Witney 7,

Oxford Harlequins 47 A storming display by Oxford Harlequins' young prop Simon Chadbone dispelled any thoughts of an upset in their Oxfordshire Cup quarter-final at Witney on Sunday.

Chadbone battered down the Witney defences with a series of powerful runs as Quins romped home 47-7 to emphasise the two-division gap between the sides.

In years gone by, this might have proved a tricky tie for Quins, but they are now battle-hardened by life in South West 1 and were only occasionally troubled by the spirited home side.

Cheered on by their vocal following 'Kop', Witney battled hard up front, but their defensive weaknesses behind the scrum were exposed by the pace and power of the opposition.

Quins soon raced into a 14-0 lead. A half-break by full back Dave Boreham set up centre Martin Nutt for a simple try under the posts.

Then Boreham gathered a crosskick from French winger Vincent Dubois for their second try. Fly half Chris Penney landed both conversions.

Witney, who are chasing promotion from Southern Counties North, rallied well and, after a period of pressure, were awarded a penalty try.

Centre Will Greenwood put in a neat chip kick to the corner, and winger Henry Lamb was obstructed as he went to gather the loose ball. Ollie Smith's conversion made it 14-7.

At this stage, Quins were struggling to exert their authority, with winger Elio Recchia sinbinned for illegal use of the boot.

But the match was settled by Quins' third score just before half-time.

Chadbone made it with a jinking run down the right to put Nutt clear, and the centre's huge sidestep past Witney full back Luke Hollick put him in the clear for a try that Penney again improved.

The second half was a formality once Chadbone's half-break had put Boreham over for his second try.

Jamie Cope, who only came on for the second half, Recchia and hard-working flanker Shaun Baxter added further tries, while Penney landed three second-half conversions to complete the tally, and emphasise the gap in class between the sides.

Witney: Hollick (capt), J Lamb, Greenwood, Murray, H Lamb, Smith (Grant 70), Jackson (Caffekey 70), Dore, Gorfin, Serle (Hickman 73), Rowles (C Campbell 73), Richens, Muller, Worrall, G Williams.

Oxford Harlequins: Boreham, Dubois (Noyce 19), Nutt, Smith, Recchia, Penney (capt), A Cope, Chadbone, Mitchell (Donnelly 72), Houston (DeLange HT), Stephenson, Chatterton (Brusch HT), Ashton (J Cope HT), Baxter, Nye.

Referee: B Bumpass (Oxon).