Light Blue is the Colour

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Thursday 7 December 2017 at Twickenham
Result	Oxford University 10 Cambridge University 20
Competition	The 136th Varsity Match
Hopstats	Third time I have been work-free on a Thursday to get to this fixture.  Not a new stadium for the list as I have also been here for Schools Finals days and several internationals.
Context
Results-wise, Oxford have had the better season, but Cambridge arrive in good shape after their warm-up victory at Grange Road over the Steele-Bodger XV (see recent blogpost).  Weather forecast for the afternoon was thankfully better than the horrendous morning but conditions will be tricky for amateur players.  My friends and I noted these conditions from the warmth of breakfast at Bill’s in Richmond followed by several pints, lunch and more pints at the Prince’s Head on Richmond Green.
In one sentence
Closer than the score suggests, but a deserved win for the Light Blues.
So what?
Cambridge lead 63-59 with 14 draws since the fixture was first played in 1872.
Match Report
This is a retrospective I-was-there post.  It was great to see Selwyn’s Buchan Richardson starting at Number 8 and even better when he touched the ball down in the corner in the early minutes.  However, first impressions were confirmed when the video referee (or whatever they are called) ruled it out.  This was going to happen three times to Cambridge as light blue followers wondered whether missed opportunities would be back for haunting purposes later on. Mediocre snap captures the ball and Richardson's hand but fails to prove that he was tackled into touch The first half was dour in difficult conditions.  Each side spent long periods in turn encamped in their defensive 22, with only the occasional penalty or other error giving a chance to break out.  Both defences held well, but with Oxford looking faster and more fluent in the passing game. The deadlock was broken by Cambridge scrum-half and man-of-the-match Chris Bell.  The pack pushed Oxford back at one of their own scrums and Bell went through for the try.  The relatively easy conversion was missed in Twickenham’s notorious conditions.  Oxford captain Conor Kearns landed a penalty, and Cambridge missed one. The invisible referee with the TV set also ruled out two more scores for Cambridge before the half-time whistle came with the score at 3-5 and the result very much in the balance.  To be fair, the decisions looked correct.  Cambridge captain Charlie Amesbury was held without grounding the ball, and Jake Hennessey had received a forward pass.  It looked as if this game would come down to impact subs and fitness in the last quarter. Mike Phillips restored a five-point margin with a Cambridge penalty before a long delay for an injury to forward Andrew Hunter.  Maybe that enforced break meant that there were fewer errors due to fatigue in the closing stages.  Oxford made their substitutions earlier.  Cambridge missed a good chance when the last pass of a cross-field move went astray before Archie Russell scored in the corner to give some breathing space at 3-13. Oxford came back strongly and Will Wilson finally breached the Cambridge line for a try, converted by Kearns and so the margin was back to only 3pts at 10-13.  It was going to be a tough 15 minutes. Fortunately it was Cambridge’s turn to be on the attack, and their pack delivered the winning score with a drive from a line-out, getting the ball to full-back Amesbury to go over the line.  Phillips converted to give a ten-point lead and there was insufficient time for Oxford to close that gap, especially now some clean-shirted fit-and-ready light blue subs were in the defensive pack. This was an effective rather than an effusive performance by Cambridge, but this is a big occasion in the student rugby calendar and the result matters more than the style.  If I am not plucked back into science teaching by then, I’ll be back next year.
Ground Pix
The lower tier is used and the atmosphere is not unlike Non-League finals day at Wembley.
Match Pix
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Nothing definite in the diary, and decisions at this time of year are often last-minute because of the weather.

Light Blue Through and Through

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Wednesday 22 November 2017 at Grange Road
Result	Cambridge University 53 Steele-Bodger XV 22
Competition	Traditional warm-up fixture for the Varsity Match in December – the 70th anniversary of the fixture.
Hopstats	Not a new ground – been here several times both during and since my own student days.  I’ve watched rugby union at seven different venues and have no detailed records from my twenties. Young readers take note!
Context
Micky Steele-Bodger CBE played for Cambridge University and England in the 1940s before his career was ended early by injury. Since then he has served rugby union with distinction as administrator and leader, but in today’s context there was great celebration of the fact that this is the 70th time he has put together an opposing team for the university side.  It is a fixture that has its roots and traditions in the amateur era.  Oxford University may well have their own routines and traditions as the December showdown approaches, but this blog takes the view that a tiny atoll in the South Pacific, just jutting through the surface of the ocean as the result of a long-dormant volcano and maybe with a single palm tree for comic effect, should be plenty of room for all the people who need to care.  Light Blue is the colour all the way on here. At a personal level, teaching commitments have almost always prevented me from joining a band of young-at-heart relics of a bygone age for whom this fixture has been at the heart of a regular reunion event.  The game itself is flanked by beer, curry, breakfasts (note plural), conversation, reminiscences and beer, and what happens at the SB gathering, stays etc etc.  I am pleased to have been here, and I hope to be back on solids very soon.  Gentlemen, thank you.  You know who you are.
In one sentence
A feast of free-flowing rugby union in keeping with the fixture’s heritage, a whopping win for the Light Blues with maybe some concern about the number of points conceded down the right flank.
So what?
Hopefully no injury worries before the Varsity Match at Twickenham on Thursday 7th December.  CURFC lead the series 35-33 with two draws.
Match Report
Many photographs were taken before kickoff with Mr Steele-Bodger himself at the centre, and regular rugby fans will recognise several familiar faces including Scotland’s Gavin Hastings, the university captain in 1989. Once the match started, the Light Blues built up a healthy lead with three tries.  The first was a burst from Jake Hennessey through the middle of the defensive line and gave an easy conversion for Mike Phillips too.  The second came from Hennessey’s chip kick from centre to flying winger Henry King which was then eventually grounded nearer the posts, before an easy conversion was missed.  Then a breakaway try from deep, a long run by Chris Bell finished with an unselfish pass to Tyler Hammond, was itself converted by Phillips to make the score 19-0. The Steele-Bodgers got on the scoreboard when a grubber kick bounced off the defender and Coventry’s Kwaku Asiedu scored from the right wing.  The try was converted by Lawrence Rayner of Ampthill. The students removed any doubts of a shock result by scoring two more tries before half-time.  The first looked a rather dubious decision – many spectators in our corner felt that Rory Triniman had lost control of the ball in a tackle as he tried to make the conversion position easier.  The kick was missed anyway.  Then Matthew Watson scored under the posts.  A Phillips conversion gave us the half-time score of 31-7. An unconverted try for Archie Russell from a left wing move increased the lead before Asiedu intervened again.  He ran from half-way down the right and there was no catching him.  This was unconverted so the scoreboard at this point read 36-12. The university then worked another good loop move before scoring in the left corner again through King’s second try of the game, and then Hammond had his second too after a break through the middle from a central scrum.  The second of these was converted by Phillips for a score of 48-12. Bodgers worked a kick-to-wing move of their own to score an unconverted try by Tom Hughes on the right wing, before the Light Blues went through the direct central route again to cross the half-century mark with a try from James Elms.  The supposedly easy conversion was thwarted by the post.  So, 53-17 before a mazy run by the Bodgers’ full-back, Cambridge’s Joe Green, set up an unconverted score in the corner for James Beaufils of Randwick District.  Final score 53-22. It had been clear for some time that international referee Wayne Barnes was determined to referee a game without a penalty, and both sides bought into that ambition.  To do so meant (in my opinion) ignoring one blatantly high tackle, but in the end the game was completed, as ever, in good sporting spirit.  The university side looks in good shape and there was plenty of fluency and fluidity.  For the spectators, today’s event is as much social as sporting, and most of the crowd here will re-gather at Twickenham in two weeks.
Ground Pix
Match Pix
Pre-Match Entertainment
For the record, our group unexpectedly ended up as Team Clueless in the preceding night’s Pub Quiz at the splendid Champion of the Thames.  After a faltering start with American Artists and a botched attempt at the bonus question, we rediscovered our competitive streak and secured a runners-up position which will fly proud and high on our combined list of academic achievements. After a couple of breakfasts, there was time to stroll.  It has dawned on me in later years that I had my eyes turned downwards too often during my student days.  The rooftops themselves are magnificent entertainment in their own right.  Four years at Selwyn College (next door to the ground) played a huge part in shaping my own life and career, and it looks as if the city might have still have a say in my health and well-being in years to come. Here’s a taste of the city’s atmosphere and architecture, snapped during a morning walk.  Some of the rest of the weekend is a bit blurry, but it certainly involved breakfasts. Queens' College Trinity College Isaac Newton,Trinity College Clare College King's College Chapel 23 West Road, my home for Summer 1977 and site of my finest moments in croquet ;) Cripps Court, Selwyn College, home from Oct 1975 - June 1979 Old Court, Selwyn College Selwyn College Chapel
What Next?
Follow @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Decisions are usually last-minute at this time of the year because of weather considerations.  If all is meteorologically favourable, and my rehab is complete, then the Saturday shortlist comprises the Step 3 grounds at Merthyr Town, Whitby Town and Athersley Recreation (Shaw Lane’s landlords).  Otherwise, something more local that can confirm that it is on in time for me to travel.

I Was There

Apologies for the fact that this is the first MHR jaunt of 2014.  It’s not that I’ve not been blogging, more that I’ve not been anywhere.  The demands of full-time work as a secondary school team leader for science (my life since last Easter) have increased to the point where most weekends have been spent simply recovering or catching up.  I couldn’t safely cover the road miles.  I hope that this will change and I will soon be adding to my 529 football grounds.  However, when a friend from university days contacted me at 4pm on a Monday with the kind offer of a weekend escape …

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 8 March 2014 at Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Result	Scotland 17 France 19
Competition	Six Nations Rugby Union
Hopping	First trip to Murrayfield.  Slightly surprised to count and find that this is only my 7th rugby ground of which 3 would be double-counted for “soccer”.  For the record my 4+3 are Grange Road (Cambridge University), The Reddings (Moseley), Twickenham and now Murrayfield with Vicarage Road, Loftus Road and the Madjeski Stadium as the duplicates.
Pre-match preparation
Easyjet Friday night to Edinburgh with lots of Frenchmen in cockerel hats, a bus ride to a pint of Tennants in the Kublai Khan Mongolian BBQ in Leith and a reunion with some university friends – the first time in over 20 years that this particular combination of characters has been together in one place.  You know who you are, you legends.  Cab ride to apartment for further reminiscing.  The years fell away.  Saturday morning Number 10 bus to Princes Street (no laughing at my Mr Sensible Edinburgh Bus Map, lads), walk up to the castle and along the Royal Mile for Deuchars IPA before settling to pies n’pints o’heavy.  Management of ageing bladders demanded coffee & cake pit stop half-way to the ground before we settled in front of the big screen in Murrayfield to watch Ireland’s demolition of Italy and drink Guinness.
This match in one sentence
Scotland could and should have won it, but gave a late, late chance to France who won the game with only seconds to spare.
So what?
France will get a chance to win the championship with a showdown in Paris against Ireland, depending on the earlier Italy v England result.
The drama unfolds
Lots written elsewhere about this game so this late blogpost is irrelevant as far as match analysis is concerned, so this is just an “I was there” post to at least remind readers that I still exist. An early penalty for Les Bleus After a rousing set of pre-match rituals mostly involving bagpipes (whoever thought of Red Hot Chili Pipers is a genius) Scotland found themselves 0-6 down to two Maxime Machenaud penalties within 10 minutes.  The sense of anti-climax was immense but fortunately short-lived.  Stuart Hogg hoisted a kick into the in-goal area and in the swirly conditions followed up to claim a controversial try.  Greig Laidlaw converted to give the hosts a 7-6 lead. Machenaud’s third penalty made it 7-9 before Scotland winger Tommy Seymour finished a set-piece move on the left for the second try of the game, Laidlaw converting again for 14-9 with only 22 minutes gone and a belting atmosphere inside the ground.  The rest of the first half was not pretty – Scotland missed a drop goal, France missed a penalty – but Scotland would be very happy with their half-time lead. My host took the half-time opportunity to introduce me to the contents of his hip-flask, which is the nearest I have ever been to solvent abuse even in a lifetime of chemistry teaching.  I hoped that Scotland would keep it tight and make sensible game choices.  That's what I was thinking, but I had suddenly lost the power of speech. Therefore, France took the lead within seconds with an 80m breakway interception try from Yoann Huget. Unbelieveable. Duly converted for a 14-16 scoreline.  The French forwards had not been impressive and the feeling was that the Scots had been overgenerous in helping their visitors to garner points – next score would be critical.  Laidlaw missed one penalty before Duncan Weir took over kicking duties and gave Scotland a 17-16 lead.  18 minutes to go. They held out for 16 of them, easily enough.  It was not great to watch, but compelling. Then a soft infringement during France’s final flourish gave Jean-Marc Doussain an unmissable penalty chance.  17-19.  The whistle came, stunned silence and a sense of disbelief.  Except for the men with the cockerel hats, they were really rather happy. Just as a footnote, I reckon if anyone had introduced me as a kid to rugby union and the culture of the sport and its spectators, I would have never flowed the crowd into “football”.  Post-match analysis took place after a pint of Orkney Stout (yum!) at Britannia Spice in Leith, and I was back on solids by Tuesday.  Epic weekend, great sporting spectacle, great mates, great city.
Random Headwear Pix
Edinburgh  Pix
Clips
1 - Scene-setter clip and then Tommy Seymour's try 2 - The French interception and breakaway try right at the start of the second half 3 - A tale of two Scottish pens, a Laidlaw miss and a Weir success 4 - Critically, this Weir penalty drifts wide of the posts 5 - The match-winning French penalty kick from behind a man in a cockerel suit!  4
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!

Light Blues Blow It

Hopperational details

Thursday 9 December 2010 at Twickenham, Oxford University 21pts Cambridge University 10pts in the 129th Varsity Match.

This match in one sentence

Technical note - looks like Oxford have an overlap here The first points of the game - a penalty to Oxford Oxford piled up some early points and Cambridge made too many unforced errors as they tried to fight back, so the result was never really in doubt in a disappointing game.

So what?

Oxford narrow the historical gap and only trail by 7 (54-61 with 14 draws) in the long history of this fixture.

Who caught the eye on the pitch?

The Cambridge scrum was dominant enough to get a second-half penalty try after a series of confrontations near the Oxford line.  However, two forward passes in the backs wasted two golden opportunities and there were several other unforced drops and knock-ons.  Oxford took their chances and deserved the win.

This match had the same effect on my pulse rate as …

… the gradual reddening of fluffy white clouds as the sun heads off into the sunset (as it always does).

A snippet from the programme

“The School of Hard Knocks is a rugby development programme using rugby as a tool to develop life skills, as well as introducing young people to a new sport and encouraging physical exercise.  This school term alone, over 300 children have been involved in the programme … participants are given a year’s membership of their local club to enable them to continue their skills after the formal end of the programme.”  England’s Andy Gomersall presented the prizes for the schools taking part on the day.

What I learned today

Fuller’s ESB has a nutty 5.5% alcohol content.  The name probably means Extra Special Bitter and not Enterprise Service Bus or Empire Strikes Back.  The 2pm kick-off time for this fixture means that this is the one day of the year when I commune with an ante meridiem pint.

Modus Hopper Random Talking Point

The attendance for this fixture has been slowly declining over the years, and this time only the lower tier of Twickenham was open for around 24,000 of us.  At one time, other than the internationals, this was one of the very few rugby union games that could be viewed live on TV.  It is now, perhaps like the Boat Race, struggling somewhat to keep its relevance for the wider audience. Twickenham is a fine stadium and much improved since the 80s when the simple act of recycling the aforesaid Fuller’s ESB (or similar) needed the athleticism and courage of a front-row forward.

What Next?

The original plan was a Friday night hop to Wellingborough Town but this was scuppered by a cancelled train from King’s Cross followed by a long delay on the M1 Northbound.  However, Saturday’s Hopperation was a success and details follow shortly!