Thought we should have a prediction contest like they do on the CAPL forum.
So here's my predictions for week 1... not easy when no one's seen any teams play but hey!
1 point for correct Result, 1 point for correct score!

Sidney 3-6 Selwyn
Girton 6-3 Jesus
Peterhouse 4-5 Robinson
Fitz 6-3 Trinity
Kings 7-2 Magdalene

Sidney 5-4 Selwyn
Girton 5-4 Jesus
Peterhouse 3-6 Robinson
Fitz 3-6 Trinity
Kings 7-2 Magdalene

Sidney 4-5 Selwyn
Girton 7-2 Jesus
Peterhouse 2-7 Robinson
Fitz 3-6 Trinity
Kings 6-3 Magdalene

We're not doing very well on the predictions at the mo! Results in so far:

Selwyn 1 7-2 Sidney 1
Magdalene 1 5-4 King's 1

Magdalene caused a bit of an upset there, and it remains to be seen whether King's form will improve despite their loss of Steve McCann to Churchill!

Haha, well I'm 1 point up you you at the moment Cork!! Go Selwyn!

Genius... 2 more points for me for getting the Pembroke - Robinson score right ;D

D'you mean the Pembroke vs Robinson score, or the Peterhouse vs Robinson score? As Pembroke vs Robinson was a week 2 game!

Yeh, Robinson played well anyway, we went 4-2 up but Robinson pulled it back thanks to a couple of nice clearances to make it 5-4. I was gutted to be honest! Let's just hope Robinson don't run away with it again! We were the only team to beat them last year!

Oh yeh that's ruined my smugness!

Yeah, it was a good match (or at least the first 4 frames were, I had to leave after that!) - I came pretty close to losing my singles, and all of the frames I saw could easily have gone either way.

We're playing Peterhouse tomorrow (friday) evening, for a chance to establish an early lead at the top of the table ;D

Yeh, the games were all close which is what I like to see - and no real big errors like potting black & white, unlike last year where I think we managed to win 3 frames by Robinson people potting black at wrong time or going in-off on the black!

A nice 100% record to start the season for me though! Looks like I'll be battling it out with Sandy for most singles frames won again! I think I've still only lost 3 singles frames in league matches since the 1st year (1 each year). Cup on the other hand... I can't seem to win many at all!

Good luck against Peterhouse - try not to establish TOO much of a lead! (However I am going for a 5-4 Peterhouse win to be honest - assuming they have the team from last year to choose from - they started us on our losing patch last year :-()

Think they've still got Andy Brown and Ed Simpson, but they've lost the powerhouse that is George Penny! I reckon we've got a stronger team this year - we may have lost Chris Coomber, but Adrian (the grad) looks to be a good replacement. Our only real weakness now is in the banter department, I don't think we'll ever recover from the loss of Tom Dyson...

Yes, that grad did look a very good player - he had a chance to clear from the break in the doubles against me - but we managed to claw it back after he missed a shot.

I noticed there was much less noise around the table in this year's match to last year! Although nothing comes close to the banter you get playing away at Catz! That was awful 2 years ago - we were heckled like crazy!

Yeah, Adrian used to be at Robinson 94-97, played varsity in his last two years and was vice-captain in 97 (when we beat Oxford, apparently). Should be a useful addition to the squad this year!

The atmosphere at the annual Robinson-Pembroke meeting has vastly improved since 2003, when we met in what was effectively a title decider towards the end of the season. It was a home match for us, and descended into a screaming argument for about 20 mins over a 'deliberate foul' (under old EPA rules) by one of our players. I believe the Pembroke and Robinson players involved still avoid each other to this day! Thankfully there's no potential for such controversy any more with World Rules... ;D

I notice that Rob hasn't posted on here since Friday. They just didn't see Sam Pegler coming, did they?

Oooo I was spot on with the Peterhouse vs Robinson result! Might mean the league will be a bit more open this year, which is a good thing!

Good start by the new boys, Girton and Selwyn - could they possibly be a threat for the coveted title?

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Good start by the new boys, Girton and Selwyn - could they possibly be a threat for the coveted title?

They could be, if it wasn't for the fact that Robinson already have it sewn up. Peterhouse played well to beat us 5-4, but I'm confident we'll get better results when we start playing our home matches. It's actually possible to control where the white ball goes on our table, which should give us the edge

Besides, last year we had a 5-4 defeat in our first match, and still romped home to take the title in convincing fashion. Bring it on guys, we're waiting for you all! ;D

PS All will fall to the wrath of my mighty new cue... when it arrives...

And who was that 5-4 defeat to last year Rob ;-)... I wonder if it might have been Pembroke?

We're going to do the reverse this year - lose to you 5-4 and then take the title with marvelous wins for the rest of the year.

Maybe I'm just wishful thinking though!

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And who was that 5-4 defeat to last year Rob ;-)... I wonder if it might have been Pembroke?

We're going to do the reverse this year - lose to you 5-4 and then take the title with marvelous wins for the rest of the year.

Maybe I'm just wishful thinking though!

It was indeed, but I seem to remember that I didn't play in that match...

In all seriousness, as Matt says Division 1 is looking really open already. It'll be interesting to see how the table takes shape over the next few weeks! Ah, I miss the glory days of Robinson 1 - division 1 champions in 2001, 2002, 2003, undefeated in the league for three years running, when any result less than 7-2 was a disappointment. Still, maybe this year will see a return to form, if we can put the Peterhouse result behind us ;D

Dear, dear, Rob, you're showing your age slightly....
xV