Chipping Norton went joint top of the Southern Counties North table after beating Bicester 25-7 in their Oxfordshire derby.

They are one of four teams on ten points after winning five of their six matches.

Playing into the wind, Chippy took the lead on 15 minutes when lock Ian Hancock crashed over after ten or 11 phases of play and fly half Adam Smith converted.

Bicester lost centre Chris Nash to a knee injury before home skipper Jon Hickman bagged try No 2 from a quick penalty.

Visiting hooker Esava Rakacikaci was sin-binned for a high tackle on Matt Dawson and Smith slotted the penalty.

The visitors hit back with centre Timoci Matanavou going over after some sloppy tackling and scrum half Steve Risbridger converting.

Chippy took control after the break, although they didn't score again until Hickman added his second on the hour mark following Andy Chapman's deft off-load.

Brindley Walker then put the game beyond doubt on 70 minutes when he crashed over following a simple blind side move.

Chippy squandered several gilt-edged chances late on, but director of rugby Andy Dawson hailed a fine team performance.

A depletedGrove side lost 26-5 at home to second-placed Marlow.

Injuries and unavailability meant Grove were without captain John Smart, centre Ben Law, lock Paul Harpwood, flanker James Kerr, scrum half Mark Boler and fly half Dave Johnson.

Two mistakes led to two Marlow tries and a penalty made it 13-0.

Grove lock Zach Grant ran 70 metres to score their only try.

Wings Charlie Young and John Gerring made some good breaks, but Marlow scored a third try before the break.

Grove battled hard in the second half, but conceded a further penalty and try.

Witney produced their worst 40 minutes of the season in the first half of an 18-12 defeat at Aylesbury.