18 September The Blues ran out against Keio University on Wednesday night for the second match of the Japan 2002 tour. The game was played at the impressive Tokyo Olympic stadium in front of a crowd of around 10000 people. Clear skies and a lack of rain for much of the period in the build up to the match, in combination with an incredibly well kept pitch, made for fantastic playing conditions in what was for some, their first match on tour. Despite the good conditions and the hard work put in by the squad in recent days, the performance of the side in general was some what mixed. A defence well marshaled by fly-half Matt Honeyben held for the first few minutes until a break blind by the Keio backs saw a fantastically well placed grubber kick through end up in the hands of the Keio winger to beat those covering across in defence. However, the resolve of the Blues was not to be broken. A few minutes later, centre John 'Chompo' Thompson took a flat ball off a lineout on the Blues 10 metre line and managed to break through the attentions of three defenders and sprint into the Keio 22 yard area before being felled by the opposition full back. Prop Nick Wood was especially pleased to take the ensuing pass, having chased the young centre hard in support. The resulting penalty at the breakdown was converted by Matt Honeyben who fortunately for Oxford had his kicking boots well and truly on for Wednesday evening's game. Within a few minutes Oxford were again within striking distance of the Keio line when a well worked move with solid ball from the forwards, saw centre Stuart Douglas cut a great line through the Keio defence to draw the opposition full back and put Will Rubie over the line for Oxford's first score. An apparent domination of the Oxford side over the hosts was however spoiled by a number of individual errors. Too much dropped ball and some lack of offensive and defensive organisation let Keio needlessly back in to the game. Further tries were scored by some well worked phase play. Lock forward Robert Sugden burst through the Keio backline and managed to leave the Keio full back in his wake until he was caught by the covering tackle of the Keio winger. Flanker Llywelyn Ap Gwilym picked the ball from the breakdown and dived over the Keio line for a well worked score. Full back Will Rubie had yet another match on the top of his game, linking well with wingers Will Ellerby and Karelle Dixon to scramble over the Keio line with minutes to go. Further good work by the forwards saw Props Henry Nwume and Matt Street making inroads in to the Keio defence, leading to Llywelyn scoring his second try. The final score of 38 pts to 30 pts was considered far too close for comfort and owed much to the boot of Matt Honeyben. The Blues will need to 'raise the bar' for the final match against Kanto Gakuin on Sunday. Not to let an average game get their spirits down the Blues gathered for an 'informal' few drinks after the match. Tour roles were seen out in force, including tour 'Barry White' Charles Edwards (so called owing to his deep baritone voice) in full afro wig and peace symbol and Dai Griffiths, sporting his Elvis shades provided most of the musical entertainment on the guitar, with classics such as 'Sittin on the Dock', 'Wonderwall', and 'Brown Eyed Girl'. A good night was had by all, but training early the next day prohibited the squad from amusing themselves further.