One might suggest that this band of old boys from Oxford Brookes University are making the trip more for the bar than the boundary rope — but we may yet be proved very wrong.

There’s a delicious subplot at play, too: a full-blown family duel. Graham Bucknall — landlord, club president, and no stranger to marshalling both pints and players — will line up for The Ship Inn. Across the pitch, his son Lachie Bucknall takes the reins for Brookes, no doubt relishing the chance to knock his old man off his perch.

With pride, bragging rights, and possibly even control of the bar tab on the line, expect this one to be played with just a little extra bite.