GREG Goodfellow wants to see a bumper crowd get behind the county as Oxfordshire look to make a second consecutive final this weekend.

Oxfordshire began their title defence at the Bill Beaumont County Championship with a win on the road at the weekend.

Last year, the county claimed the Division Three crown and on Saturday, took their first step in retaining that crown.

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After going in at the half-time break with a 24-10 lead, an entertaining second period saw hosts Warwickshire fight back, however Oxfordshire ultimately came out on top with a 36-32 victory at Coventry RFC.

It means a win this Saturday would see Oxfordshire into another final.

Head coach Goodfellow’s side welcome Notts, Lincs & Derbys to Witney RFC in a 3pm kick-off.

The visitors were narrowly beaten 16-14 against Warwickshire in their championship opener but are still in with a shout of the final if they get a result against Oxfordshire.

Goodfellow hopes strong home support can see his side over the line though.

He told this newspaper: “Regardless of what team you support in the local area, these boys are coming together to play for a county team.

“It’ll be a good spectacle and the boys will relish playing in front of a good crowd.

“It takes a lot of clubs and players to come and join in, and the same thing with the fans as we want as many supporters to come down and make a bit of noise.

“One thing I can guarantee is that if there’s a crowd getting behind these boys, then it’s pushing them on.

“Hopefully with the home support, it should be enough to take us through to another final.”

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Previewing the weekend clash, Chinnor player and coach Goodfellow acknowledged it’ll be a tough encounter but wants his side to focus on themselves.

He said: “They’ll come down here knowing they can get right back in the mix.

“We’ve done a lot of video work on them, to find out more about them.

“They pushed Warwickshire close and it was the last kick of the game that won it.

“We spoke to Warwickshire about them, and we know where they’re likely to be strong.

“It’s for me about what we do though and what we’ve been working on in training.”

On the victory against Warwickshire, Goodfellow was pleased with the first half display and that his side still came through despite a drop-off in the second period.

He said: “I certainly can’t complain with a winning start. We made it difficult for them and we were in complete control in the first half.

“We went away from that in the second half and let Warwickshire get back into it.

“We’ve got a little bit of continuity now we’ve played. The first game is always the toughest, but we’ve got past that hurdle.”