Bicester lifted the David Charles Oxfordshire Plate for the first time with a nine-try victory over Abingdon.

The win was some small consolation for Bicester's mediocre season which is likely to end with relegation from Southern Counties North.

Bicester line-out jumper Mark Malins struggles to keep his balance

On the evidence of Sunday's final at Gosford All Blacks, however, it is hard to see why they have been struggling.

Abingdon, from Berks, Bucks & Oxon Division 2, have improved beyond measure since losing to Grove in the inaugural Plate final two years ago.

But despite a gutsy display, they were unable to live with the power of the Bicester forwards and their pace out wide in the shape of winger Dafydd Gould and full back Paul Leverton.

Adam Wade and Abingdon's goal-kicking French second row Xavier Lecocq exchanged penalties in the opening quarter.

But Bicester stepped up the pace. Forwards Dave Clayton and Sean Cooke started to punch holes in the Abingdon defence, and tries from Leverton, Martin Ewins and Stuart Cassidy - two of which Wade converted - made it 22-3 at the break.

Abingdon would have been entertaining hopes of a comeback, especially as they had the advantage of a strong diagonal wind.

But the elusive Gould extended Bicester's lead within two minutes of the restart, when he scored wide out on the left.

Abingdon were under real pressure in the scrums, and they looked like conceding every time the ball was spun wide.

Brave defending saw them hold out until the 60th minute, when Stuart Cassidy scored the first of five tries in a 14-minute spell of dazzling rugby.

Cassidy completed his hat-trick, and Tony Nightingale, Clayton and Paul Inns also scored tries, Wade adding three conversions.

At 58-3, Bicester relaxed a little, allowing Abingdon to cross for consolation tries from Ian Thompson and Ben Humpage. Lecocq kicked both conversions.

Abingdon: Clarke (Rutherford 77), I Thompson, A Thompson, Watts (Cook 67), Wilson, Bray, Lemon, North (Abbey 44), Webb, Caudle, Harris (Davies 65), Lecocq, Humpage, Nash (Chadwick 72), Stratton.

Bicester: Leverton (Coogan 72), Inns, Wade, Field (Scotchbrook 47), Gould, Deeley, S Cassidy, D Cassidy, Ewins, Evans, Clayton, Malins, Cooke (Wright 40), Nightingale (Carroll 73), O'Kelly.