Evening all. So we're back after the week-off last week, and Only Connect is back as well! Finally, Monday nights make sense again. Whether or not I cover OC in full blogs this series I still haven't decided yet, but if I do review tonight's ep in full, it probably won't be this week. On with tonight's UC though first...
Jesus College Oxford is the only Oxford college founded during the reign of Elizabeth I, in 1571; alumni include former PM Harold Wilson, former Mastermind host Magnus Magnusson, and journalist Jim Waterson, who represented the college on the show back in the Alex Guttenplan series of 2009-10. It last sent a team to the show in 2014-15, who were narrowly beaten in the first round. This year's foursome were:
Lucy Clarke, from Surrey, studying Early Modern History
James Cashman, from Guildford, studying History
Captain: Matt Cook, from Wellington, New Zealand, studying PPE
Miranda Stevens, from Sevenoaks, studying Biology
Manchester University, founded in its current form in 2004 having been around for over a hundred years in various forms beforehand, is best known on UC for a ten year run of dominance, where they won three times, with a fourth later retroactively awarded, were runners-up once and reached the semis every other series. That run has since ended, though last series, they managed a respectable run to the QFs. This year's quartet were:
Jack Rogers, from Cheshire, studying Maths
Melissa Johnson, from South Africa, studying Economics
Captain: James Green, from the Wirral, studying Modernist Literature
Adam Booth, from West London, studying Physics
Off we set again then, and Mr Cashman opened procedings with 'mandate'; bonuses on Alfred Hitchcock films provided the Oxonians with just the one bonus to start with. Mr Green opened Manchester's account with 'Russia', but they could also manage just one of their resulting bonuses. Mr Rogers, as I did, knew the letter 'W' to only appear in the name of one element but be the chemical symbol of another, and a classic UC bonus set on words differing by the addition of a J at the start proved more to their liking, a full set. The first picture round, on graphs showing the finishing place of teams in the Premier League, went to Manchester; just the one bonus followed again though, leaving their lead at 55-15.
And it increased when Mr Green added 'baited breath' for the next starter, but bonuses on cricket didn't add to it. Mr Booth took the next starter, but, again, nothing came from the bonuses. Ms Johnson then made sure all Manchester players had a correct starter to their name, and European history finally gave them some bonuses they knew, a full set taking them to triple figures. Ms Clarke finally awoke Jesus from their slumbers, but they took just the one bonus. At least they were scoring again now though, as Ms Stevens took a second in a row, and this time two bonuses were converted.
The music round, on pop music tracks that sample 'The Streets of Cairo', went to Jesus, who took another pair of bonuses, though one was a bit generous ('They Must Be Giants' was accepted for 'They Might Be Giants'). Jesus had now recovered to 100-70, but Manchester duly reawoke courtesy of Ms Johnson's answer of 'stegosaurus'; bonuses on the work of Robert Harris gave the Mancunians a full house. Five were then lost to a wrong interruption, but Jesus couldn't capitalise. Another starter was dropped, before Mr Cook (the K on whose nameplate I'm pretty sure was upside down!) ensured all eight players had contributed a correct starter to the match; one bonus was taken. Back came Mr Booth for Manchester, and two bonuses put them in command going into the closing straight.
The second picture round, on films whose plots transpose those of Shakespeare plays, went to Manchester, who took a full house, taking their lead to 165-85. And when Mr Green took the next starter, you suspected they might just now be out of reach, even though just the one bonus followed.
Or maybe not, as they then dropped five on the next starter; Ms Stevens picked up the points, and a full bonus set took them into triple figures and onto the play-offs board. Ms Clarke added another to the Oxonians' score, and another full bonus set meant they could still, just about, catch up yet. Neither side took the next starter though, Mr Cook took the next, but when they only took one bonus, that was game over. Just to confirm, Ms Clarke unluckily lost five on a borderline interruption on the final starter, and Manchester took the points. No time for the bonuses; at the gong, Manchester won 185-145.
A good match, well played by two solid teams, well done both teams. Unlucky Jesus, but a fine effort, and hopefully 145 will be enough for the play-offs, so hopefully we'll see you again. Well done Manchester though, and best of luck in the next round!
The stats: Mr Green was the best buzzer of the night with four, while Ms Clarke was best for Jesus with three. On the bonuses, Jesus converted 14 out of 24 (with one penalty), while Manchester managed 17 out of 30 (with two penalties), and, as I said earlier, all eight players got at least one starter correct.
Next week's match: Durham vs Trinity College Cambridge
Only Connect's return saw the Darksiders play the Suits; the latter had a steady lead after the first round, and maintained it for the rest of the show, ultimately winning comfortably. (This will probably be how I cover OC here from now on, but we'll see)
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