Birmingham Moseley 22-20 Taunton Titans

THIS was an exasperating game of rugby from a Titans perspective - an end-to-end game between two finely matched sides with the home side, Birmingham Moseley, emerging as the luckiest of victors, writes Dick Macey.

The home side snatched a win from the jaws of defeat with just a few moments to go to the end of the game.

It wasn't the nature of the defeat that hurt the most it was the fact that the winning score came from an interception as the Titans pressed within the Moseley 22 with a well-deserved win within their grasp, giving the home side the spoils and a bonus point win at that when they would count themselves so fortunate.

The game began in lively style with the Titans looking sharp and moving the ball well and despite going behind after 5 minutes to a Moseley unconverted try wide out, the Taunton boys showed real determination and put themselves on the score sheet four minutes later with a try by skipper Charlie Wright to level up the scores.

Titans went ahead through a try by Dan Swain, converted by Jack Walsh, and by then they appeared to have established territorial superiority to push home a first half advantage, displaying far more inventiveness and purpose than the home side.

Moseley grabbed another unconverted try on the half hour but Jack Walsh slotted a long-range penalty kick to send the Titans in at half time 10-15 to the good.

The Taunton lads began the second half with a flourish through a quick unconverted try by full back, Frankie Dart, and were thwarted from adding to that when Charlie Wright touched down following a maul only to be told the referee had not seen the score and deemed the ball to have been held up.

These reversals from a Moseley perspective seemed to fire up the home team and they succeeded in gaining a converted try to bring the score to 15-20 as the proceedings began to draw to a close.

The Titans were working hard to hold on to their lead and the frustration when Moseley grabbed that interception was agonising.

The Taunton boys came home with a bonus point but the pain from losing out in such a fashion was the stuff of nightmares.