Kieran Power praised his Rosslyn Park side for showing resilience under pressure as they saw off Birmingham Moseley 27-21.

Hugo Ellis’ maul proved to be the difference as the London side battle to a rain-soaked win. Dan Laventure and Greg Lound also scored while Craig Holland’s kicking put Park clear of Moseley with two tries of their own.

Director of rugby Power said: “We probably had a few opportunities we left out there but they’re a gritty side and came back well. We had a purple patch with a try but the penalties secured the deal.

“Control let us down at times and we gave away silly penalties, allowing Birmingham territory. Once we had the opportunity in their 22, we sniffed it and took it. We could have been more comfortable if we kept going as we did in the first half.

“A win’s a win. It was good resilience in those conditions and with the momentum shifts to win it back each time. But we have things to work on for next week.”


Try time for Park Dan Laventure

Moseley made an uphill battle with James Tideswell’s sin-bin but Power’s men could not find a way through. But the breakthrough came on 22 minutes, Laventure dummying for his third try in three games.

The visitors picked up momentum five minutes later, Hodgson kicking a penalty from the left wing. The No.10’s score was doubled on 33 minutes, this time his penalty kick coming beneath the posts. But Park ensured they went into half-time with an eight-point lead as Lound latched onto Gregor Gillanders’ break four minutes later.

Moseley found another gear in the second half, rewarded with a Hodgson penalty and penalty try on 54 minutes.

Substitute Craig Holland, stepping in for Lound who picked up a hamstring injury, found his kicking boots three minutes later with an angled penalty. His second one on the hour was easier, coming from Peter Austin’s shirt pull on Henry Spencer which saw the Moseley hooker sin-binned. And Park capitalised on the one-man advantage five minutes later, Ellis finishing a driving maul for his sixth of the season.

Moseley put the home side under pressure with nine minutes to go, top-scorer Aquile Smith getting his ninth try. But it was not enough, heading back to Birmingham with a losing bonus as Park took the spoils.

“I thought it was a very good game,” Moseley director of rugby Adam Balding said. “Park are a fantastic side – second in the table and rightly so. Our boys put in a good performance and were competitive right to the end.

“There were some moments which could have swung either way, so to pick up a point on the road at Park is not a bad result. Both sides managed the game really well. The big thing about this league is the teams at the top have to be consistent as it shows anyone can beat anybody.

“We had to come here and put in a performance, but I believe Park deserved the win.”

Park travel to the north of England for a monumental second vs third clash against Darlington Mowden Park. The north-eastern side battled to a 13-18 victory at the Marine Travel Ground against promoted side Canterbury. History says there will be points in this encounter, with the Northern Echo Arena side winning 34-33 last year before winning 32-31 at the Rock.

Stats
Penalties conceded 13-9
Lineouts won 10-14
Lineouts lost 2-3
Scrums won 2-3
Scrums lost 1-1
Sin bins 0-2
Rosslyn Park
Tries: Laventure 22, Lound 37, Ellis H 64
Conversions: Lound 23, 38, Holland 65
Penalties: Holland 57, 61
Sin Bins:
Team (15-9/1-8): Henry Robinson 8; Benji Marfo 6 (Dave Lewis 7 6), Henry Cheeseman 7, Joe Munro © 8, Neville Edwards 8; Greg Lound 6 (Craig Holland 9 39), Jack Gash 8; Kyle Traynor 8 (Doran-Jones 72), Tom Vaughan-Edwards 7 (Owen Hughes 53), Paul Doran-Jones 7 (Nick Lovell 8 50); Sam Twomey 8 (Laventure 72), Gregor Gillanders 8; Dan Laventure 8 (Henry Spencer 50), Arthur Ellis 8, Hugo Ellis 8

Attendance: 570
Referee: Calum Howard
HT: 14-6
Star Man: Craig Holland – Rosslyn Park

Warren Muggleton @WMuggleton

images: David E Whittam


October 28, 2019