Oxford University's superb showing against Australia on Sunday has boosted their hopes of completing a hat-trick of Varsity Match triumphs.

That's the view of Oxford's director of rugby Steve Hill, after watching his charges give the Wallabies second string a fright at Iffley Road.

The Australians won 52-27, but with just 15 minutes left, they led by just four points and there was a chance of one of the biggest upsets in the game's history.

Hill said: "I think the fact that Australian coach Eddie Jones came down from the stand to put on his first-choice props and George Smith, one of the best flankers in the world, is a tremendous compliment to our players.

Looking ahead to the University Match at Twickenham on December 11, Hill said: "Our display against the world champions is a tremendous boost to the confidence.

"And it will have given young players such as Will Rubie and Will Ellerbie the experience of playing in front of a noisy crowd."

The atmosphere, generated by the 5,500 crowd at Iffley Road was electrifying, especially when Rubie sprinted 100 metres - literally - for his try.

Jones said it was important to play against traditional rivals - the first game between these sides was way back in 1908.

"Oxford is a fantastic town, and I particularly enjoyed the comments from the educated spectators," said Australia's coach.

The one down side for the Dark Blues was the retirement of skipper Brett Robinson after 20 minutes because of a hamstring injury.

"We were aware of the injury beforehand," explained Hill, "and told Brett to come off if his hamstring felt tight."

Hill expects Robinson, who has not played a full game since springing a rib cartilage on the pre-season tour to Italy, to be fit for the Varsity match.

But there must be a worry that the former Australian international will be desperately short of match practice before the big day.

But let's, for a moment, savour the memories of an historic afternoon, and leave the future concerns for another day.