Evening all. Long time viewers of the show may remember this to be a rematch of a first round match from the series ten years ago. That match, which is available on YT alongside the rest of the winning teams' matches, was won by 295-40. Both teams would doubtless be hoping not to be on the receiving end of a trouncing that bad tonight!
Robinson College Cambridge, the trounced that time, is one the newest Cambridge colleges, founded in 1977; alumni include childrens TV legend Konnie Huq, comedy sidekick Robert Webb, and some chap called Nick Clegg, whoever he was. The college reached the QFs of the first BBC series in 94-95, but have not returned since that match ten years ago. Hoping for revenge tonight were this year's foursome of:
David Verghese, from Hertfordshire, studying English
Catherine Hodge, from Birmingham, studying Theology and Religious Studies
Captain: James Pinder, from Martyr Worthy in Hampshire, studying Natural Sciences
George Barton, from Beaconsfield, studying studying Physics
Wadham College Oxford, the trouncers that time, is much older, founded in 1610; alumni include Corbyn precursor Michael Foot, retired archbishop Rowan Williams and Spitting Image target Melvyn Bragg. After winning that match ten years ago, they went on as far as the QFs, but their most recent appearance was a low key first round exit four years ago. This year's quartet were:
Vivian Holmes, from Cambridge, studying Maths and Philosophy
Edward Lucas, from Manchester, studying Political Theory
Captain: Vivek Ramakrishna, from Hyderabad, India, studying Chemistry
Thomas Veness, from Kingston-upon-Thames, studying Theoretical Physics
Off we set again then, and Mr Barton took the first starter of the match for Robinson; the side took two bonuses on word coinages. The Cambridge side then lost five; Wadham couldn't pick up, but Mr Ramakrishna got them off the mark with the next starter, and they too took two bonuses. Mr Veness increased their lead by identifying characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream for the next starter, and the two bonuses record continued. And it continued again with the next set, which went to Robinson. The first picture round, on US cities where Federal Reserve banks are located, went to Wadham, who broke the record by only taking one, but they still led 55-35.
Miss Hodge pulled Robinson back into the match by taking the next starter, ensuring there would be no repeat of last time. The Cambridge side took one bonus on astronomy, and then the lead when Mr Barton identified the element boron for the next starter; again, just one bonus followed from a nice set on African flags. An unlucky penalty dropped Robinson five, and Wadham were even unluckier not to take the points. Wadham then slipped-up, and Robinson returned the favour by not picking it up. Mr Ramakrishna finally stopped the rot by identifying species of armadillo for the next starter; one bonus on novels set in Japan was enough to put them back in front.
The music round, on orchestral pieces used in the BBC's Ten Pieces initiative, went to Robinson, who took two of the bonuses (one of which was Mozart's Horn Concerto, made famous by Flanders and Swann!), and, with them, the lead, 80-65. Two starters in a row were dropped; a third met the same fate, with Robinson unluckily losing five. Mr Verghese atoned for his unfortunate error by taking the next starter, and the side took two bonuses on oils/acids. Mr Ramakrishna closed the gap by identifying Santa Fe for the next starter; just the one bonus followed from a tough set.
The second picture round, on actresses portraying Blanche Dubois (sadly, Marge Simpson was not one of them!), went to Robinson, who took just the one bonus, which nonetheless upped their lead to 110-80. Mr Verghese identified people buried in Venice for the next starter; none of the bonuses followed, but the side still had the upper hand in the closing moments.
Mr Veness kept his side in the game by taking the next starter, and two bonuses on the muscular system took them into triple figures and just one starter and full bonus set away from the lead. Mr Barton crucially took the next starter, identifying 24 Sussex Drive as the Canadian PM's residence, and when his side took all three bonuses on the 1918 general election, that was most likely game over. The penultimate starter was dropped, Wadham lost five on the final one, Robinson picked up, and that was the gong. Robinson won 155-95.
A low scoring match, but a fairly close one nonetheless. Unlucky Wadham, who were very much in the match until right at the end, but thanks very much for taking part. Very well done to Robinson; a respectable first effort, and very best of luck in the next round!
Messrs Verghese, Barton and Ramakrishna were joint best buzzers of the night, taking three starters each for their respective teams. On the bonuses, Robinson converted 14 out of 27 (with three penalties), while Wadham managed 9 out of 18 (with two penalties).
Next week's match: The Open University vs Salford
Only Connect saw the first group's second play-off tonight; I'll deal with it later in the week after I've caught up with last week's tomorrow evening.
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