I was just as confused as you all when I saw who the opponents were for this fixture, but yes, this is indeed correct. The Oxford Blues took on Premiership side Saracens on 17 October 2025 in a late-night Friday fixture that provided hard hits, dazzling runs and a lot of scoring. And whilst the final score was not that surprising given the calibre of players in the Saracens lineup, the quality of rugby played by the Blues is something to be proud of and take into their next game.
From the very start it was clear that the Blues would not back down from the physical challenge presented to them. They opened up the game with hard tackles and strong fought mauling, and this physicality was rewarded with an early Michael Flanker try.
However, Saracens’ passing quality was a key factor in their decisive win. For the rest of the first half, they dominated possession with clinical and ruthless finishing. End-to-end passing down their offensive line led to the first try, and impressive linkup play led to another score. Another pitch width attack led to another try, and a long slog within the Blues’ 5 metre line was capped off with a goal-line dive.
The Blues did occasionally have their moments, with Michael Fankah being held up in the end zone, and a kick being blocked by Sam Line ending the first half at 7-28.
Halftime provided a chance for the Blues to take a break and adjust for the second half. For the crowd of 1189, it meant a chance to catch their breath and enjoy the light entertainment of Oxford Harlequins kids throwing and kicking rugby balls any way they could. When the Blues did come back out, they were met with loud cheers.
And this half was certainly more even-matched. This time we started off with a quick Saracens try, and many may have feared that at a 7-35 lead, they would have continued to run up the score. This was certainly not the case. The Blues started to generate defensive stops and forced errors, with a free kick error leading to a Fergus Dick try. Saracens retaliated within seconds, for what happened to be their last score of the game at 12-42.
From here, the main highlights were high-impact tackles, and the crowd felt every one of them. I don’t know if the players did, given how fast they got right up. The medics were kept very busy, at one point tending to two Saracens players in the goal zone whilst the Blues were driving forward to the line. That drive was eventually stalled, but they found themselves back, with Mike O’Donnell capping off the scoring with a late try for a final score of 17-42.
I don’t think I can mention hard hitting and not give a shoutout to Harry Pratt, who I genuinely thought got knocked out by one of the biggest players I’ve ever seen, only to get up and run back into play within five seconds
A combination of clinical passing, line breaks, and wing speed was on display as Saracens put on a real show at Iffley Road. It is important to remember that Saracens’ team is full of future Premiership and international rugby stars – Saracens’ visit to Iffley Road in 2009 saw Jamie George and Owen Farrell play against a lineup featuring Blues Coach Ian Kench – so a loss is neither surprising nor anything to worry about. What is for sure is that if the Blues can continue to play with the same hustle, intensity and aggression they maintained throughout the course of this game, they should go far in their season.
Their fixture list can be found on their page: https://www.ourfc.org/fixtures.