Oxford Cavaliers (32) 64

Worcester Saints (4) 8

TotalRL.com Rugby League Conference

BASIC errors from the Saints' defence in the opening four minutes allowed the Cavaliers to take total control of this game.

Straight from the kick off Worcester allowed the ball to find touch and from the scrum Steve Lacy crossed for a converted try.

From the restart Lacy was allowed to run through the Worcester defence to score his second try.

The try was unconverted and Worcester found themselves ten points behind without having any possession.

Worcester won a brief respite after 14 minutes when Richard Whitehouse picked up the loose ball and ran 40 metres to score in the right hand corner.

The try was unconverted and thoughts of a Worcester comeback were dashed four minutes later when Garry Doddy scored a third try for Oxford.

The conversion was missed but Oxford went further ahead with three more converted tries before the half time break.

Leading 32-4 at half time, Oxford started the second half as they had started the first with two tries in the opening four minutes.

Hampered

Saints were further hampered by the loss of Leon Jammal with a neck injury, and Oxford reached the half-century mark after 20 minutes with two more tries.

Worcester managed to get on the score sheet for a second time after 26 minutes when Neil Gulliver, who had come on as a second half substitute, ran 20 metres before being held in the tackle.

From the play, Paul Barnett brushed aside several loose tackles to score his first try of the season.

The conversion was missed by Whitehouse and, with Mark Leason unable to continue with an ankle injury, Oxford continued to pile on the pressure, scoring three more tries in the last nine minutes to win 64-8.

Worcester were always going to struggle against one of the strongest teams in the competition, but they will be disappointed that poor tackling against a large and mobile pack allowed Oxford to dictate the pattern of play.

On the few occasions the Saints had possession they did stretch the Oxford defence, but never recovered from conceding the early tries.

Saints will take some encouragement from the performance of Richard Jenkinson, who was playing his first game of the season following a broken finger.

Saints: Richard Whitehouse, Danny Badham, Leon Jammal, Martin Wiltshire, Ian Snape, John Mounter, Brett Toole, John Hurst, Richard Jenkinson, Mark Laishleigh, Francois Helmer, Rob Barker, Paul Barnett, Lee Goodyear, Neil Gulliver, Mark Leason, Dan Pitt.

l Gloucester Warriors v Worcester Saints, Saturday June 2: Worcester Saints' next away trip is the short journey down the M5 to play local rivals Gloucester Warriors.

Worcester will be looking for some revenge as Gloucester won the corresponding fixture 48-8 last season.

Mixed start

Gloucester have had a mixed start to the season after their first match against Cardiff was postponed.

Then they won 30-20 away at Nottingham, and then won 70-0 at home against Cambridge. Last Saturday they lost 60-4 to the league leaders Hemel.

Both teams have a similar playing record this season and both teams will be looking to recover from large defeats last weekend.

Worcester should have several players who missed the defeat at Oxford back in the squad. If they can field their strongest team, it should be an evenly matched game.

The match kicks off at 2.30pm at Chosen Hill Rugby Union Club.