Nick Haydon admits selecting his team for the 129th Nomura Varsity Match was one of his toughest tasks as Oxford University captain.

Haydon will unveil his line-up to face Cambridge at Twickenham at 1pm today.

And the Australian spent yesterday meeting his players to give them the good or bad news.

He said: “It is one of the hardest things about being the captain.

“Some people who hope to be in the side will miss out, but that’s the way it goes.

“Everybody has had their chance through the term.”

Looking ahead to the match, Haydon added: “We are very happy with where we are at. Everyone has been working extremely hard.

“We have got a game plan that we can take to Twickenham.

“We are starting to do some quality analysis on Cambridge.

“We are going in as underdogs after their performance last year and seeing how strong their team is.”

Meanwhile, the Dark Blues are working hard to stop the cold snap interfering with their preparations.

But the Haydon admitted the freezing conditions, which forced the cancellation of their match against Northampton, were a problem.

He said: “The cold weather is throwing a spanner in the works, but we have got to make the most of every opportunity to train.

“We had a contact session next to the main grandstand at Iffley Road on Tuesday where the ground wasn’t quite frozen.

“On the plus side, icing injuries is very easy – you just lie down!”

  • THE cold snap has seen the Greyhounds and Whippets Varsity Matches postponed to next term.