Oxford Harlequins went back to the top of the Powergen South West 2 East table with a 30-11 victory over Chippenham at Horspath Road on Saturday.

Harlequins' Anthony Cope is brought down within sight of the line

The heavy conditions tested the players' skills to the limit, and Quins, showing six changes, took longer than usual to settle.

They went behind in the fifth minute to a penalty by Chippenham full back Jim Pratt, before hitting back in the 14th minute.

A move which started in their own half saw winger Martin Nutt set off on a long, weaving run, beating four tacklers before passing inside to prop Simon Chadbone, who then put No 8 Paul Nye over for an excellent try.

The Quins forwards started to gain the upper hand, with Rob Dow and Simon Chatterton to the fore, as runs from Mark Dixon and Nye stretched the Chippenham defence.

However, the visitors regained the lead when Pratt kicked another penalty to give his side a 6-5 point advantage at half-time.

With flanker Jim Anderson replacing Mark Dixon after the break, the game took a dramatic turn in the 54th minute.

First, centre Richard Rouse was on hand to force his way over, after good work by forwards and backs, to give Quins a 10-6 lead, Matt Maudsley missing the conversion.

Two minutes later, the ball was moved out wide to send full back Dave Boreham in for a fine try, with Maudsley again off target with the conversion.

In the next five minutes, Boreham completed his hat-trick with two more tries after some strong running and hand-offs.

Maudsley missed both conversions, but Quins were 25-6 up and well in command.

They kept the pressure on, going close on several occasions before scrum half Anthony Cope was driven over by the forwards for another try in the 69th minute.

Chippenham scored a consolation try in the 79th minute through flanker Gary Squires.