JOHN Connaughton and Johnny Morris scored hat-tricks as Oxford Cavaliers put Somerset Vikings to the sword at the Southern Bypass Ground.

The home side excelled in attack, running in 15 tries, but also produced an impressive defensive display to concede just once in the 84-4 victory.

A downpour which began just before kick-off meant the opening exchanges were full of handling errors.

It did not take long for the Cavaliers to settle, though, and Connaughton opened the scoring in the eighth minute.

The scrum half picked up from the base of a ruck to bundle over the line.

It began a devastating ten-minute spell in which the Cavaliers took a grip on the game with three more tries.

Loose forward Fotu Tupou sprinted in from 30 metres, while Morris and man-of-the-match Hugo Van Dorssen also touched down.

The Vikings went on to enjoy a good spell of possession, but were unable to penetrate Oxford’s well-drilled defence until the stroke of half-time.

The breach came after Connaughton and Morris’s second tries of the afternoon, giving the hosts a 34-4 lead at the interval.

With such a large cushion, the Cavaliers could easily have lost their way, but instead showed an impressive commitment to attack and ran in another nine tries in the second half.

Marc McKenzie got them up and running after the resumption, before Connaughton and Morris completed their hat-tricks.

Fotu added his second, while Jack Briggs also claimed a brace, one of which came straight from a restart.

Prop Jamie Jones’s efforts were rewarded with a try and the scoring was completed by a double from full back Mario De Silva.

Stuart Waknell finished with 12 conversions out of 15 to round off an excellent all-round performance.

A fourth win from five games, it lifted the Cavaliers level on points with leaders Gloucestershire Warriors.

On Saturday, they visit Bristol Sonics (2.30).