OXFORD University head coach James Wade said facing unexpected opponents had not affected their Varsity Match build-up.

The Dark Blues defeated a scratch Henley side 35-0 at Iffley Road on Monday after Wasps pulled out of the fixture, citing a lack of available players.

After a sluggish start, the students managed to run in four tries and produce some decent attacking in places.

Asked whether playing different opposition had been difficult, Wade said it was not a big deal.

“It is how we’ll approach the Varsity Match,” said Wade. “We will not worry about our opposition.

“We are concentrating on ourselves and how we are going to play the game.”

Wade added: “What we are trying to get is going on a journey to December at Twickenham. Each game, we are just turning the notches up.

“I am quite happy that we are scoring tries, but we are not being clinical enough.

“We threw the ball away too often on Monday.”

Wade has now had five matches at the helm and has five more to hone his side ahead of the Varsity Match on December 8.

“I think the players are definitely going in the right direction,” said Wade.

“They seem to be enjoying the rugby we are playing and that is now two weeks where we have scored 80 points.”

Next up, the Dark Blues visit Ealing in West London on Tuesday night, where they can expect a far tougher test than against Henley.

Wade said: “Monday was another win and we want to keep that going.”

“The Henley boys had a good go. Some of our players are still very young, so to play against men is still a challenge.”