Oxford Harlequins director of rugby John Brodley admitted to being surprised at how quickly their pitch became ready to face Old Patesians.

Quins’ fixture secretary and referee Keith Latham gave the surface little chance of being fit at an inspection on Friday, but the match went ahead.

Brodley said: “On Thursday night, we trained in snow that was four inches thick.

“We thought we might at least cut it down a bit.

“It is amazing that that had all gone by Saturday and the pitch did not flood. I thought the pitch held up really well.”

Now Brodley expects his players to recover quickly from the 36-22 defeat.

“We are not downhearted,” said Brodley. “The players are pragmatic about it.

“I would fully expect us to bounce back from this.

“It was not one of those performances which can lead to a run of defeats.”