CAPTAIN Conor Kearns cut a despondent figure as Oxford University endured a day to forget at Twickenham.

Just a couple of hours after the ladies fell to a 24-0 defeat to Cambridge University in the 31st Women’s Varsity Match, the men suffered the same fate.

The Dark Blues struggled to find their best form when it mattered as they fell to a 20-10 loss in the 136th clash of the annual fixture.

Kearns, who was playing in his last Varsity Match, accepted Oxford were second best.

The fly half said: “It’s devastating.

“You build for the whole season for one match and if it doesn’t go your way it’s not the best feeling in the world.

“But you have to hand it to Cambridge, they were really strong defensively and were physical in everything they did.

“We tried to play some rugby and we looked quite dangerous when we had the ball in hand.

“Maybe if we had been a little bit more patient, I was guilty of it, and built a few more phases we could have got over the line.”

Will Wilson’s try reduced the deficit to three points with 15 minutes to go.

It gave Oxford hope, but Cambridge found another gear to cross for a third score and ultimately put the game to bed.

No 8 Wilson made a number of line breaks for the Dark Blues, but he took no heart from his own individual performance.

He said: “It was frustrating for us.

“We had so much potential to deliver and things just didn’t quite stick for us.”