Depleted Oxford Harlequins went down 27-10 at Barnstaple, although the final scoreline flattered the hosts on Saturday.

Forced to make five late changes, Quins started strongly and were stopped just short of the line several times.

But it was Barnstaple who took the lead in the 17th minute with a penalty from Jordan Petherbridge, which was answered in kind by Quins’ Will Sharratt.

Five minutes before half-time, forward pressure resulted in the home side being awarded a penalty try, which Petherbridge converted.

Five minutes into the second half, they extended their lead to 17-3 with a try from Chris Lowrie, converted by Petherbridge, who later added a penalty.

Poor Quins defence let in Luke Berry three miutes from time for a soft try, which was converted by Petherbridge.

Quins gained some meagre consolation with a well-worked try by Sharratt from the last move of the game.

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