By Barney Burnham
October 20 2004

John Keats, in his Ode to Autumn, memorably described a "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness". The latter may have been hard to discern, but there was mist aplenty at Iffley Road, ahead of last night's friendly between Oxford University and London Wasps A XV. Heavy rain during the day, coupled with the proximity of the river, meant that an hour before kickoff, the pitch was shrouded in dense mist. Some of the well-read members of the Wasps squad were muttering about The Hound of the Baskervilles

Oxford's officials seemed over-optimistic with their assurances that it would soon lift, but their optimism was well-founded, and , by kickoff, it had.

There was disappointment for the crowd of around 1,200, with the news that Josh Lewsey would not be in the Wasps lineup. The World Cup winner had been due to make his comeback, after five weeks out with a broken hand, but he'd felt a slight tightness of the hamstring during training, and had been withdrawn from the team. The good news is that he should be fit to face Biarritz in Sunday's opening match of the Heineken Cup defence.

Fielding nine of the side which drew last year's Varsity match, Oxford made an impressive start. They dominated territory and possession in the opening exchanges . Nearly a quarter of an hour had gone, before Wasps mounted their first significant attack. After a typical burst by Trevor Leota, Ian Clarke and former Blue Henry Nwume took play into the home 22, where Oxford were penalised in front of their posts. Sam Ulph made no mistake with the kick, to put Wasps ahead, 3-0.

Minutes later, they should have stretched their lead, when a fine move down the left seemed certain to end with Rob Laird going over for a try - but, with a clear run-in to the line, the fullback couldn't hang on to what should have been a scoring pass.

The opening try came at the other end, from a scrum set up by an explosive burst from the Oxford rightwinger Jonan Boto, which ended just short of the line.

Oxford seemed to have knocked on, as they failed to control possession at the base of the scrum, but they re-gathered, for flanker Ben Durham to go over. James Whittingham missed the conversion.

Wasps then began to exert some pressure. After a powerful run by centre Tim Foster, James Haskell, playing at lock, took play deep into the 22. The attack was stopped just short of the line, before scrumhalf James Honeyben picked up a loose ball to go over. Unfortunately, the referee had already penalised Wasps for an offence at the ruck.

The Oxford defence was finally breached just after the half-hour, following a superb break by Rob Laird, which more than made up for his earlier handling lapse.

From a midfield scrum near halfway, the fullback was fed on the blind side. A sidestep and a burst of acceleration sent him to within yards of the line, where he found Ian Clarke in support. The ball was then moved out to the left, allowing Mike Roberts to crash over in the corner. Ulph's conversion hit the post.

Just before halftime, Oxford centre Ali James was sent to the sinbin, and two Wasps tries during his enforced absence took them clear.

In injury time, another strong run by Clarke set up a series of moves which were stopped just short of the corner. When the ball emerged from the ruck, flanker Tom Rees showed his class, with a sidestep and impressive speed off the mark, to touch down under the posts.

Laird's conversion made the halftime score 15-5 to the visitors.

Wasps made two substitutions at halftime. Tom Evans replaced James Wellwood, and Edd Thrower, fresh from his heroics at the Rec, came on for Ulph, who'd sustained a dead leg.

With James set to return from the sinbin, Wasps scored their third try, probably the best of the evening. A flowing move featured superb handling by Clarke, Haskell and Rees, who combined to send Thrower away on the left. He crossed the line himself, before unselfishly passing inside to Mike Roberts, who had a clear run to behind the posts.

Thrower's boot landed the extra points, before inadvertently creating the next try, two minutes later. An attempted chip over the Oxford threequarters went backwards. Fortuitously, it found Mark Lock. Arriving at speed, the number 8 went through a gap to run in 30 yards for another try under the posts, which Thrower duly converted, to put Wasps out of sight at 29-5.

Then came two more significant Wasps substitutions. On 50 minutes, skipper Craig Dowd was replaced by Ali McKenzie. The All Black had been playing only his second competitive game since his premature end to last season. He was delighted with how things had gone, and said that he could have played on, but was training in the morning. He seems set to make his first team comeback against Biarritz, on Sunday.

A less happy substitution came when Trevor Leota was forced to leave the field, with blood gushing from his left ear. It had been badly damaged when it was accidentally caught by an Oxford elbow. The hooker was taken to hospital for immediate plastic surgery, but the early indications were that he would also be available for Sunday's Heineken Cup match.

Wasps were unaffected by the changes, and added their fith try on 61 minutes, following an impressive run by Tom Evans, which led to a scrum 10 yards from the Oxford line. Haskell, now in the back row, after Rob Cain had replaced Lock, picked up and bulldozed over - again under the posts.

To their credit, the student refused to wilt. They were rewarded for their tenacity, when replacement flanker Peter Raftery went over for an unconverted try from a lineout. They nearly added a third try, when Boto pounced on a Wasps mistake. A pass went astray on the 22, and the winger flyhacked through. He seemed certain to score, before Thrower appeared to kick the ball over the dead ball line.

The final score of the evening came from another miscued Thrower kick. A long crossfield effort to the left touchline again went slightly backwards, but it was well taken by Mike Roberts. The winger cut inside, before accelerating away to seal his hat-trick, with a dive in to the corner. The final whistle went, with the score Oxford 10 Wasps 41.

Coach Shaun Edwards was full of praise for the students. "They were a strong side. Very competitive, and more than worthy opponents. In the end, it was our size, fitness and power which saw us through. Being fulltime professionals was clearly a big help for us."

Wasps visit Grange Road to take on the Light Blues next Tuesday night. They return to Zurich A League action on Monday, November the 8th, at London Irish. The next home game is on November the 15th, when Bath will be the visitors to Imber Court. England centre Stuart Abbott hopes to be fit by then, and could well feature - another reason to come and support a team which is playing entertaining and winning rugby.