Oxfordshire stumbled into the semi-finals after they edged to victory and other results went their way. Here is the numbers' game. See Tuesday’s paper for full report.

Competition: County Championship Shield Pool 1

Score: Oxfordshire 34, Essex 27

Oxfordshire player ratings:

15. Jeff Stewart 6 (solid enough)

14. Roger Sevier 7 (assured debut)

13. Sam Stoop 9 (STAR MAN, had the Midas touch)

12. James Hewitt 6 (strong in defence)

11. Nick Sevier 6 (fairly quiet)

10. James Cathcart 6 (some good, some bad)

9. Kenny Sewell 6 (can do better)

1. Simon Matthews 7 (excellent scrummaging)

2. Simon Chadbone 7 (sound display)

3. Joe Pickett 7 (aggressive effort)

4. Matt Hutchings 8 (effective in all areas)

5. Sam Black 7 (shone in the line-out)

6. Ryan Newman 6 (sin-binned in first half)

7. Tim Knapp 6 (worked hard)

8. Ben Nicholl 7 (used the ball well)

Replacements used:

21. Tom Whelan 6 (filled in fine)

16. Alex Henk 6 (brief cameo)

17. James Eckert 7 (got involved)

20. Adam Pearson 6 (added height!)

18. Tom Mowbray 6 (reasonable effort)

19. Jason Welburn 7 (superb break for decisive try)

22. Danny Burns 6 (did his job)

Referee: Trevor Fisher (Cheshire) – 5 (missed quite a lot)

Entertainment rating: 7.

Highlight: Jason Welburn’s break and chip through for Sam Stoop’s third try.

Lowlight: Oxfordshire’s lack of intensity.

Form guide: Oxfordshire need much more consistency if they are to win this competition.