The end of the holidays leaves Cambridge sports followers with a bitter aftertaste.

In a poignant fixture marking the deaths of 55 Blues during the First World War, Cambridge were overwhelmed by a dominant Oxford side, who gained their fifth successive Varsity win with a record score of 43-6, the biggest margin in Varsity history.

Cambridge began the match strongly, and certainly held their own in the opening exchanges, but just when it seemed like they were about to seize the initiative, a promising maul was pulled back for a foul.

It was only a matter of moments later that the villain of last year’s fixture, Sam Egerton, weaved his way through the Cambridge defence to open the scoring for Oxford. A man of the match performance followed for Egerton, burying the demons of his sending off last year.

The Light Blues did manage to hit back through two Don Stevens penalties, either side of a Cullen penalty for Oxford. Cambridge competed well in the first half and would have been more optimistic going into half time if it were not for a late Oxford try. The sides went in at 6-17, which was not fully reflective of the balance of play.

Cambridge were dealt a serious blow when Stevens landed awkwardly under a high ball and was stretchered off. Arguably Cambridge’s best player, without the playmaker they struggled to build any sort of pressure for the rest of the game. The rout began hereafter.

Despite a few positive plays at the start of the half, Reeson-Price put the game beyond Cambridge with a cleverly worked try, before Williams scrambled the ball across the whitewash five minutes later, making the score 6-27.

From this point it was a case of playing for pride and limiting the damage, but despite their best efforts Cambridge could not restrain a rampant Oxford. They managed to build some rare pressure, but once again the Oxford defence was resolute, answering every question Cambridge asked of them comfortably. As the Light Blues began to tire further tries for Oxford seemed inevitable.

Cullen scored the fifth try for Oxford, combining well with his half back partner Egerton to carve open the Cambridge defence, inflicting more misery upon the Light Blues. As the Cambridge defence capitulated, the points kept flowing, and this was fully exploited a few minutes later, with Gus Jones crossing the whitewash to complete an emphatic victory, Cullen converting to make it a record Varsity win.

The Light Blues captain, Harry Peck, remarked post-match that the team “couldn’t have given anymore”, and this was certainly true. It was a spirited Cambridge performance and there are certainly positives to be taken from the first half, but they were outclassed by a clinical Oxford in the second. The experience of the Oxford side was evident throughout the match, not least in prop Lewis Anderson, who became the first player ever to feature in five wins over Cambridge.

37 unanswered points speak for themselves, and this emphatic Oxford victory was thoroughly deserved. Cambridge seemed to crumble in the second half, dominated by the Oxford pack and exploited by a ruthless back line. Peck did not seem to think that the result would be as damaging to the players as expected, stating that such a game may be “character building” but conceded that it could go on to “define them as characters and individuals”.

Either way, it will be difficult for the Light Blues to put the memory of this game to the back of their minds. It’s going to be a long 12 months before they can try to make amends.