CONOR Kearns has been elected Oxford University's new rugby captain.

The full back takes over from Fergus Taylor after votes were cast at the Iffley Road pavilion on Friday evening.

Kearns, who is studying a masters in pharmacology at Somerville College, featured as a replacement last December, when Oxford suffered their first Varsity Match defeat to Cambridge since 2009.

The 23-year-old becomes the first Irishman to captain the Dark Blues since Tyrone Howe in 1995.

Kearns is expected to lead the side for the first time against the RAF on Wednesday