8
Birmingham
Moseley
V
29
Rosslyn
Park
Birmingham Moseley 8, Rosslyn Park 29
by David Lawrence – Birmingham Mail
Moseley chief Adam Balding remained upbeat after his side were turned over by a well-drilled Rosslyn Park outfit.
The visitors’ pack bagged two tries in each half to claim the bonus point but the hosts were a constant danger when they chose to run the ball with backs Sam Pointon, Harry O’Brien and Ollie Allsopp all starring – the latter on his 50th appearance for the Red-and-Blacks.
“To get nothing from the game is tough to take,” admitted the director of rugby. “Sometimes the effort doesn’t justify the reward and all we can do is keep our heads up and work hard.
“Rosslyn Park have a nucleus of players that they have built over the past five years and they just build around that. We’re probably at the other end of the spectrum, still very much a new group that needs to keep working hard. But I can’t fault the effort – if we take that down to Bishops Stortford we’ll have a good day.”
There was little to choose between the sides in the opening period with the lead constantly changing hands.
O’Brien slotted over an early penalty for Mose only for Park back row Hugo Ellis to be driven oven from a well-worked catch-and-drive with Craig Holland kicking the conversion.
Hooker Sam McNulty then swung the game back to the home side when he was driven over the line before opposite number Jared Saunders peeled off another rolling maul to score, Holland’s kick opening up a 14-8 half-time advantage.
A searing 50-yard run from Allsopp ended when he was bundled into touch while the half-back pairing of Pointon and O’Brien kept Moseley on the front foot.
But Park’s precision line-outs continued to cause problems and two tries in five minutes from prop Austin Hay ensured there was to be no way back for the hosts although replacement Isaac McNulty did set the pulses racing when he tried to dribble the ball to the line only for it to bobble out of play.
Harry Leonard rounded off the scoring with a penalty on 68 minutes moments before Moseley’s Ashley Johnson was yellow carded for deliberately shoulder barging a player off the ball.
Balding added: “To concede two tries from line-out drive and two from pick and go is frustrating because that’s our strength. If we had been bust out wide or through the middle from good play then fair enough but we’ve been done where we feel we’re strongest so that has to be looked at.
“Rosslyn Park played well and deserved to win but I thought we played well enough to deserve a point from the game.”
Att: 643
