WORCESTERHIRE Saints reached double figures for only the second time this season but were still on the wrong end of a 54-11 defeat when they visited Oxford Cavaliers in the TotalRL.com Conference.

Saints were not lacking in effort but the home side did control long periods of the game and did not allow the visitors into their half with the ball until the sixteenth minute.

It was at that moment that Saints opened their account -- Mark Smith gaining good yards and linking up well with debutant James Lloyd Jones.

Lloyd Jones used his long legs well to sprint clear of the chasing pack before releasing Steve Holmes who went over for a try in the left hand corner.

Richard Whitehouse's conversion left the score at 12-7 and hopes were high of a Saints success, but sadly the Cavaliers had other ideas.

Whereas Saints were only capable of making slow progress when they had possession, the Cavaliers made the most of any ball with the build up for their third try out of six in the first-half beginning under their own posts.

The second period began well for Saints who revelled in having the slope in their favour but the steady stream of scores was only held off until the eleventh minute when Barry Lelanne ran through for his second try.

Graham Cartmell went one better for Oxford, completing his hat-trick on the hour mark but Saints, determined to have something else to show for their efforts, managed a second try when man-of-the-match Holmes broke away to complete his brace.

But, as in the first-half, a Saints score seemed to stir the Cavaliers and they scored three more tries before referee David Lowe called time.