It may comfort relegationhaunted Nuneaton to know that Moseley, whom they meet at home tonight, have dismantled the side who led the Bournbrook club's promotion thrust.

Last week's defeat by Stourbridge not only checked Moseley's climb, in terms of performance it caused them acute disappointment.

"And we'd be fooling ourselves if we thought that was our only bad game," said John Beale, Moseley's director of rugby.

"We've played badly for the last four games on the trot and while it says something that you can play poorly and still win, we have to get rid of the notion that we've only got to turn up to win."

Stourbridge had won a psychological battle against them. They had bullied their opponents up front and several Moseley players had lost their composure. But still Moseley had won enough ball to win the game.

"There were five tries that we could have scored and didn't," said Beale, in explanation.

And he didn't think that the Nathan Bressington "try" that was disallowed for a forward pass was discounted on legitimate grounds.

All things considered, though, it was a sub-standard performance and the consequences are sharp. There are two changes in the backs and others in every row of the scrummage.

The selectors reckon that Alistair Bressington was not steady enough at vital moments in attack and they have given his place at fullback to Matt Mountford, who is a former Moseley Colt.

After a spell playing wing when Moseley were in Division One, Mountford went to Worcester and after a while dropped into junior rugby with Old Silhillians.

Now he has reappeared to remind Moseley that he was the Midland Schools full-back and at 22, still has some good rugby left in him. The search for composure has driven the club to reinstate Simon Brading at inside centre.

Brading, according to Beale, has been in "sackcloth and ashes" in the second team for much of the season but he is the most experienced three-quarter in the club and as such has been invited to stiffen Moseley's midfield.

Kevin Moran, who began in the front row last week, is now on the bench with Paul Coles at loose head and Ben Buxton on the other side.

And there is a complete clear-out in the engine room. Dai Hallmen, whose season was interrupted by injury and domestic happenings, is now back in training and he takes one of the second row places. Alex Hadley, seriously injured last season, is given the other.

Charlie Daniell is one of the locks who loses out but he might yet make the team.

A not inconsiderable reason for the poor showing last week was that both flankers, David Hunt and Tom Warren, had left the action by half time and there is an obvious doubt about them both now. If Hunt does not recover, Daniell will move to No 6. If Warren is absent, Tom McIntosh will play openside.

"We're expecting a hard game," said Beale. "Nuneaton have a huge mountain to climb if they are to avoid the drop and we expect them to be fighting like mad." n England Under-21 prop Matt Hampson is reported to be in a critical but stable condition after undergoing four hours of surgery for a serious neck injury.

The Leicester forward was transferred to the national spinal injuries centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire yesterday after being badly hurt in a training accident.

Hampson had been involved in a scrummaging session with the England Under-21 squad in preparation for their Six Nations fixture against Scotland at Northampton's Franklin's Gardens tonight.

The 20-year-old was initially admitted to Northampton General Hospital after the incident on Tuesday and is due to return there for further treatment in due course.

The match will go ahead as planned, despite the injury.