SWINDON College Old Boys signed off their Berks/Bucks and Oxon Premier Division campaign with an emphatic 70-7 win at home to Tadley.

College had already wrapped up the league title at the end of March and finished the season with just one defeat in 20 games.

Florin Palcau weighed in with two tries and five conversions, Tucker Blinkhorn registered four tries while Mark Edmonds grabbed two as well as solitary efforts from Gary Bandy, Dan Hooper, Damon Murphy and Ken Scott.

With 16 points separating the champions and their nearest rivals Drifters, head coach Mark Lea thinks Saturday’s success capped off a superb season for his side.

“It was decent. Seventy points to seven is not too bad. Tadley probably didn’t bring their strongest side but then we had four or five missing too,” said Lea. “Tadley brought a huge team and to be honest they dwarfed us. We had to work hard in the first half, to let us run riot in the second.

“Sometimes games like these are dead rubbers and there is potentially a struggle to put a side out.

“But we had 35 players to pick from. It wasn’t a struggle at all, which is good. All the players were keen to play it, Tadley offered to score it as a 0-0, but our opinion is we are a rugby club and we are here to provide our members rugby.”

After their league triumph, College will now make an immediate return to Southern Counties level next season.

Having struggled in Southern Counties North two years ago, Lea is confident this group is better equipped for next year’s campaign.

“We still need to recruit, but the good thing is because players want to be a part of what we are doing, they come to us,” added Lea.

“Getting a few more quality players in certain positions will be key. I think they’re more prepared for next season, and that counts for the twos as well because they will be promoted too.

“Both sides have a strategy and plan in mind but also I feel like we have that strength of depth which we haven’t had before.

“As long as the players realise we aren’t going to win every game as easily as we did this year, I don’t see why we wouldn’t stay up next year, which is our goal.”