Catherine Wilcock’s Dark Blues side completed the double over the 2015 BUSC Women’s champions, University of Gloucestershire, with a 15-12 triumph at Iffley Road.
The win came in the wake of the men’s 39-5 victory in the 95th annual Major Stanley’s XV match to give bother Oxford teams a major boost ahead of their trips to Twickenham for the Varsity Matches on Thursday, 8 December.
Princess Ashilokun returned to the midfield to add extra pace and power and Wilcock gave her side the perfect start with an early drop goal to settle the nerves. After that the forwards, superbly led by the inspirational and tireless Elmarie van Heerden kept driving hard into the Gloucestershire defence to create the platform needed to secure the win.
Victory cements Oxford’s place in the BUCS Premiers South league for next season and will give Gary Street’s side more renewed confidence as they prepare to take revenge over Cambridge for three defeats in their last four outings. It was 52-0 to Alice Middleton’s Light Blues at Twickenham last year and they won the curtain raiser this season 22-0 at Grange Road.
But Gloucestershire beat Cambridge 24-19 earlier this month and Middleton’s side went down 40-0 at Bristol University this week, conceding six tries. Cambridge have one more BUCS fixture to go before the Varsity Match, against Exeter University at home, while Oxford have to travel to Bristol and Cardiff, to meet the unbeaten reigning champions, Cardiff Met.
Oxford University Women (v Goucestershire): Sophie Trott; Affi Bunting, Princess Ashilokun, Heli Copley, Millie Rose; Catherine Wilcock (captain), Carly Bliss; Jenny Smith, Pat Metcalfe-Jones, Cecilia Peker, Sophie Taylor, Leanne Robinson, Harriet McCay, Caitlin McArdle, Elmarie van Heerden
Reps: Gwen Cartwright, Carolina Matte-Gregory, Beth Candlin, Mollie MacGinty, Imogen Duffy, Katarina Martinovic
