OXFORDSHIRE hinted at a Twickenham return as their Chinnor-dominated side eased past Hampshire in the County Championship Plate at Kingsey Road on Saturday.

Having reached the final of the same competition in 2003, this largely effective display, which featured six tries, suggested they could go all the way again.

Oxon were not without their faults and missed too many tackles, but once the impressive Anthony Cope gave them the lead with a solo try, they never trailed.

The hosts lost No 8 Paul Hennessy to food poisoning beforehand and can draw on Henley and Newbury players for their next game, so things should only get better.

After a scrappy opening quarter, in which Hants centre David Byett missed a penalty from in front of the posts, scrum half Cope jinked through a gap on the edge of the 22 and caught the defence flat-footed to cruise in under the posts.

Fly half James Cathcart added the conversion, but two quick Byett penalties, the first stemming from Andy Millburn's woeful attempt to trap the ball, made it 7-6 after 25 minutes.

Chinnor provided the entire Oxon pack and it was their cohesion that saw lock Craig Burrows touch down from a rolling maul on 29 minutes.

When they moved the ball at pace, Oxfordshire carried a genuine threat and this was clear when winger Jamie Hiscock sprinted in for a debut try five minutes before the break.

Good hands from prop Simon Matthews allowed Cope to pick out Hiscock's run and there was no catching him as he blazed over on the right.

Two Cathcart penalties put Oxon 23-6 ahead after the interval, but Hampshire lock Lee Appleby capitalised on some weak tackling to score on the left after 49 minutes, Byett converting.

However, the visitors' defence proved even worse just afterwards as Cathcart cantered through from 20 metres out and converted his own try.

Another excellent Cope break almost created a score for JP Immelman, but the hooker just ran out of gas on the left.

The move of the match came on 63 minutes when a textbook lineout take from Burrows enabled Cathcart and centre Rewi Tolich to zip the ball wide. Hiscock hit the line at pace, touched down for 35-13 and Cathcart converted.

Oxon's tempo slowed after losing Cope with an injured shoulder and Lee Appleby took full advantage to set up hooker Tom Drewett for a 68th-minute try, which Byett converted.

Hampshire could not build on this and Burrows notched his second try, converted by Cathcart, from a rolling maul in the final minute.