Post by Phil on Nov 25, 2022 11:03:41 GMT
Big Match Preview - Leeds Tykes v BMRC
Chris Bertram sees opportunities ahead
Cast your minds back a couple of weeks, in particular to the 79th minute of the Cambridge match at Billesley Common. Birmingham Moseley, having fought hard to take the lead, have just lost it again to a Cambridge try, and there is little time left to do anything about it. It would have been ever so easy for the team to have settled for the losing bonus point against a top-three side and let time run out. But this Moseley side has now rediscovered its mojo; from the restart Cambridge are pinged at the ruck, the resulting penalty is sent into the Cambridge 22, the line-out is won and the pack surges forward and over the line, for Cambridge to pull the maul down and concede a penalty try, and with it the match and a 4-try bonus to Moseley. Cue pandemonium in the stand and jubilation on the pitch.
That was a fully-committed 80-minute performance, maybe the first of the season, and followed on from two matches where Moseley were chasing rewards at the end - a fourth try v Rams, a losing bonus point v Rosslyn Park - that just eluded us. This time the reward was well-earned, and team morale must have benefited from it.
Not to mention our league standing; six league points from those three matches against the top three mean that we now sit 9th in the table, lower than we would like perhaps, but three places and seven points ahead of Saturday’s opponents Leeds Tykes. Leeds have found victories and bonus points elusive this season to date, and with three teams due to go down at the end of the season must already be concerned about their position.
The story of Leeds’ creation from the merger of Headingley and Roundhay, their rise to the Premiership and subsequent decline has been told elsewhere. Leeds is a city whose rugby priorities lie mainly in the 13-man code, and the attempt to establish a top-flight RU club in the city was always going to be a struggle. So now they find themselves ground sharing with West Park at the latter’s fine home at The Sycamores in Bramhope. Happily, the old honours boards have followed them there, so famous names such as McGeechan and Winterbottom are there to be spotted. But they need players of that calibre now, and it’s not as easy to find them outside the top flight.
Full back Charlie Venables has been the main source of points with the boot, but tries have come from many positions in both the forwards and backs. Victories have come against Esher, Chinnor and Hull, all teams in the same region of the league table. That may be a source of reassurance to them, but a lack of wins against higher-placed teams could come to haunt them later in the season.
Moseley have, of course, just beaten the second-placed side, and now have a series of matches against mid- and lower-placed sides. These are matches that the coaches will have been targeting for points to continue a rise up the table. The admirable leadership of Ollie Stedman has counted for a lot (and not just the tries he has scored personally) in the recent performances. The backs have also started to spark, and Aquile Smith has had defences scrambling to catch him, not always successfully. Also good to see last week was the return of the influential Dan Lewis from injury. We have a team that can attack from any area, though vigilance in defence will continue to be key at all times.
The next three games represent an opportunity to establish Moseley as a team on the move. Phase one comes this weekend at The Sycamores. There will be a coachload of supporters and more there to cheer the team on. Let’s hope they can inspire the team to rise to the occasion and bring another five points home!
Chris Bertram sees opportunities ahead
Cast your minds back a couple of weeks, in particular to the 79th minute of the Cambridge match at Billesley Common. Birmingham Moseley, having fought hard to take the lead, have just lost it again to a Cambridge try, and there is little time left to do anything about it. It would have been ever so easy for the team to have settled for the losing bonus point against a top-three side and let time run out. But this Moseley side has now rediscovered its mojo; from the restart Cambridge are pinged at the ruck, the resulting penalty is sent into the Cambridge 22, the line-out is won and the pack surges forward and over the line, for Cambridge to pull the maul down and concede a penalty try, and with it the match and a 4-try bonus to Moseley. Cue pandemonium in the stand and jubilation on the pitch.
That was a fully-committed 80-minute performance, maybe the first of the season, and followed on from two matches where Moseley were chasing rewards at the end - a fourth try v Rams, a losing bonus point v Rosslyn Park - that just eluded us. This time the reward was well-earned, and team morale must have benefited from it.
Not to mention our league standing; six league points from those three matches against the top three mean that we now sit 9th in the table, lower than we would like perhaps, but three places and seven points ahead of Saturday’s opponents Leeds Tykes. Leeds have found victories and bonus points elusive this season to date, and with three teams due to go down at the end of the season must already be concerned about their position.
The story of Leeds’ creation from the merger of Headingley and Roundhay, their rise to the Premiership and subsequent decline has been told elsewhere. Leeds is a city whose rugby priorities lie mainly in the 13-man code, and the attempt to establish a top-flight RU club in the city was always going to be a struggle. So now they find themselves ground sharing with West Park at the latter’s fine home at The Sycamores in Bramhope. Happily, the old honours boards have followed them there, so famous names such as McGeechan and Winterbottom are there to be spotted. But they need players of that calibre now, and it’s not as easy to find them outside the top flight.
Full back Charlie Venables has been the main source of points with the boot, but tries have come from many positions in both the forwards and backs. Victories have come against Esher, Chinnor and Hull, all teams in the same region of the league table. That may be a source of reassurance to them, but a lack of wins against higher-placed teams could come to haunt them later in the season.
Moseley have, of course, just beaten the second-placed side, and now have a series of matches against mid- and lower-placed sides. These are matches that the coaches will have been targeting for points to continue a rise up the table. The admirable leadership of Ollie Stedman has counted for a lot (and not just the tries he has scored personally) in the recent performances. The backs have also started to spark, and Aquile Smith has had defences scrambling to catch him, not always successfully. Also good to see last week was the return of the influential Dan Lewis from injury. We have a team that can attack from any area, though vigilance in defence will continue to be key at all times.
The next three games represent an opportunity to establish Moseley as a team on the move. Phase one comes this weekend at The Sycamores. There will be a coachload of supporters and more there to cheer the team on. Let’s hope they can inspire the team to rise to the occasion and bring another five points home!
