On a sunny Saturday afternoon the Oaks, brilliantly reinforced by some lads from Wortley RUFC traveled to the other side of Sheffield to visit the Engineers home ground for what promised to be an entertaining but challenging game.

This fixture was particularly special to the Oaks as it was Tony Day's last match as Captain, and so the boys wanted to put on a great performance for their skipper.

The Oaks went into the game with a physical and strong side, and they did not disappoint from the outset. The Oaks demonstrated all the hard work they've put in on the training field putting in some hard tackles and dominating in the break down and set piece.

A miscommunication from The Oaks in defence led to the Engineers first try, heads did not drop however and our boys came back stronger, gaining some great territory with ball in hand play, with Captain Tony Day leading the charge.

This game proved to be a forwards led game for our side, with some great scrummaging and defensive work to keep the engineers from gaining them yards though the rucks. The Engineers however were quick and nimble, and loved to go out wide for their second and third try in quick succession. Their kicker suffered from the high winds and gusts on the day, and was unable to convert. Keeping the score at 21-0 going into half time

At half time the boys got a firey speech from vice captain Jordan Ives and skipper Tony, giving The Oaks a new hunger for the second half, and it showed when the team returned to the field all guns blazing, winning set play after set play and battering the Engineers line with pod after pod. This created a two on one overlap and gave winger Max the space to go over the line for the Oaks' first try, superbly converted moments later by Jordan to put us on the scoreboard at last, 21-7.

The Oaks didn't stop there, with more excellent attacking pods this time led by Rich Chell, creating a gap for Jordan Ives to exploit. He dove through and scored, before promptly converting his own try for a further 7 points. 21-14.

The wind continued to be a pivotal factor in Saturday's game for both sides, with high kicks going far forward and sometimes even backwards! The referee however was great, taking this in to account when line outs struggled to be straight. Later into the second half the Engineers brought on some fresh legs which gave them just the impetus needed to score another try and further secure their lead. 26-14.

Soon after this the Engineers lost a front row player and so the fixture was downgraded to uncontested scrums. This removed a very effective tool from the Oaks' box for the remainder of the game, and before too long we were back on the defensive, trying to hold off a well drilled university side. The Oaks were strong and disciplined, but the Engineers proved faster, and another try went in to an outside corner. 33-14.

The Oaks were dominant in the last ten minutes of the game as the now increasingly weary Engineers team slowed down and struggled under the determined and physical drive of our mighty pack. Despite a brilliant last minute drive a final turn over in a ruck denied the Oaks a chance at a final try, and the game ended soon after.

Despite the result, the Oaks gave departing captain Tony what he wanted, a brilliant and competitive game the whole way through. Once kit was off and packed away the team retreated to the Sportsman pub for a consolatory beer and saw Tony off in good spirits.

This game concluded the official set list of games for Oaks' 23/24 season, however we still have rescheduled friendlies at both Wortley and Hallamshire to look forward to, with our end of year social taking place mid May where we officially say goodbye to Tony as our captain.