Oxford University may have lost 15-13 to Cambridge in yesterday's 121st Varsity Match, but their director of coaching Steve Hill said it had been their best Twickenham display since his involvement with the team.

"This was my seventh Varsity Match, and that was probably the best performance we've put together on the field," he said. "It's tragic for those guys that it didn't result in a win."

Oxford gave themselves a mountain to climb after going 12 points down in the opening 15 minutes.

Hill added: "We showed enormous composure to come back. It was very close at the end, and could have gone either way."

Dark Blues' skipper Fraser Gemmell echoed these senitments. "I was so proud of the way we responded. It was a superb performance," he said.

Gemmell was in tears as he led the team on to the field at the start. "After all the build-up, when the day finally arrived, it was a very special moment," he added.

Simon Frost, Cambridge's two-try hero, said their first score was part of a plan.

"We thought we could take Oxford out wide, and the move worked perfectly, although we didn't expect it to come so soon."

THE happiest Oxford student on the day was 32-year-old Tony Montague, who won £1,000 when he landed the second of his three attempts in the 'Kick for a Grand' competition, organised by match sponsors MMC during the half-time interval.

His Cambridge counterpart, Li Ming Ong, also scored with her second place-kick from in front of the posts.

OXFORD romped to a 37-13 success over Cambridge in the Under 21 Varsity Match at Twickenham, with prop Nick Wood scoring two of their six tries.