Evening all. Here we are again with the second second round match. And, once again, I managed to correct guess the fixture for tonight using last year's second round as a base. Maybe it's time for the show to stop arranging fixtures based on recording schedules and who's available when. Especially if it means two of the best teams in the first round end up against each other far too early. On to tonight.
Warwick defeated Clare College Cambridge 195-100 in their first match, though that lead was mostly achieved in the final stretch, and they did struggle somewhat with the bonuses. No doubt hoping for better things tonight were the unchanged foursome of:
Hugh Osborn, from Norwich, studying Astronomy
Emily Stevenson, from Oxford, studying English Literature
Captain: Ashley Page, from Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, studying Chemistry
James Leahy, from Shrewsbury, studying French and History
Nuffield College Oxford came through a tight first round match against Queen Mary 165-130; their opponents, lest we forget, survived to the repechage, so they are clearly a decent team if they can beat a repechage team. They too were unchanged from before:
Spencer Smith, from Holland, Michigan, studying Economics
Alexander Sayer Gard-Murray, from Los Angeles, studying Politics
Captain: Mathias Ormestad Frendem, from Oslo, studying International Relations
Daniel Kaliski, from Cape Town, studying Economics
Off we set again then, and a very quick buzz from Mr Gard-Murray gave Nuffield the first points of the game, and they took a full set of bonuses on UK prime ministers, though Paxo was a bit lenient to accept 'Arthur Bonar Law' for Andrew Bonar Law. Mr Gard-Murray took a second starter, but no bonuses followed this time. A slip-up then allowed Warwick to take their first starter of the match, and just one bonus followed. Another starter fell to Nuffield, and a set of bonuses on the Singapore Circle Line bought them two points. The first picture round, on cast listings of films with the Oscar winning actress and her character missing, went to Warwick, who took one bonus to cut the gap to 50-30.
A second consecutive starter fell Warwick's way, but that bonus profligacy from the first round showed up again, as they took no bonuses from a tricky set on anagrams. A set of bonuses on the Tait's Turbine Hall proved more to their liking, as they took two, and took the lead as a result. A fourth consecutive starter went to Warwick, but just the one bonus followed this time. They did have the lead at this point, but it was still anyone's game.
The music starter was dropped; the bonuses, on pieces by German composers played on the recorder, went to Nuffield, who took two bonuses and cut Warwick's lead to 75-70. A slip-up from Warwick put the sides on level pegging; a second penalty gave Nuffield the lead, and they capitalised by taking the starter and all three bonuses. Warwick hit straight back with a starter and a full bonus set of their own, which cut the gap to five points. Nuffield increased it with the next starter, but a set of bonuses of spider anatomy added nothing to it, though Paxo was most amused by their guesswork!
No-one recognised EM Forster for the second picture starter; the bonuses, on writers and what their initials stood for, went to Nuffield, but none of them were taken, so they led 115-90. That lead increased with another starter, and two bonuses gave them a lead of 45. Still closable, and Warwick responded by taking a starter and two bonuses on similar words, which cut the gap to 25.
But a very quick buzz from Mr Ormestad Frendem gave Nuffield more room to manoeuvre, though just one bonus followed. But when Nuffield took the next starter, that was most likely them home and dry. A set of bonuses on US state nicknames proved surprisingly hard for the two Americans on the team, as they took just one. Warwick did manage to take one final starter, but the gong cut them off before the bonuses could be asked. Nuffield won 160-120.
A fairly close match, even if it was slightly slow and low scoring. Unlucky Warwick, who were a decent and very pleasant team, and I am genuinely sad we won't be seeing them again, but well done anyway on two respectable efforts. Well done to Nuffield though; another good showing against strong opposition, though I feel they may need to play better in the QFs. Best of luck to them for then!
Mr Ormestad Frendem was the best buzzer of the night, with six starters to his name, while Messrs Page and Leahy were joint best for Warwick with three each. On the bonuses, Warwick converted 10 out of 21, while Nuffield managed 14 out of 30, and both sides incurred two penalties. And, for the first time since Sussex vs Queen's, all eight players finished the match with at least one starter to their name.
Next week's match: again, I don't know the draw, but my guess is that one of the repechage teams will be playing.
Only Connect took a break from the series tonight for the annual Children in Need celebrity special. I am still undecided on whether it will be covered on here. I will be carrying on my DoND retrospective at some point this week as well.
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