Birmingham Moseley 31 – 35 Rosslyn Park
07/03/26
Rosslyn Park bounced back from an agonising defeat to Leeds Tykes last weekend to secure an important 31–35 win against Birmingham Moseley in the rearranged National One Round 15 fixture. Tries from Ed Volley, Ewan Fenley, Benji Marfo and Joe Luca Smith helped ensure Park remain firmly in the top half of the league table.
Park made a blistering start to the game, as a knock-on from the kick-off put the visitors in a fantastic position which led to Ed Volley crashing over from a fantastic play off the scrum. Ed Morgan then added the extras to make it 7–0 three minutes in.
However, the hosts reacted well, and only four minutes later Teghe Maxwell-Whiteley found the line after a number of phases on Park’s line. Jack Jolly added the extras to make it level again.
But once again Park reacted well, as Volley found himself over the whitewash again. This time a penalty close to the line allowed the centre to power over. Moseley weren’t going anywhere though, and again they levelled the score to 14–14 when Ben Pogson dived over in the corner after a penalty and subsequent yellow card for Joe luca Smith from the deliberate knock-on gave the hosts field position.
The back-and-forth nature of the game continued and, just after the 30-minute mark, Park once again put themselves in front. This time Ewan Fenley sniped from close range, seeing the scrum-half glide under the posts before Morgan’s boot made it 14–21. However, Moseley ensured both sides headed into the second half level as a quick tap from Santiago Edwards saw him stretch over the line for the score.
The second half continued in the same fashion as the first, but it was Ed Morgan’s boot which proved the deciding factor on the day. Some slick hands ten minutes into the second 40 put Marfo in the corner before Smith added another try to his tally for the season seven minutes later. With Morgan converting both, this stretched the lead to 14 points.
However, Moseley didn’t sit down, and on 68 minutes a comeback looked on when Sam Mcnulty claimed the score from the back of a maul, before prop Ethan Priest capitalised on Park’s ill-discipline when he peeled off a resulting lineout from five metres to score.
However, with Maxwell-Whiteley unable to convert either of the last two tries, Park secured an important 31–35 win on the road and moved to within two points of fourth place in National League One.
Rosslyn Park
Tries: Volley (2’, 11’), Fenley (32’), Marfo (51’), Smith (57’)
Conversions: Morgan (3’, 12’, 33’, 52’, 58’)
Penalties:
Yellow Cards: Smith (14’)
Team: Nwakor, Piper (C), Kennison-Cook, Bell, Gillanders, Cleet, Blackmore, King, Fenley, Morgan, Marfo, Kennaugh, Volley, Walker, Smith
Replacements: Fraine, Cade, Wade, Redpath, Johnston
Birmingham Moseley
Tries: Maxwell-Whiteley (7’), Pogson (15’), Edwards (36’), Mcnulty (68’), Priest (75’)
Conversions: Jolly (8’, 37’)
Penalties:
Yellow Cards:
Team: Priest, Pogson, Langley, Butler, Allen, Smith, Edwards, Stedman, Jolly, Maxwell-Whiteley, Smith, Egodo, Creed, Clarke, Painter
Replacements: Mcnulty, Ma’a, Mifsud, Gipson, Mcnulty