A much changed Lions side saw the return of captain Ethan Godefroy and vice captains Johnny Murdoch, Oliver Taylor and James Stubbs, along with Isaac Thompson, Simon Johnson and summer signing Jordan Tebbatt all making their first appearance of the season.

A warm day at Westleigh Park offered the perfect conditions for running rugby but it was clear from the outset that the strong Moseley pack would be taking the much lighter Lions pack on up front.

The visitors set the tone early on by kicking to the corner and, although the lineout wasn’t won cleanly, they managed to regather and hooker Sam McNulty went over following a number of drives. Jack Jolly added the extras (0-7).

Moseley then doubled their lead on 14 minutes when a well worked set play from a midfield lineout set winger Egodo free to race through to score. Jolly again added the extras (0-14).

The Lions really came back in to the contest though and looked really threatening with ball in hand. They were rewarded on 19 minutes when centre Charlie Davies bust through the middle and found Arthur Allen with an offload who in turn handed on to full back Joe Brock to go over. Luke Bouchier adding the extras (7-14).

The powerful Moseley scrum and maul was causing the Lions pack some difficulty and when a series of infringements from the home side saw them go down to 13 men, Moseley capitalised through another driving lineout, scored by flanker Will Safe. Jolly kicked his third conversion for a 7-21 half time lead.

The second half was an even contest and both sides had chances but the lack of execution in crucial areas meant that the scoreline remained 7-21. The Lions had some big chances from attacking lineouts that they failed to secure and Moseley also had another driving maul held up over the line.

A well deserved win for the clinical Moseley side but the Lions side deserved something out of the game so will be ruing their missed opportunities.

Head coach Gareth Collins commented: ''It was a frustrating game really. Moseley are a top side and we knew they would be really difficult to deal with up front. Our plan was to try and open up the game, and when we did that we looked really good and caused them some real problems. We created enough good chances to win the game in all honesty but unfortunately our lack of accuracy at crucial moments let us down. I'm happy with how we competed against an experienced side though. It's another learning experience for our young players, and I've no doubt we'll get to where we want to be.''