ROYAL Wootton Bassett’s complete second-half performance against Oxford Harlequins on Saturday delighted coach Alan Low, who heaped praise onto his side’s levels of maturity and fitness in their 32-5 win.

Bassett let one try trip slip in the first half of their latest South West One East contest, but denied Oxford any points in the second as Scott Douglas, Joe Pettit, Dan Hale, Phil Bardwell and the returning Troy Cusack all ran in tries to contribute to the visitors’ final points tally.

Harlequins’ loss means Bassett are one of two teams – the other being Banbury – to start the season with three wins and maximum points.

Saturday’s opponents certainly were not short of confidence prior to kick-off, especially considering their remarkable 41-32 win – having trailed by 27 points – over Old Patesians on the season’s opening weekend a fortnight earlier.

And that made scooping all five points on offer all the more pleasing for Low.

He said: “Oxford are a fit side and keep going until the final whistle, so we were really up for it in the sense that we knew the game was going to be a tough test.

“It was a scrappier first half than what we would expect. We were a little bit inaccurate – Scott Douglas had a ball knocked out of his hand in the act of scoring.

“That affected us a bit. We became loose and inaccurate, which we addressed at half-time.

“The second-half display was fantastic. To not concede a point against a side like Oxford was brilliant. The determination shone through.”

Maximum points have been yielded from Bassett’s ties against Old Centralians, Old Patesians and Saturday’s win in Oxford.

And Low insists his side’s strong levels of fitness coupled with their impressive mental strength have helped inspire the club’s positive start to this campaign.

“We’ve seen a progression in the squad’s maturity,” said Low.

“We’re showing great signs of character, and the squad is believing in itself which is great to see.

“We’ve made some strong additions, and having Troy Cusack return after breaking his thumb against Swindon last year is a plus.”

Elsewhere, Swindon coasted to their first win of the season in Southern Counties South by beating North Dorset 38-0, racking up a four-try bonus point in the process.

Nick Brooks’ side consequently jumped up to seventh in the table.

Swindon College Old Boys were also winners as they defeated Walcot 52-17 to move onto six league points from two league games.