Oxford Cavaliers slipped to a 50-18 defeat at Bristol Sonics in the Totalrl.com Conference West Midlands Division.

Bristol were always going to prove strong opponents, but late withdrawals and injuries meant Cavaliers could only field a squad of 14.

Sonics scored the first points of the game with a converted try. This was followed by another quick score to make it 10-0.

Some good attacking play from the Cavaliers saw a big hole appear in Bristol's defence allowing John Conway to race the 20 metres to the posts to score, and Shane Turner converted.

This looked like a fair score to end the half, but a lapse in concentration allowed Bristol over for a third try.

Bristol were straight out of the blocks after the break with a converted try from the restart.

The next 20 minutes of play were very close with both teams managing to score two good tries each.

Bristol's score was followed by a darting effort from Adam White, which Turner converted.

Sonics scored again before some great Cavaliers build-up play sent Rob Kenny over in the corner, Turner again converting.

Oxford had battled extremely hard to this point with some great forward play from Graham Crane and Joe McEneaney.

The backs worked hard to help out the forwards with some very good runs from Stewart Hannah, Kenny and Turner.

But a lack of substitutes cost them as Bristol ran in 18 unanswered points in the final quarter.

Manager Mark Shaw said: "The first 60 minutes showed how close these two teams are.

"The final 20 minutes showed what happens when a team gets tired against a good team like Bristol.

"The players can be very proud of their performance today as nobody can question their commitment and effort."