Oxford Harlequins director of rugby John Brodley said their half-time tactical switch paid dividends against Cleve.

He said: “The conditions were quite difficult to play in. The players found it difficult to get up to speed over the first ten yards.

“We came out with the idea that we would play with a little bit of width and look for gaps to exploit, but the off-loads weren’t going to plan.

“At half-time, we decided to tighten up and play a little bit more through the forwards. We managed to get three scores from that.

“That was very satisfying. If you suggest something and it works, it is great.”

Brodley added: “What this shows is that we are more of a complete team than we were at the start of the season.

“I thought our defence was outstanding and we didn’t really give away that many penalties. Cleve weren’t really going anywhere and we turned them over several times.”