Oxford Harlequins captain Simon Chadbone accepted his side had been worked hard by Witney.

He said: “We knew the conditions would suit them massively and they were always going to come out of the blocks the way they did.

“We weren’t going to panic. We knew they would get tired and we had to be patient.

“We also had the wind with us in the second half.

“Credit to them, they have given us a very tough game.

“We got the win, which was the main thing. It wasn’t an exhibition of rugby, but the conditions put paid to that.

Witney joint coach John Campbell said: “We asked for a big performance and they produced it, especially some of the younger lads.

“Scott Mortimer was excellent. He didn’t know he was starting until today.

“We had them on the rack in the first half. They made the mistake of trying to score every time they had the ball.

“We didn’t win enough ball in the second half. The line-out went to bits, although I was quite pleased with the scrum.

“I thought our midfield was superb today. Will Bibby’s tackling was superb and James Monks had another good game.”