OXFORD RFC have been hit with a 20-point deduction for fielding two players not listed on a match card.

The ruling refers to the club’s 51-12 win over Harwell on October 8, when they named 18 players for the BB&O Championship game, but used 20.

Director of rugby John Brodley insists it was a “genuine mistake”.

But the South West Rugby Football Union (RFU) have taken a strong stance, saying it comes under the ruling of falsifying a match card.

Brodley said: “There are only 18 spaces on the match card, so we didn’t think we had to put them (the other two players) down.

“They were not ineligible, it was a genuine mistake.

“It is a sad occurrence and a massive learning experience for us.

“We were not playing any ringers.”

The decision by the RFU leaves the North Hinksey-based club bottom of English rugby’s ninth tier.

Oxford, who have won four games this season after victory over Aldermaston on Saturday, prop up the table with minus one.

Teams can name more than 18 players in a squad if granted approval by their opponents, which, according to Brodley, Oxford did receive from Harwell.

League secretary Roy Mears spotted the mistake when reading the match report on the club’s website.

He said: “The worst offence is falsifying a card.

“This can happen at any level, that is why the regulations are there. They had a copy of them, they were sent out.

“It is disappointing, but it just proves that these cards are being checked and these clubs that cheat get caught.”

Oxford are not appealing the decision.