Promotion Push

Monday Night Rugby

Nothing guarantees attendance at an event like value for money, which explains why Iffley Road saw an almost packed house for the game with Wasps last week. As the Aviva Premiership grinds on with an at times crushing monotony – two matches last weekend were decided solely by penalty kicks at goal – Blues games on Mondays are a free-flowing, high-scoring spectacle with £1 drinks thrown in for good measure. What’s not to love?

Merton/Mansfield

If the best things come in small packages, nowhere has this been truer than on Oxford’s football fields these first two weeks of the season. Carrying on their run of form from last year, Merton/Mansfield – not exactly two colleges that would spring to mind if you were asked for sporting powerhouses – are top of the league after winning their first two matches. A thumping 3 – 0 win over Teddy Hall in first week was followed up by an equally emphatic victory over Hugh’s this, making them an early contender for the title.

Relegation Dogfight

Walking

One of the common facts that are banded about around Oxford is that you can get from St John’s College, Oxford to its namesake in Cambridge only walking on land owned by the two colleges. If this is true then presumably their Oxford sports ground marks the halfway point where above-averagely enthusiastic testers of Oxbridge legends can have a break before continuing their journey. I don’t care if it has under-floor heating, why is it so bloody far away?

The Blues

A thumping loss to Wasps at rugby, a defeat by Brookes in a football friendly, and the most undergraduates ever selected for the OUBC squad with only one returning Blue. It hasn’t been a great start to the season for the elite of Oxford sport. Meanwhile in Cambridge their Blues also lost to London Irish. However this was only by 12 points, and against a team that contained occasional England Fly-half Shane Geraghty. Their boat club – whilst also having a healthy dash of undergraduate talent – has four returning Blues and a medallist from the under 23 world championships. Obviously this doesn’t take into account the fact that Cambridge are our natural inferiors, but still, I’m getting a bit worried. I only like playing up to the idea of the Varsity grudge when we win.

One of the drawbacks of living next to the Cherwell’s Sport Editor is that when you happen to have sat through an entire game of netball it becomes a racing certainty that you will have to pen a few thoughts for the benefit of the readership. However, I am happy to do so as the performance I witnessed was not only truly impressive but a revelation to me.

My reason for attending, which I tried to stress to the friends who raised an eyebrow when I said I was spending my Wednesday afternoon watching a girl’s netball match alone, was to see an old friend who was representing Warwick’s team.

The game was dominated by Oxford with the final score a fair reflection of their comprehensive dismantling of Warwick’s 1st team. The sequencing of passing was both fluid and accurate; this was clearly a team who had learnt to anticipate each other’s positioning on court to great effect.

It did not take long for the goal shooter to be given the chance to score, which she capitalized on almost without fail. By the end of the first quarter the pattern of play had been established and Warwick did not seem able to offer anything to disrupt Oxford’s seamless passage of passes.

The main impetus for Oxford’s impressive scoring rate was a strong performance from Sarah Godlee at goal attack, who is new to the team, combined with Nat Hoon, goal shooter, who put the game beyond the reach of Warwick. However, the standout performance of the match came from Hannah McKay in goal defence who made a series of effortless interceptions in the circle and midcourt to neutralize any resistance that Warwick could offer.

It was a credit to the team as a whole that despite securing the match early on the girls continued to demonstrate an exceptionally high standard of netball to the final whistle. The ease of victory was all the more remarkable given that this was the first game of the season and the first time the girls had all played together; in these early stages it would seem that this is a team to watch this year.
I have to confess that this was actually the first full game of netball I have watched; yet despite initially going just to see a friend I was entertained and enthralled throughout, so if you are stuck for something to do of an afternoon, get yourself down to Iffley and support a little publicized but very talented side.

Oxford 63

Warwick 5

There is always a little taste of chaos at cross country Cuppers. With a broad field full of hopeful freshers, Varsity selection in the balance, and more mud underfoot than the Ypres Salient, you invariably get the feeling that the first race of the cross country season is going to spring a few surprises.

So did Cuppers deliver on its shock value this year? Yes and no. Yes, some complete unknowns performed brilliantly in both the men’s and women’s races, and St Anne’s celebrated an unexpected victory. But no, the big names turned in big performances, led by Green Templeton’s supercharged Dave Bruce.

The women’s race was tightly contested. Established Blue Clare Kane (Christ Church) led from the start, but was made to work hard for the win by newcomer Ella Waldman (Somerville). Waldman kept Kane’s lead as slippery as the treacherous course, and in the end she finished only six seconds behind Kane’s credible 22:01.

Third place was a tight squeeze between Noelle Lopez (Balliol), the women’s vice captain, and last year’s captain Natasha Poole (Hilda’s). The two experienced runners kept in sight of the leaders and battled all the way along the 6k course, but in the end Poole capped off a superb return from injury with a strong finish to claim the bronze with some 20 seconds to spare. Becky Gardner (Catz) and Cait Mullarkey (Trinity) also ran well to finish fifth and sixth respectively.

Uppity freshers ran riot in the men’s race. Dave Bruce came in 40 seconds clear of the field with an outstanding 32:51 over a course that by now resembled an ugly chocolate mousse, but he trailed carnage in his wake. Four virgin runners broke into the top ten, led by the excellent Fabe Downs (LMH) in second. Downs had to fend off fellow fresher Fraser Scott (Lincoln) and OUCCC veteran Michael Osborne (New). It was Osborne, running as a guest, who took third with 33:45, while Scott crashed home a few seconds behind.

Close behind, Tom Frith (St Anne’s) held off Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard (Christ Church) for fifth. A threatening and much improved Alan Cherry stormed in seventh ahead of Adam Lewandowski and Peter Hodkinson. Club Secretary Carl Assmundson rounded off the top ten with a fair 34:57 after a long spell on the sidelines. St Anne’s showed great strength further down the field to take the title.

With many Blues hopefuls either looking on in their tracksuits, gingerly returning or just downright absent, it’s probably too early to draw any lasting conclusions from Cuppers. But OUCCC Captain Dave Taylor – who finished a gentlemanly 15th – will have been encouraged by the healthy crop of freshers as he looks to overcome Cambridge for the third year running.

The best news for the club are the strong 34 runners, who despite the mud bath, all clocked in under 40 minutes. Taylor will hope to reverse a history of defeat in the open mob matches. The sound of feet squelching over this awful course must have been music to his ears. Chaos, yes, but it is just this kind of chaos the OUCCC want to take over to Cambridge in November.

It must be said that archery has come a long way since the days of Agincourt. Archers now have much more advanced bows than the bent sticks used in the Hundred Years War; archery equipment is now made out a variety of materials including aluminium, wood, foam and, of course, carbon fibre.

There are three main types of bow used today. The most common is the recurve bow. More technical than this is the compound; with a system of pulleys that take the weight off the draw, making it easier to pull back. Finally there are the longbows still pining for the days of shooting down a French knight – longbow archers from the wreckage of the Mary Rose were actually found to have one shoulder bigger than the other as a result of archery.

Oxford University Company of Archers is one of the larger clubs in the country. The club competes in the midlands archery league and has finished in the top six at the university nationals three times in the last two years (indoor and outdoor). However, it is not all about the competitions (or the training – we try not to make people deformed!). For those not fussed about competitions, just turn up to a session and have some fun. Beginners are more than welcome at the club and training is offered to as high a level as you want to take it.