JOE Winpenny has hailed his players after Oxford Brookes University clinched a memorable double.

The side lifted the BUCS Midlands Conference Cup earlier this month.

And they finished off a superb season when beating University of Nottingham 2nd 25-7 in a title-decider to win Midlands 2B.

Gabriel Vantaggiato, Tom Lomax and Hugo Solway crossed, with Roddy Giles kicking ten points.

Head coach Winpenny said: “For the players and the club to win the league is the culmination of two seasons hard work.

“It means an awful lot to all involved, we were really disappointed not to get promoted last year.

“So to see it happen this year is an achievement that will live long in the memory.

“The players have sacrificed a lot this year to win this championship and have put in the hard work each week to become better players – not just for the themselves but for the team.

“As coaches we have really challenged them on top of their academic commitments in order to analyse our and oppositions’ performances.

“Their application and understanding of the game plan that we are trying to implement is a real credit to the lads.”

THE Varsity Match has struck a new deal with the RFU to continue playing the annual fixture at Twickenham for at least another four years.