ALLAN Purchase will realise one of his boyhood dreams today when he leads out Oxfordshire at Twickenham.

The Oxford Harlequins lock skippers a side at the home of English rugby which has suffered an 11-year absence from a County Championship final.

Purchase, who works as a civil engineer for service provider Ringway Jacobs, cannot wait to step on to the hallowed turf.

The 27-year-old said: “Running out at Twickenham will be an amazing experience.

“It’s the sort of thing you’ve dreamt of ever since you picked up a ball.

“Leading out a team of good mates will be special, but we want to try to get the result.

“It will be the pinnacle of my career.”

Purchase, who skippers Quins, was named county captain for the first time this year.

He added: “It’s fantastic to have the opportunity.

“To be thought of and put forward to do it is an honour.”

Oxfordshire secured their place in the Bill Beaumont Division 3 final in far from ideal circumstances.

Having been handed a walkover by Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire & Derbyshire in their final Pool 1 game, they were made to sweat on another result going their way.

And with Buckinghamshire failing to score four tries in beating Essex, Oxon topped the group.

Purchase has been a part of the side for four years and believes the team deserve a shot at glory after semi-final appearances in 2010 and 2014.

He said: “It’s been building for four years, maybe even six for some of the coaches and it’s an achievement of that effort.

“We’ve reached the semi-finals twice and I’m just made up for everybody.

“We’ve been consistently there or thereabouts and there’s a lot of guys that won’t be involved that we will be playing for – the likes of Luke Brown, James Eckert, James Monks.

“It’s been a long, hard season for all of us and for everyone to go again for these matches is a big commitment and hopefully we will do it justice.”