Oxford v Cambridge

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Apparently Oxford and Cambridge have played an annual Aussie Rules match against each other since the 1920s!

I umpired the match in Oxford in 2005 and was delighted to be involved again in 2006, which was played in Cambridge.

The match was played on the Saturday, followed by a few beers later that night. Sunday was a day for sightseeing before heading back to London.

It absolutely persisted down prior to kickoff and it was extremely cold. Thankfully the heavy rain stopped just before the match started. It was a very difficult match to umpire. I was the only field umpire and there were no boundary umpires. So I copped a heap of abuse, especially from the Oxford boys. Still, it was nothing compared to the abuse that is dished up on a weekly basis in the British Australian Rules Football League (BARFL). There, every player and coach is an expert on the Laws of the Game...

Anyway, I digress. Oxford came charging out of the blocks and it looked like a thrashing was on the cards. To their credit, however, Cambridge didn't give up and came roaring back in the second half. The last quarter was a thriller, with Oxford falling over the line by 5 points.

Final scores:
Oxford 5.2 (32) d. Cambridge 3.9 (27)

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