Oxford Harlequins' coach John Brodley, who turned their campaign round after being appointed in mid-season, said: "The future looks bright.

“We've already got Martin Nutt returning to us from Newbury, and we'll be aiming to strengthen the side more for next season.

"And as far as I know, nobody is looking to leave.

"We were determined to show our intent by running the ball from start against Banbury, and it paid off handsomely. There must have been at least 12 passes in the move that set up our first try."

He paid tribute to Banbury, his former club, for their battling effort.

This view was echoed by skipper Simon Chadbone. "They never gave up and made us work for the win."

"We knew if we took the ball wide, we had the pace to score tries. It was a great thrill to lift the cup and there's a great buzz in the club at present.”

On Will Johnson's red card, Chadbone said: "It was a moment of madness, he just got carried away."

Banbury coach Grant Holmes was philosophical after his side's record defeat.

"We knew we would struggle with the pace of the game and that we had to make our one-up tackles, for us to compete.

"During the early part of the season, when it became clear we wouldn't win our league, we identified the county cup final as our main target.

"We achieved that, a despite the result, we thoroughly enjoyed our day."