Bugger. 5 points for Scottish and 0 for Moseley. That's burst the Moseley confidence bubble. Bragging rights for LS again and no doubt they will resurrect their view that Moseley are not a championship side. They have become a bit of a bogey team for Moseley.
Think Phil is right a bit of a bogey side for us, but look at other clubs results today Ealing went to the Island and won again, we are the Nemisis of Bristol in recent clashes and long may it continue. Today I though we looked tired but determined to be quite honest and did well to stay in the game for so long. Buster is wasted tied up in the 2nd row as good a job as he is doing, got to enable him to stay out of the tight, with Brightwell's departure we need to lean heavily on some 2nd row enforcements from Northampton, Powell is going to burn out very quickly if required to stoke the engine room for the amount of time he is on field. We weren't bad, neither we're we good, as for not being a Championship team, we have been here a lot longer than the Exiles on a lot less funding. Difference to me in the two teams today, one is full time, one isn't. London Scottish are a long, long way off from where their next door contempories were this time year before last.. Good luck to them nevertheless.
Simple game plan. Play to your strengths. Scottish did it perfectly. Very strong scrum which utterly pulverised our scrum. Secondly when you have a very good winger who is a great finisher give him the ball.
We did well to hang on till half time and, if Sam Brown had held on to the ball with no one in front of him 5 meters from the line, we might even have gone in ahead at half time.
Our deficiencies up front were exposed today and remedies need to be found (if it is possible with our present personnel).
Ale is dead right about Lawrence. His talents are in the loose and second row is no place for him.
I have no idea why Williams stays with us. I think he got 3 passes today. He must have been looking enviously at the service the Scottish left wing got. Good finisher, good service = 3 tries.
As usual really enjoyed my 2 scotch pies and the company of fellow Scots. Always feels like a proper rugby ground.
Not worth going in to more detail. Some good individual performances, no lack of effort but not enough.
I totally agree with Gary. Play to your strengths. We have a superb winger in Matt Williams but we just do NOT give him enough ball - never mind quality ball, any ball - he just does NOT get enough ball. L also agree with Gary the Matt might already be looking to play somewhere else. What on earth is the point of signing a speedy winger and don't use him.
The biggest block to him getting the ball has to be at centre. We have two centres who have a similar and predictable style of play. Both prefer to cut in and bludgeon the line. Maggsy, a former international centre, knows the full value of a speedy winger outside him and must be spitting blood. He MUST take both centres to one side and - in no uncertain terms - and illustrate, without question, just how a centre can and must engage with the wingers.
For a start they MUST learn to run straight. When I played rugby league it was drummed into me to run straight up the pitch, NOT across it. Too often play moves one side to the other with each player running half a dozen steps in the process with the net result the wingers get the ball when they are tip-toeing down the line.
It is far easier to drift defend an oblique line off attack rather than a head on attack. With head on attack the defender has no option than be stationary and a head on tackle is harder to carry out than a side on tackle. Moreover, the tackler is more often than not taken out of the defence longer than the attacker can bet back into the game. If the head on attach is carried out with pace AND space between each player there are further options.
Rugby is a simple game. Keep it simple, just like the Kiwis do, always provide support, just like the kiwis do, run straight, just like the kiwis do and the tries and the results will follow.
In summary. Get Matt Williams into the game and use him.
The options are stark. Use him or lose him.
Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose.
Totally agree with all comments. Really frustrating game. Totally outdone up front. It was obvious from the start the ref. would penalise us in the scrum and he did so why didn't someone say on our scrum get the ball out quick. Kevin is the boss. He should rollock King and Owen for not getting the ball out to either Matt or Scott when possible. Both are totally wasted at the moment. LS proved yesterday that good wingers work and good centres, and coaches, realise it. Mose Fans as usual were great. Putty we can't get the coach full. It's as great way to get to the game. No hassel and good company. Come on you Moooooseand Mose Fans.
I clearly remember one game when I was Nomads, Wanderers and Vandals Hon' Match Secretary. The wanderers were playing against Solihull - before Solihull they became B and S. The first team raided the United team wholesale, because of "cry-offs", the United had to raid the Nomads, the Nomads had to raid the Wanderers and the Wanderers raided the entire Vandals team ( I only had about 8 for the Vandals team ). I finished up with only 13 players. I had to play without flankers. I was captain for the day and being the second tallest - by about half an inch - I opted to play second row. The only saving grace was I had a decent front row and some useful three-quarters.
Well. Solihull turned out. There were 15 of them and the littlest bugger was about 6 foot 2 and 15 stones. I decide to play it cool and said that my flankers were on there way and we would start without them. I also told my three-quarters that I expected our "pack" to be stuffed therefore all the ball we got would be given to the backs and they could enjoy themselves.
Well, again. At the first scrum - 5 mins into the game - the ball was in and out like a buck rabbit, the backs had it and were over in the corner. Game on. Throughout the entire game, our magnificent "six pack" secured every put-in, ran there pack ragged to boot - even pushing them over for a converted try - and we won the game 40 odd to 4. I think a try was four points in those days.
The moral of the story is. Give the ball to the backs at every opportunity and let them run at the opposition.
Yesterday performance suggests that Moseley first team should perhaps use the wingers much, much, much more than they currently do - even when they are playing well, as they have been.
And fancy Ealing getting 5 points at Jersey. I bet they, Jersey, were pig sick about that.
Come on Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose
Problem was, yesterday, Phil, we didn't have many scrums on our put-in. Scottish used every scrum to win a penalty rather than regain possession, and with their loose-head making a monkey out of Adam Parkins they could do that all day. Whether what he was doing was legal is neither here nor there, the ref wasn't interested in that. Ben Evans steadied things once he came on, but it was too late by then.
with their loose-head making a monkey out of Adam Parkins
From the scrums I saw close up, the LS loose head was boring-in and the ref wasn't calling it. This was clear to see from where the LS no. 1's head ended up relative to the rest of his front row. So I think Dave Hilton needs to get hold of Parkins and show him a trick or two to combat this.
Did anyone have a clear view of our attacking scrum in the last 10 minutes, on their 5 metre line, which Ben Evans apparently 'dropped'? Can't believe he would do such a thing or was it another decision that went against us? Sorry if it sounds like sour grapes, me blaming the ref's decisions or lack of decisions for our performance.
I think LS played the Ref. a lot better than we did. They have longer to practice it. Agree with you londonexile we need to get a lot smarter in the scrums. Dave must know all the tricks.
I have said often that Moseley allow themselves to be "conned" too often by the more streetwise teams who "read" the game and the referee better than we do. Unfortunately the more we try to accommodate these subtle nuances the more we get on the wrong side of the referee - particularly if he is an incompetent referee - and frustration sets in.
It is akin to an honest person, who never steals, giving in to a moment of temptation - and getting caught - while the habitual thief gets away with blue murder.
Never mind, Pam and I will be there on Friday night. Let us just keep in mind though that Ealing took 5 points off Jersey on Saturday so I rather suspect they will fancy their chances against us.
Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose
with their loose-head making a monkey out of Adam Parkins
From the scrums I saw close up, the LS loose head was boring-in and the ref wasn't calling it. This was clear to see from where the LS no. 1's head ended up relative to the rest of his front row. So I think Dave Hilton needs to get hold of Parkins and show him a trick or two to combat this.
Did anyone have a clear view of our attacking scrum in the last 10 minutes, on their 5 metre line, which Ben Evans apparently 'dropped'? Can't believe he would do such a thing or was it another decision that went against us? Sorry if it sounds like sour grapes, me blaming the ref's decisions or lack of decisions for our performance.
I was standing right in line, the number 17 twice burrowed in, ben evans just drove straight, the linesman saw it on both occasions but did nothing, I was then told it was the ref who officiated the scrum and it was not the linesmans call. Ben Evans did not collapse the scrum.
I was standing right in line, the number 17 twice burrowed in, ben evans just drove straight, the linesman saw it on both occasions but did nothing, I was then told it was the ref who officiated the scrum and it was not the linesmans call.
It did look from first to last as though the touch judges had been instructed just to mark touch and do nothing else. A ref that goes that way in a professional game is a fool, there's far too much going on for just one pair of eyes to see, and a team that fancies their chances with a bit of subterfuge will soon take the hint and go for it.
