MATT SINGER, a 24-year-old mathematics graduate from Porthcawl, enjoyed an afternoon of personal triumph that paved the way for Cambridge to lift the Bowring Bowl with plenty to spare at the end of yesterday's 115th university match.
Singer, winning his second Blue, destroyed the Oxford defence with two memorable solo tries as well as dropping an elegant opportunist goal that admirably summed up the Light Blues' ability to capitalise on the chances that came their way.
Only on rare occasions did Oxford raise their game with sufficient pace and ingenuity to test a well-organised side that fully lived up to its tag of favourites. The powerful Cambridge pack maintained a distinct edge in scrum and lineout that ultimately exacted a heavy toll on the Dark Blues' tiring defence and created the opportunities for Singer to display his considerable skills.
The Cambridge centre, who is registered with Saracens, revealed afterwards that advice from the French international centre Philippe Sella had influenced his positive attacking style.
"It was a chat with Sella that gave me the inspiration to run the ball," admitted Singer. "We talked about playing good rugby. The way Cambridge have been playing this term there is always space available that allows whoever is on hand to score tries."
It is difficult to say how much the death of their teammate, Ian Tucker - for whom a poignant one minute's silence was observed before the kickoff - has dented the morale of the Oxford team which looked subdued and short on physical aggression for much of the game.
In the final half hour, the Oxford half backs Niall Hogan and James Averis threatened their opponents with brief sparks of creativity, but overall Cambridge were adept at restricting the Dark Blues to slow ball.
"We never looked like scoring another try even though we were only 13-7 down for a long time," said Quentin de Bruyn, the Oxford captain who had to retire with concussion early in the second half. "We were unable to generate the quick second and third phase ball we were counting on. We couldn't play the game we had planned for."
Despite Cambridge's success, the side were also aware of the full force of the trauma surrounding Tucker's death.
Singer said: "We have been conscious of Oxford's tragedy all term. It has been a harrowing time for all of us. We went out there and dedicated the game as a testament to him and to everybody who plays rugby."
John Cocks, who missed out on a Cambridge Blue, said: "It hurt the Australian guys in both universities equally hard."
Nevertheless, the Light Blues had barely broken sweat when Oxford got off the mark with a smartly taken interception try in the third minute. When the ball came back to Rob Ashforth from a ruck on half way, the Cambridge outside-half held possession long enough to allow Oxford's Australian centre Nick Walsh to charge down his kick and race 50 metres to score between the posts. Averis added the conversion points.
However, shortly before half time Singer took the game by the scruff of the neck with a measure of authority conspicuous by its absence among the other three quarters.
