Unsurprisingly, that meant our backs were unable to be fully unleashed in attack, but we produced what was needed in this fixture - serious desire to come out on top and, crucially, back up that thumping win over Rosslyn Park last Friday.

Tighthead prop McNulty (3), hooker Mark Darlington and scrum-half Luke Carter were our try-scorers, with full-back Nick Smith kicking 12 points in a match which really could have gone either way.

With Moseley just a place and six points above us in the National 1 table before kick-off, we are now only two points behind as we made it three successive league victories for the first time since February 2020.

Director of Rugby, Nick Easter made three changes from eight days ago, with loosehead Bradley Harewood, lock James Down and wing Josh Hodson starting.

The rain has been relentless in the past week or so, and we could all see the inevitable battle ahead. ‘Pig in mud!’, Charley Robinson said gleefully as he trotted out for the warm-up.

We knew the importance of getting on top early and a 10-0 lead after eight minutes quietened the Moseley faithful. Darlington crashed over from a driving lineout for his second try in as many games, before McNulty forced his way across from close range in a move which started with fly-half Will Feeney’s fine break and offload.

There was still a long way to go in this game, but the hosts got the better of us at a 12th minute scrum - an area of the game they continued to enjoy success - and that seemed to get them going.

We defended the resulting driving lineout well, and then the width of the pitch with Alfie North, Grant Hughes and McNulty putting in big shots. However, Moseley did find a gap and centre Elliot Creed touched down, Dan Lewis converting, as they got on the scoreboard.

Our response was good, with McNulty and Harewood carrying strongly, before Feeney’s fine kick pinned the home side deep in their half. To Moseley’s credit, they dealt with that situation well, and went on to take lead on 20 minutes.

Flanker Ben Morris made a break through the centre of the pitch and we were out of shape as we scrambled back. A delicate grubber was put through and Creed was on the end of it to dot down for an unconverted try to make it 12-10.

There was very little in this contest, but the home side would cross again before half-time. Another scrum penalty gave them the opportunity to kick to the corner and hooker Sam McNulty scored off the maul. Lewis superbly converted from the touchline as they led 19-10 after 33 minutes.

Although we trailed, it was not an overly concerning situation to be in and Smith slotted a penalty a few minutes later to ensure the deficit was only six points at the break.

You really couldn’t choose a winner at this point, but eight minutes into the second half and Moseley really staked a claim when centre Rob Knox dived over following No 8 Ollie Stedman’s break. Lewis added the extras as we now found ourselves 13 points behind.

Ok, no need to panic. And the boys didn’t. The hosts found themselves under pressure from the kick-off, before our two props combined for a special try. Loosehead Keston Lines had only been on the pitch for about three minutes before he carried strongly through the centre of the field and fed McNulty with a sublime offload. The tighthead still had work to do, but there was no stopping him from 15m as he essentially dragged three men over the whitewash with him. Smith added the extras to cut the lead to six again.

There was still plenty of work to do and we kept the hammer down. Dogged at the breakdown, ruck penalties were becoming a regularity, but we just couldn’t get our lineout firing.

Moseley stole one particular lineout on the hour, only to knock it straight out of play. We didn’t need a second invitation and when McNulty caught Robinson’s throw at the back of the lineout we launched a series of pick and goes, which resulted in the former crashing over under the sticks for his first hat-trick in a Chinnor jersey. Smith slotted the conversion and we now led 26-27.

That advantage may have only lasted a couple of minutes as a Lewis penalty put Moseley back in front, but there was no reason to fret.

For all of their hard work defensively, it had been a quiet day offensively for our backs, but we got them going on 68 minutes. Smith was released for one of his trademark runs from full-back, racing over half-way and up to the 22. He fed Carter on his inside and the scrum-half - who had ran one of those 'cheat lines' that Austin Healy talks about - finished superbly as he got the better of the covering defenders to make it two tries in two weeks. Smith again slotted the extras as we again got our noses in front, this time by five points.

Three minutes later and it became rather more comfortable at 37-29 when Smith sent a penalty through the posts.

Our last three victories at Moseley had all been hard-fought wins by margins of 5-7 points and this was no different - we still had a job to do.

The hosts piled on the pressure late on, even turning down shots at goal, in search of a comeback. However, they needed more than one try and we were not going to let them through, digging in until the end.

Moseley found themselves in their own half as we reached 80 minutes and a knock on marked full-time, Chinnor celebrations and for McNulty, bragging rights over his brothers Sam and Isaac.

A well-deserved victory on the road, and we now turn our attention to another big game - Leeds Tykes at home next Saturday.

Birmingham Moseley: Pointon, Smith, Creed, Knox, Egodo, Lewis, Marsh; Foreman, S McNulty, Tideswell, Barnes, Butler, Koroiyadi, Morris, Stedman.

Reps: Roach, Bridges, Priest, Le Roux, I McNulty.

Chinnor: Smith, Hodson, Worrall, Hughes, Hammond, Feeney, Carter; Harewood, Darlington, McNulty, Curry, Down, Brockschmidt, North, Ryan.

Reps: Robinson, Lines, Pearson, Heathman, Walsh.