gravitas by the fact that getting in to your college team of choice is such a momentous achievement that it is almost inconceivable that there would not be some sort of ceremony to accompany it.

Naturally there is some variance in initiations. With a decanal summons and even, in some ‘memorable’ instances, the national press waiting in the wings if things get out of hand, the more extreme examples have been toned down in recent years. Nevertheless, initiations do persist and, at their most ebullient, throw up enough stories that require the use of the words ‘lad’, ‘chat’ and ‘banter’ to make you think you were at Teddy Hall for dinner. Although having said that, if you were at Teddy Hall, there would be no way you could get a copy of this, or indeed any other, newspaper to find that out. A brief scratch at the surface of initiations reveal a tale of challenges, casual nudity (with bonus points if it occurs in public) and drinking which can – naturally – lead to chunder, usually after a failed if enthusiastic attempt to ‘see off’ that pint Guiness and Baileys.

Most captains recognise this kind of ceremony isn’t for everyone, and react to this either by replacing initiations with a team dinner or, more usually, by providing for a guilt free opt out, leaving only those who desire ritual humiliation to be subject to it. So if you’ve found yourself a week into Oxford without the suitable notoriety to stand out from the crowd of ubiquitous freshers, then perhaps initiations can be the format to achieve your goals. After all, there is no surer way for people to know your name than for them to associate it with a funny and slightly degrading story.

JCR Rugby Premier League

University 8

The reader may be sceptical but Cherwell has been assured that Univ’s crushing 55-8 defeat at the hands of Brasenose this week can be attributed to a five month hangover following that glorious May evening when Keble were sleign in the Cuppers Final by a similar margin. As Brasenose kicked off, the low sun must have dazzled the bloodshot eyes of the Univ team as it was only 15 seconds or so before they were given an early opportunity to address their headaches with some much-needed water after the Brasenose pack had piled through to score.

This set the tone for the 1st half as Brasenose scored 7 tries with only a penalty kick from Univ’s Nick Green in reply.

There had been rumours circulating that success had gone to the heads of the Univ players and it was hard not to agree: The team can not have seen a gym all summer- the goliath of Blues No. 9 Nick Haydon no longer towered over the pitch and appears to have been replaced by the smallest man, let alone captain, in college rugby.

However, the 2nd half brought with it some glimpse of Univ’s former glories. They enjoyed a sustained presence in the Brasenose half (perhaps it was the sun after all) and they were unlucky to come away with only the one try from Thomas Cole. Man of the Match, Doug Sexton, despite what must have been a very tiring Freshers’- I mean Welcome – Week provided a ruthless performance from No. 8 and there were also good tackling performances from Patrick Burns, Matt Beer and Teddy Chad, although Brasenose captain Tricky Wilson may have got the better of everyone at times. The ‘new rugby powerhouse’ may have taking a beating this week but, in the eyes of the team at least, remain the bookies favourite for Cuppers.

Tim Aldersley

JCR Rugby Premier League

Teddy Hall 24

Teddy Hall were fired up for this game after reading Cherwell dismiss their chances in last week’s paper. Despite some pre-match controversy at the presence of Mahony on the wing for Keble, the 2 sides remained evenly matched for a tense first quarter of an hour. However, after some intelligent play from Ader in the centre, the defending champions Keble worked a hole and found themselves 5-0 up.

Some unnecessary backchat soon gifted Keble 3 more points. However, charging back up the hill, Hall quickly earned a penalty 5m, from which they scored to make it 8-7. The game seemed to be back on (almost) level terms before once again the centres opened up, and Keble went in at the whistle 15-7 up.

Keble started the second half with only 14 men, but were helped out significantly when the referee gave a dubious reversal of a decision to make it 18-7. These were, however, the last points Keble would score. With the words of Captain Tom “Gadget” Sanders’ half-time talk still ringing in their ears, the Hall backs found their rhythm. Some neat breaks down the line coupled with fearsome rucking caused panic at the base of the ruck for Keble and this time the change of momentum stuck. The talismanic Roland McFall put in hit after hit and new boy George Inglis began steaming through the middle to disrupt playmaker Ader. A mention also to Charlie Millar, the ever calm Hall number 10, who demonstrated remarkable ‘finesse’ for the first game of the season.

Proving that it really is a game of two halves, Hall finished 24-18 up. After their resounding Cuppers final defeat last year, does this finally spell the end of an era of Keble domination in college rugby? All I know is that Cherwell should never have written off Teddy Hall last week….

Henry Dunn

JCR Football Premier League

St Catz 0

Following their impressive promotion from the first division last season, Worcester sensed that they were back where they belonged in their opening Premier League fixture this week. Playing against defeated cuppers finalists St Catz was certain to provide a litmus test as to whether Worcester’s break from the elite had hindered their chances to live up to their illustrious tradition in college football – and on this evidence it appears they will be fine.

The game was very tight and scrappy in the first half, and St Catz probably edged the first half an hour with some good possession football. Worcester started to come back into the game towards the end of the half and scored a goal direct from a free kick taken by Oli Gee and converted by Adam Healy. The turning point in the game undoubtedly came just after the second half when Catz were awarded a penalty, despite the offence occurring closer to the corner flag than penalty box. After much controversy I think Catz decided that it was not fair to score under those circumstances and so passed the subsequent penalty at 2mph straight to Worcester keeper Adam Titchen. This whole episode appeared to disrupt the rhythm of St Catz as, just one minute later, Worcester went 2-0 up with another Healy goal. He soon completed his hat-trick with a cross-come-shot that looped over the St Catz keeper.

St Catz then went 4-0 down when their goalkeeper comically fell over while attempting to kick a back pass upfield. If Catz had any hopes of staging an unlikely comeback this unfortunate incident killed them instantly. The result probably flattered Worcester, but is nonetheless a very encouraging start to the season. Catz were a bit unlucky in places however, and I suspect they will once again be towards the top of the Premier Division this season.

Tom Greene