CRAIG Burrows is urging Oxfordshire to avoid the same disappointment he suffered as a player and leave Twickenham with no regrets.

The head coach has steered the county back to the home of English rugby for the first time in 11 years.

Sussex stand in the way of an historic County Championship Plate triumph tomorrow (10am), with Oxfordshire falling short on their previous two appearances at the national stadium.

Burrows skippered the side on their last visit in 2006 – a 21-17 defeat to Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire & Derbyshire (NLD).

Along with fellow coaches Tom Whelan and James Cathcart, who were also involved, he does not want a repeat of that day.

Burrows said: “That game was really disappointing. We came so close to winning it.

“But the boys this time are closer-knit.

“They have been together three or four years and hopefully that will make a big difference.”

He added: “All three of us will try as much as we can to pass on little things that we felt counted last time and, if we had approached them before the game, would have helped.

“We can factor those in to our plans.”

A Twickenham experience is an extremely rare occurrence for this squad, who play their club rugby in the fourth tier and below.

Oxon, who had to rely on Buckinghamshire beating Essex, but failing to pick up a bonus point, to reach the final of a competition renamed Bill Beaumont Division 3, know they must make the most of the opportunity.

Burrows added: “It’s going to be huge for the players and the day goes very quickly.

“They’re going there and must play to the best of their ability because they will regret it if they don’t.

“You have to leave it all out on the field, have no regrets, because probably for a lot of them they might never get to have that chance again – they’ve got to enjoy it.”