Taunton Titans Vs Birmingham Moseley

It was a fitting end to a pulsating game to see Charlie Wright rewarded as ‘Man of the Match’.  Fitting as on this occasion not only did he get a bottle of gin but a statue of a First World War soldier to mark our Armed Forces Day.  He will hold this for the year until our next Armed Forces Day when it will be presented to that man of the match.

Whilst Charlie had an exceptional game so did a number of other players. Charlie scored the first try after only 5 minutes which was just reward for the intensity and pace at which Taunton started the game.  From the kick off they went through 15 phases without Mosely getting near the ball and it was only a loss of ball because the referee adjudged that the tackled person did not release the ball quick enough which resulted in a Moseley penalty. Whilst they won the resultant lineout from the kick, Taunton soon turned the ball over to their advantage and pressed the Mosely line for their first try which Gary Kingdom duly added the points. The next try was a piece of shear genius from Sam Baker who seeing two props in front of him used his pace and to go between them to make the break.  This was on the Mosely 10 metre line and he still had a lot to do before reaching the Moseley try line wherewith two tacklers desperately hanging on to him he powered over for a try.  Unfortunately the difficult wind just took Gary’s kick at the last moment and it came off the wrong side of the post.  Up until this time there had not been a scrum but upon 13 minutes came the first scrum. Moseley were a large pack and we may have had some concerns but Taunton front row showed a complete dominance and from the stand we were able to see Isaac Dalton completely out scrum his opposite number and Moseley collapsed the scrum for a Taunton penalty. The whole of the pack was outstanding all afternoon and some big performances were put in by all.  Amongst them is Sam Leworthy a young 19 year old still learning his trade but is always in the thick of everything making some immense carries and tackles.  The back row was a very tight unit and worked very well together.  On 29 minutes we saw Taunton take an unusual step for them in that Gary Kingdom opted to kick for a penalty goal rather than to the corner. This added a further three points giving Taunton a 15 point to nil lead which they had to work very hard to hold on to up until the break.

Moseley came out with a different intensity in the second half and we had already had small glimpses of their ability in the first half.  From the kick off Moseley went into attack mode and from a missed man pass by them which went to ground their ever elusive full back Tom Benjamin picking up and literally dancing through the Taunton defence to then outpace them to a try under the posts so with only two minutes of the second half played Moseley were back in the game.  Moseley then had much more possession and put Taunton under some pressure and 15 minutes into the second half Taunton kicked into Moseley half for that man Benjamin to gather and as he had done all afternoon elude several Taunton tacklers before setting up Mason Tonks the Moseley number 14 to run over half of the pitch to score under the posts.  There was now only one point in the game in Taunton’s favour. Mosely were now having more possession and on the hour they attacked and chipped through which Taunton gathered but the referee adjudged that a Taunton player was offside which resulted in a penalty to Moseley.  They kicked to the corner, won the lineout and drove the maul over for a try. They now had the lead and were determined to keep it however Taunton had different ideas and a superb break by Nick Mason and an off load saw Taunton clear to the line for the referee to adjudge a forward pass. Moseley was able to clear then again a superb break by Chris Gosling saw him hauled down and then a penalty to Taunton. A kick at goal would have still left

Taunton one point behind, so a kick to touch.  Charlie Williams soared into the air to win a superb ball which he had done many times in the game and a driving maul stopped just short, another drive and eventually Joe Elsworthy goes over for a try.  One point in front however the reliable Gary Kingdom kick makes it three points.  Only thirteen minutes left but again Taunton attack and Moseley defend giving away 8 penalties in this time one of which one resulted in a yellow card for their number 7. Taunton realised this and continued to kick for touch looking for that elusive 4th try and a bonus point. However it never came but the team was well rewarded with their 22points to 19 win.

A lot of credit must go to the team but we must never forget our coaches and their ability to look at the squad as a whole and utilise the player in the best positions for that game.  Finally it is not always what happens with the ball in hand that motivates a player so look for Gary Kingdom and his reading of the game to get players in position and to Lewis Webb who is constantly praising and motivating players throughout the game.

‍