ANDY Henley may have played schoolboy rugby for New Zealand, but he revealed the Oxfordshire Cup is his first senior trophy success.

The Oxford Harlequins centre, 27, finally got his hands on a cup after several near misses when they beat Witney on Sunday.

He said: "I've only made semi-finals before this apart from in junior rugby.

"In New Zealand to win a cup and a final is huge.

"The club I played for, East Coast Bay, was always one of the best, but never the best.

"I've been in many good sides, but never actually won anything before this.

"I used to play centre or wing, but as I got older and slower I moved into the centre."

Henley, arguably Quins' best player this season, was looking for a job after playing for Udinese in Italy.

With Quins' director of rugby Matt Maudsley also Cherwell School's head of PE, everything fitted together.

He said: "I was looking for a teaching job and saw one advertised at Cherwell School.

"I rang up Matt Maudsley and told him I was interested in the job.

"I also told him I was interested in playing rugby and it just went from there."

As a former New Zealand Secondary Schools' cap, Henley has played at a higher level than South West 1.

He has had to adapt to a more forward-orientated game, but this has not been his toughest challenge.

"The hardest part for me has been getting used to the referees and the way they interpret the rules," he said.

"The way they look at rucks and mauls is just so different."

And he has not had the best of luck with officials this season.

If the final had gone ahead as planned on April 1, he would have been suspended following a sending-off for dissent against a referee.