Melbourne 7 - 24 Moseley Oak

Melbourne welcomed Moseley Oak RFC to Cockshut Lane in their first ever Midlands 1 league fixture. Pre-game the players were excited and confident that they could compete at Level 6 and were determined to put in a decent first performance of the season.

With the sun shining and the pitch looking exceptionally well kept our first rugby Saturday of the 2017/2018 season got underway.

The first forty minutes was well competitive with the Moseley forwards exerting solid pressure with strong running through the central channels backed up by good support. Melbourne edged the set-piece, both in line-out and scrum, and the game was well balanced although the green and gold seemed to be on the wrong side of the referees whistle with a series of panellise given against them early doors.

Moseley Oak were first on the score board with Melbourne looking comfortable defending their 22 a boot to ball saw it spill from the side of a ruck for the open side to collect and bulldoze beyond the first tackle and offload on ground to a fellow forward for a relatively simple but well executed score.

Melbourne continued to be upbeat and defender resiliently to the constant forward threat runners of Moseley with both sides exchanging some tasty hits but all in good spirits. Again Melbourne didn't have the run of play with two interceptions ruled to be off-side that would have tipped the balance of play but with the scrum holding up well Melbourne continued to hold ground and press the opposition.

It was from a line-out outside the opposition that saw Melbourne gain their first score of the season with good work from Oliver Page creating a space for Chris Stark hit at pace who ran through the defensive line of Moseley to score under the posts to take the scores to 7 -7 which remained the case up until the 60 minute mark.

It was on the 45 minute mark that a decision to award a red card changed the game. Loose Head, Tony Day rightfully awarded a red for retaliation after a "skirmish" on the floor for which an end was sought. It was a costly lesson but one that was felt coming given the brutality of the hits and the odd cheap shot peppered on the ground. Despite being a man down Melbourne continued to battle but felt the pressure in the scrum having lost their tight head and the eighth man and as time went on the upper hand went to Moseley who managed the game beautifully through their ten and fifteen pinning Melbourne back overtime they came at them. on the 60/65 minute mark a breakthrough was made and the oak took the lead for the second time in the game. Despite continuing to press and seek some form of advantage the green and gold couldn't find that gear which we know they have. Moseley dominated the final exchanges picking up two late scores to seal the bonus point win.

Final score 7 - 24

Credit must go to both sides as it was played in good spirits despite the red card. Post match plenty of good chat and discussions between the sides was had and despite the loss Melbourne certainly proved their worth and showed glimpses of what they are capable of.

Head Coach, Matt Derbyshire said " Obviously a loss is always disappointing but we are not a naive team and we know that this seasons run in will never reflect the same level of success as we had last season and that means a change of mindset and being realistic about what we aim for week to week. Moseley are a top six side and held the top teams close last season, so it was going to be a challenge but one the lads took on and for parts were well in control and looked comfortable. Every week we have lessons to learn and the lads are eager to improve and develop so thats our challenge as a coaching group to facilitate this.

What we wanted to see was our ability to hold our own and to create a positive reputation for our own game and the way we play. I feel we did that in parts today and talking to both the opposition, spectators and referee post game their opinions reflected my own thoughts. We have the strongest squad we have had at Melbourne in recent years and we have many a talented player to come back into our squad but everyone knows that they have to earn the shirt from the guy who currently has it. So we are in positive place."