Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club’s (CURUFC) preparations for December’s Varsity match against Oxford got off to a stuttering start on Wednesday night as the Light Blues slumped to a 38-5 loss against Loughborough University in their first competitive match of the season.

Having lost last year's equivalent fixture 43-6, this game was always set to be a tough opening fixture for CURUFC, but the match’s tale was not reflected by the scoreline. Indeed, the Light Blues' Head Coach James Shanahan will be frustrated that, despite dominating both possession and territory for long periods, his team lacked the clinical touch of their opponents to register more than a solitary try on the scoreboard.

The opening moments were scrappy, as both sides looked to shake off any pre-season rust. While the home side had success in the early line-outs, making three consecutive steals, Loughborough were dominant in the scrum which they used to launch clever set-piece moves. Yet first blood went to the home side: nine minutes in, Rory Triniman’s break through the Loughborough line allowed the Light Blues' winger Simon Davies to score the try, finishing smartly in the corner. The subsequent conversion was missed by fly-half Fraser Gillies.

But Loughborough – kitted out in purple – responded quickly. Their captain Mark Dixon shanked what appeared to be a routine penalty, but the following restart was caught by the away side’s full-back who superbly broke through the CURUFC line (though the Light Blues will rue missed tackles) and fed scrum half Jack Moates to score.

The closing stages of the first half epitomised the game: while scrappy, there were flashes of quality from both sides. The Light Blues, however, were largely confined to their own half and the well-drilled away side kept the pressure on, forcing CURUFC into a number of errors. Indeed, a rare break from the home side was halted, the ball ripped out and suddenly Loughborough were on the break: Loughborough winger Jack Stapley raced down the right wing and fed an inside ball to prop Ben Christie to finish off the try.

CURUFC who had recently returned from a week of pre-season training in Faro, Portugal, battled out for the sanctity of the half-time whistle. An inspirational bit of defending on the right-wing by Michael Phillips saw the Emmanuel College medic halt a Loughborough three-man overlap with a perfectly timed tackle, while the Light Blue forwards put in huge hits to keep the away side at bay. But a transgression at the last of a succession of scrums under the home side's posts gave referee Robert Teare little option to award Loughborough a penalty try that was duly converted by Dixon to leave the score 19-5 at half-time.

CURUFC captain Daniel Dass had spoken pre-match of a desire for his team to use every match as an opportunity to prepare themselves “mentally and physically to be in the best shape… come December 8." And, despite an early scare in the second half where a knock-on from Moates squandered a superb opportunity to score that had been set up by the dancing feet of the ever-threatening Stapley, the Light Blues' second-half performance will have pleased their captain.

The Light Blues made wholesale changes to their front three and went on to dominate the scrum, pushing the away side back into their own half. For the majority of the half, CURUFC monopolised both territory and possession but lacked that flash of quality to convert. Last-ditch defending from Loughborough and a string of unforced errors from the Light Blues denied them a way back into the game.

At 60 minutes, just after an apparent spear tackle from a Loughborough centre controversially went unpunished, a succession of catch and drives from the home side’s saw their rolling mauls stopped agonising close to the line. Loughborough were struggling to break out, with the CURUFC back three pulling off some impressive covering tackles to keep the squeeze on.

But in the last 10 minutes, fatigue set in and Loughborough ruthlessly capitalised, a just reward for their incredible soaking-up of pressure. An overlap down the right wing saw the away side’s second row Thibaut Flament pop an inside pass to Stapley to finish the try and take the score to 26-5 after the conversion by Roddy Denness. Seconds later, a mistake from the restart gave Loughborough’s Joss Morgan – whose 20-minute cameo off the bench was effortlessly sublime – a chance to beat two men and put through a grubber kick which he was unfortunate to knock-on.

With three minutes to go, Morgan was at it again: a fine set-piece from the visitors gave the replacement winger a chance to feed Josh Price to score a try in the corner. And in the match’s final action, Morgan himself scored a well-deserved try, as a gorgeous chip from centre David Buck allowed Morgan to score in the left corner.

While the scoreline may provide a negative outlook for those of a Light Blue persuasion, CURUFC skipper Dass  – with his side set to face Cambridge Rugby Club on Monday evening  – offered a contrastingly positive tone: "We're a good bit ahead of where we were this time last year in terms of how our preparations as a team have gone." 

With a recent influx of new players yet to fully bed-in, CURUFC fans will hope that the positives from Wednesday's performance – hidden somewhat by the one-sidedness of the scoreline – can be built on over the coming months, before the Light Blues look to overcome their Oxford rivals on 8th December at Twickenham.