Birmingham Moseley 27 Rosslyn Park 26: late try sees Mose home in dramatic win

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So make the best of this test and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time

It's something unpredictable, but in the end is right

I hope you had the time of your life

So take the photographs and still frames in your mind

Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time

Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial

For what it's worth, it was worth all the while

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day

A good 20 years ago now, Iain Dowie, the then manager of Crystal Palace, first used the term 'bouncebackability' to describe his team's remarkable comeback from the depths of the Championship to winning the play off finals in the 2005 season.

Having quickly made its way into the Oxford Dictionary, the word now encompasses a broader definition, referring to the act of overcoming great challenges and emerging as even more resilient and battle-hardened..

Following Moseley's thrilling victory over Rosslyn Park yesterday, clinching the game with a successful conversion after scoring a try in the final play, I would like to introduce a new sporting term: 'brickability'.

Brickability is the ability to induce an extreme state of nervousness or worry.

And on the evidence of yesterday's nailbiter, Moseley has it by the bucketload.

In those final minutes of the game when Moseley were camped on the opposition line, awarded penalty after penalty but unable to make the decisive play, the crowd and probably a good few of the players too were, to put it simply, bricking it. This was a game that on balance Moseley deserved to win, but a failure to take their chances meant that they were behind for a full 70 minutes and only edged in front when Tommy Taylor coolly slotted home the 2 points to win them the game in injury time.

It was tense to say the least. It must have been an absolute nailbiter for either set of supporters.

It's ironic, then, that Brickability is one of Moseley's primary sponsors, the name being prominently displayed on the back of the players' shorts.

The choice to place it there appears dubious, considering that 'brick it' is a colloquial expression indicating being highly anxious, perhaps to the extent of losing control of one's bowels. Someone in the marketing team either possesses an unusual, and refreshing, sense of humour or lacks familiarity with idiomatic English.

I suppose the alternative argument is that it's perfect product placement...

Much to my own shame, I'd never heard of Brickability before, so to set the record straight, it's a company that is a leading brick supplier, brick merchant, cladding supplier and supplier of building materials. There you go, a bit of free advertising to redress the balance - but if anyone from Brickability ever gets to read this, I suggest you pay a bit more next season and get your company's logo positioned on the arms or front of the shirt; sure way to stop me getting arsey...

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Visits to Moseley go back a long way for me; back to the late 60s/early 70s in fact.

And along with many Cov fans who can still recall that golden era of Midlands' rugby, I suffered many of the symptoms associated with 'brickability' when Moseley, blessed with the likes of Webster, Cooper, Doble, Horton, Fielding and Finlan, were giants of the game.

So as soon as I saw Cov had a blank weekend and Moseley were at home to Rosslyn Park, another great club of a bygone age, a quick trip over to Kings Heath was always on the cards.

For me, a trip to Billesley Common these days is very much like going back in time to the BPA of the noughties. It's all about the rugby on the pitch still, with very little emphasis on the pre-match experience. It's almost as if the club has been caught in a time warp, with no apparent improvement in facilities either in the clubhouse or around the ground. I imagine the area at the top of the main stand, which is an impressive build, probably is very different, but as a travelling supporter from another club, I've never been up there or even encouraged to take a look. I presume it’s members only.

There a food outlet in the main bar, but around the ground there's a coffee van...and that's it.

The grounds all a bit spartan really and whilst it boasts that main stand, it certainly doesn't seem to exude the same warmth and friendliness of, say, a Cambridge or Caldy in the Championship.

Fourth in the league, I would have imagined Park would have been one of the bigger home fixtures for Moseley in National One, but yesterday the fixture attracted just 683. Yes, it's an international weekend, but those games are only available to watch on pay-per-view this season so it's hardly going to take away supporters in their droves.

The ground map adorning one of the external walls of the clubhouse suggests that mini rugby is taking place right the way up from 7 onwards, so it's odd that so few of these youngsters are making their way to games - maybe Saturday was the exception, but the absence of younger supporters was very noticeable.

Although I still moan at the lack of choice regarding food and drink around the ground at the BPA, three of the 4 sides of the ground are all in use on a match day and well before kick-off there's always a buzz around the pitch - this just wasn't the case yesterday. There was a bit of drizzle around, but nothing to stop spectators from watching the players warm-up had they so wanted, but very few did. I always feel the numbers of spectators at the railway end at Cov 30 minutes before kick-off really helps generate a feeling of excitement, something the players clearly warm to. With no food or drink outlets around the ground at Moseley, there's no incentive to either get there early or, when you do arrive, move out of the clubhouse before kick off..

Without checking the program beforehand, I was surprised to see Will Biggs wearing a Moseley top at the game. I did have a brief chat with Will who thought it likely to be a one-off occurrence to regain some match fitness; he was down to play in the second half only. As this was Will's first appearance since March, there must have been some nerves present, although he didn't show any and he had a very encouraging 35 minutes or so. Interestingly, his photo is on the team gallery on the Moseley website, so perhaps he's a dual reg there this season.

Sam MacNulty, ex of Coventry Rugby, was also there, but he was on crutches and looked to have picked up a serious knee injury fairly recently as he still wasn't able to weight bear. Like Will, Sam is a hooker, so his injury might be the reason why Will was called up.

The War Memorial at Moseley

One of the features of the Billesley ground that I really do like is the inclusion of a small, but poignant, war memorial in honour of those ex-Moseley players who paid the ultimate sacrifice in defence of their country.

Coventry always pays tribute to its fallen every year, but a permanent feature similar to the one at Moseley deserves serious thought.

I hope that Coventry might consider replicating this when the stadium undergoes further development in the next 12 months or so. Coventry rightfully commemorates their fallen on Armistice Day, but perhaps a more lasting tribute would also be fitting. The Supporters' Club, in collaboration with the Former Players' Association and the club itself, could potentially contribute towards incorporating this into the club's future plans, if deemed appropriate.

Peter Glackin

Pete Glackin is currently head coach at Birmingham Moseley. Sporting a thick greying beard, he looks as if he's in the throes of preparing for a stint at John Lewis as Father Christmas in residence rather than a leading coach at a semi-professional rugby club.

He's clearly doing a decent job though, and whatever he and his coaches said to the team at the break when they were 10-19 down and looking down a barrel clearly had the desired effect.

I believe he's currently also working at Coventry College.

Despite the match lacking intensity, it made up for it with excitement. It was interesting to see a National One game after years of following Cov in the Championship. Even though it was a one-time occurrence, Championship matches are usually quicker and more physical. Both Mose and RP appeared somewhat predictable, and the pace of the game visibly decreased in the final 20 minutes as the players seemed to tire - a reasonable outcome given that their fitness levels may not be as high as those in the Championship.

It did make me realise just how skilled some of the Championship sides are, but although the quality of the rugby wasn't on the par with what we see at Cov, the game certainly had its moments and the ending was as exciting as it gets if you were a fan of either club.

There were some notable performances, too, particularly from Ollie Stedman, the Moseley 8. Although Alsopp was given the MofM award, I thought Stedman was huge all afternoon. Playing at 8 he reminded me a little of Ryan Burrows - storming runs and always looking to take on the opposition. Adam Peters grew as the game went on and his defensive work at the line-out made a massive difference when it mattered most and Sam Pointon looked dangerous when he had ball in hand, although the opportunities for him were limited for much of the game.

Moseley were 3 -19 down at one point late on in the first half, despite having plenty of opportunities to add to their three points after having a couple of lengthy stays in the Park 22 for no reward. However, 10 -19 down at half time, they looked far sharper after the break during the third quarter and were able to continue to reel Park in despite giving away a bonus try in the process.

As mentioned earlier, Mose scored the winning try in the dying seconds and the conversion signalled the end of the game. As is the norm, the crowd got to their feet in readiness to exit the stand when out of nowhere, just as the players started to shake hands, all hell broke loose. It was impossible to tell who started it, but numerous players were involved and the coaches did their best to stop it going any further.

Ollie Stedman, the Moseley skipper, deserves full credit for his actions at this point - he instructed the Moseley players to go directly to the changing rooms without the customary three cheers and player tunnels, and then went on to shake hands with the Rosslyn Park coaches while his teammates left the pitch. I was greatly impressed by his leadership during what had been a highly volatile situation. It will be interesting to see if there are any repercussions from the initial incident, as it didn't look great to be honest.

That apart, it was a really enjoyable afternoon. It was very much a case of deja vu for me, a glimpse back to when Cov were yoyo-ing up and down National One without the infrastructure or vision that was so needed prior to Rowland Winter's arrival. That's no criticism of Moseley, just an acknowledgement of that's where we were to.

Back then, it need several things to come together before we could start the journey and become a real force at that level. Moseley won't have the resources Jon Sharp was able to bring to the club, or the gates either, but on less than 700 it's hard to see how this once great club is going to move forward as things currently stand.

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