Scunthorpe effectively secured the league title with a 34-23 win at Banbury inMidland Division 1, but were made to pull out all the stops by a battling home side.

It was only after a last-minute try that Scunthorpe could finally breathe easily.

Determined to erase the memory of a 60-point thrashing at the hands of Scunthorpe earlier in the season, Banbury trailed 15-6 at the break, their points coming from Stuart Viggers's penalty and Tony Hurst's drop goal.

Banbury, facing the wind, had a mountain to climb, but closed the gap to 22-18 thanks to a try by hooker John Fossey and a penalty try converted by Viggers.

Scunthorpe again stretched away with a try under the posts, but Banbury were back within a score when the outstanding Will Brooks scored a try. However, it was Scunthorpe who had the final say.