The first match of the Cuppers weekend of college rugby kicked off with a bang as two combination teams went head-to-head in the Bowl final. The All Greys, made up of Darwin, St. Edmund’s, Wolfson, and Hughes Hall, faced off against PEST – Peterhouse, Emmanuel, Selwyn, and Trinity Hall. It was the mature colleges which made the stronger start, flying to a 12-0 lead within the first 17 minutes, thanks to a brace from winger Edouard Barrier with scrum half Calum Caldwell (who was surely a strong contender for Mullet of the Tournament) adding a conversion.

The size of the All Greys team showed in the first half, with setpiece power coming from the front row. PEST, however, showed some amazing endeavour to run the ball from under their own posts down the other end of the field, winning penalties and creating a magnificent line-break through flyhalf and inside centre. They were justly rewarded when scrumhalf Jack Doust scored in the twenty-seventh minute.

PEST looked likely to score again, playing keep-ball and making their way to the All Greys’ five-metre line, before some excellent work from the defending forwards won a turnover that would prove to be the last influential event until halftime.

This was a game strewn with penalties – handling errors and a lack of discipline from the All Greys team seemed to be keeping the PEST side in touch at the start of the second half, especially after an amazing length-of-the-field interception try and subsequent conversion from flyhalf Ben Crowther reduced the deficit to five points just four minutes into the second half.

This, however, was the last time PEST would trouble the scoreboards. All Greys tighthead Stefan Nixon bustled over the line after some ambitious handling brought them to the five-metre line – the lead standing at 22-12 with 25 minutes left to play. For the rest of the game, PEST struggled for momentum or cohesion, despite a double substitution in the 51st minute to try and stem the flow of points; just one minute later, All Greys scored again through inside-centre James Pierson. The conversion ricocheted off the upright and All Greys looked to push their advantage – their dominance was unquestionable but one got the impression that they were their own worst enemy, conceding an astonishingly high number of penalties in the second half.

Nevertheless, they were able to add one more score, powering over after a driving maul to bring the final score to 32-12.

Varsity POTM: Calum Caldwell (All Greys)