Oxford University captain Nick Haydon said there is no need to panic after losing both matches on their Russian tour.

The Dark Blues lost 29-19 to RC Slava and 32-20 to Kazan State Agrarian University.

But scrum half Haydon stressed the quality of their opponents and that Oxford had not been at full strength.

Asked if they should be worried by the results, Haydon said: “We didn’t go away to make sure we win two games.

“It was all about developing the squad.

“They were professional teams playing at the end of their season with finals coming up. That was exactly the test we needed.

“We didn’t go over there to play some easy fixtures.”

Oxford had to field former players Peter Wright and John Carter, now commercial and team manager respectively, as their squad was stretched.

Haydon explained: “Due to the visa situation, we weren’t able to take as big a squad to Russia as we thought.

“Before we even started pre-season, we had to get the visas in. That made it quite difficult.

“There were players we wanted to take, but couldn’t.”

He added: “The first game was against a professional outfit, Slava, and they were a very talented team.

“It was the second game we should have won, but there were still some professionals in that team.

“The most important thing about the tour was getting to know each other. We certainly got a lot of time doing that.”

With fewer Blues returning than usual, Oxford will have a fairly young squad this year.

Sean Morris and Alex Cheesman return to boost the back line, while Oxford could field two brothers in Dan and Harry Guinness – lock and fly half/centre respectively.

Haydon said: “The front row is always our main concern.

“The young guys who came in on the tour did really well against players who just wrestle in their off-season!

“Murray Henderson (head coach) has got a big focus on the front row and getting the set piece right.”

Haydon said there will still be an emphasis on entertaining rugby, but spectators will also get to enjoy the revamped Iffley Road ground.

“I think everybody is going to be impressed by all the new facilities,” said Haydon.