On the final day of the season, Dings Crusaders faced a powerful Birmingham Moseley side at Shaftesbury Park. The visitors started strongly, capitalising on early possession to race into a 21-point lead inside 20 minutes through clinical finishing and dominant forward play.

Dings showed flashes of brilliance, with Max Rivers touching down after a sharp kick through by Tom Knight to get the home side on the scoreboard. With 2 tries going begging from Sol Taufa, one held up and the other adjuged to be a forward pass, it was Moseley’s physicality continued to tell. The pack and set piece was dominant throughout the first half running against Dings normal pack physicality and with tries from prop Ethan Priest and Antony Egodo pushing them further ahead by halftime, the score read 7-26.

Despite spirited moments from Dings after the break, including a superb long-range effort from Kofi Cripps and a late 50-metre solo try by Ezra Caven, Birmingham’s intercepts and mauling pressure proved decisive. Santiago Edwards and Taylor added further scores for the visitors to keep Dings at bay.

In the final moments, Dings finished with pride, energised by their replacements and the home support. Although the result went against them, the Crusaders showed resilience and flashes of the attacking rugby that has made their first season in National League 1 such a memorable one.

A tough day, but a season to be proud of.

Player of the match - Ethan Priest - Birmingham Moseley

Match report: Baz Johnson
Pictures: Harry Phillips