Ian Smith admits he cannot explain his team’s disappointing display at Cornish Pirates but does know it won’t be repeated at the Memorial Stadium this weekend.

After dragging themselves out of their mid-season malaise with a decent display at Rotherham and first home win of the season against Doncaster earlier this month, Moseley were back to their apathetic worst at The Mennaye.

That resulted in a 50-7 defeat and more than a few scratched heads about how the same players could manufacture so much intensity against the Knights but so little just nine days later.

“We warmed up fine but as soon as the game kicked off we didn’t want to be there,” Smith lamented.

“It was a throw back to previous weeks, the things we had been working on we just didn’t put into practice.

“It was a disappointing day, and I know it sounds ridiculous, but with a modicum of fight and resolve we could have given them a decent game.

“The things we have discussed for the last few weeks actually worked when we applied them but we did not do that flat out.”

Which is something the head coach will address in training this week, in which he has taken the unusual step of calling a session on Saturday – just 24 hours before they face Bristol.

The intention is to focus his players’ minds ahead of what is an important match at the bottom of the Championship.

If Moseley can emulate Bees by defeating Paul Hull’s men, that would drag Bristol back into the relegation picture.

That is certainly what Smith is aiming for and what he believes Mose can do. “I spoke to Carl Hogg at Gloucester last week and told him I thought we had turned the corner, he said there was no guarantee and he was right,” he said.

“The boys know they have let themselves down but they also know they can turn it around. We will give them the tools again and it’s up to them to take them up and use them.

“I think we will see a reaction at Bristol because I know what we are like and I know we will be stimulated again.”

Moseley will hope to have Bevon Armitage in their ranks – assuming the centre has extricated himself from Nice.