Oxford head coach Alan Hancock was largely satisfied with their 36-23 victory over Brookes.

He said: “This was a big win for us. It was an important game.

“Overall I am happy with our performance, but there are still areas to work on.

“The last 15 minutes didn’t reflect the game we played, although Brookes scored some great tries at the end.

“If we can compete up front like that for the rest of the season it will be a big bonus for us.”

Oxford Brookes president Sam Mole said: “Given another 20 minutes, we could have come back.

“It was a shame we didn’t start with that intensity. We just finished with it.

“We were outfought a little bit in the rucks and their set-piece was good.”