VARSITY day proved worth the wait for Oxford University’s men as they regained the trophy from Cambridge.

The Dark Blues triumphed 34-7 at Welford Road in Leicester, despite conceding a first-minute try and Herbert Watson becoming only the second player to be sent off in 139 editions of the fixture.

It saw them claim victory for the first time since 2018 in a game rearranged from last December due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Oxford are now just three wins behind their rivals overall, their 61 wins just short of Cambridge’s 64.

The women were less successful, however, as their 10-5 loss made it four Varsity defeats in a row, although they still lead 19-15 in the all-time standings.

Covid did not only cause a change of date but also a new location, with the matches moved from Twickenham to Leicester Tigers’ historic ground.

The men’s side were seeking to avenge their 15-0 defeat at the home of English rugby in 2019, but were behind within 52 seconds.

Joey Gatus crossed for one of the fastest tries in the fixture’s history and Etienne Dussartre added the conversion to give Oxford the worst possible start.

That was as good as it got for Cambridge, though, as 22-time USA international Andrew Durutalo began to dominate.

Oxford began to claw back the deficit with a penalty from fly-half Tom Humberstone, making history alongside sibling Drew as the first brothers in 50 years to play for the Dark Blues in the fixture.

They were soon ahead through Henry Hackett’s try and never looked like losing their lead.

Humberstone added another penalty, before John Aaron Henry crossed to give Oxford a 16-7 lead going into the interval.

The fly-half kicked another three points after the break and the Dark Blues all-but secured victory soon after.

Calum Grant dummied over, with Humberstone kicking the extras, to leave Oxford 19 points in front.

The only sour note was Watson’s red card, which came from a fracas following a disallowed Cambridge try.

But it did not disrupt their rhythm and Drew Humberstone made it an extra special day for the family with a penalty of his own, before Hackett crossed for a second time.

Oxford had clawed back a deficit to win, but the women were the victims of a Cambridge comeback.

Within four minutes they were ahead, internationals Manon Johnes and Bianca Coltellini combining to send the latter over.

But Cambridge began to dominate territory and Maggie Simpson’s converted try put the Light Blues ahead before the break, with Anna Park’s second-half penalty proving the final score.