Banbury Bulls player coach Grant Holmes says they still have not fully recovered from last season’s woeful form despite reaching the Oxfordshire Cup final.

Bulls finished second bottom of Midlands 2 East in 2007-08 after winning just three matches.

Holmes said: “I still hark back to last year in Midlands 2 and how that affected us.

“We are still suffering from that experience, as when we lose points, our heads go down.”

This campaign has not gone that well for Banbury, who will finish well out of the running for promotion.

But they have at least achieved aims they set for 2009 after edging past Witney in Sunday’s semi-final, with Dyfrig Davies among the try scorers.

“After having four points deducted and losing a few games, we knew promotion was out of range,” said Holmes.

“At Christmas, we said let’s play for a top four or five finish and try to get to the cup final. The boys have worked hard to do that.”