Oxfordshire wll be making a dream appearance at Twickenham this Saturday after qualifying for the finals of the RFU County Sevens Tournament.
In the preliminary rounds at Stourbridge on Saturday, Oxon topped heir group and now will be one or the eight teams competing at RFU's headquarters.
This tournament was only organised when a combination of the foot and mouth outbreak and the wet weather caused the abandonment of this season's County Champion- ship.
At first it seemed Oxon would be unable to field a team. Not only did they do so, but they won through.
With a squad including four players from both Henley and Banbury, Oxon beat Notts, Leics and Derbys 26-5, Hertfordshire 21-12 and Warwicks 29-10.
Their only defeat came against North Midlands, to whom they lost 12-10 after missing two conversions in front of the posts.
Both Oxon and North Midlands qualified for Twickenham with three wins, but Oxon topped the table on points difference.
In the draw for the quarter-finals, Oxon will play Middlesex at 11.30am this Saturday.
"It will be a proud day for me," said team secretary Ron Martin. "I've always dreamed of taking an Oxfordshire team to Twickenham and now my dream has come true."
Oxon squad: J Street, M Venner, L Smye, A Noyce (Henley), B Hopcroft, T Hurst, R Cockerton, S Viggers (Banbury), D Oxley (Chinnor), D Marsh (Oxford Univ).
Quarter-final draw: Northumberland v North Midlands, Dorset & Wilts v Yorks, Devin v Hants, Middlesex v Oxfordshire.
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