THROWING away a 22-5 half-time lead is not a wise move, as the Tigers found out to their cost when they faced Moseley at Billesley Common back in October.

On that occasion, with the help of the referee, a strong wind and the opposition down to 14 men for 40 minutes, Moseley turned things around and won 32-25.

But when the two reconvene on Saturday at Park Lane (kick-off 2.30pm), Sedgley director of rugby, Tim Fourie, is confident there will be a different outcome.

"Since the last time we met we have totally reorganised our defence and we are playing a lot better," he said.

"On the day we got the rough end of the stick, because the final try that won it shouldn't have been given because the scorer dropped the ball. We also had Ed Norris very harshly red-carded and had two other guys yellow-carded, so in effect we played with 14 men for half a game.

"It is games like that that make me appreciate how the likes of Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell must feel.

"If you are the team near the bottom and you are not performing well, decisions seem to go against you; it's as if certain officials are predisposed to handle teams a certain way, they give the benefit of the doubt all the time to the higher placed, better known team and it is hard to accept."

Selection-wise there are both pluses and minuses for the Tigers going into the tough clash.

"Having Matt Riley back in the side from Sale gives us further kicking options," said Fourie. "We'll also have lock Ben Lloyd and hooker Mark Jones returning.

"But the bad news is Chris Hall has a torn hamstring so he may be missing and we might have to play Ledua Jope in his place on the wing again.

"Also, hooker Jonny Roddam has a back problem and may not be able to play at all, while flanker and skipper Jimmy Ponton is still struggling with a shoulder injury."

However, Fourie also believes that things have changed dramatically since that game in Birmingham.

"We didn't have Riley the first time we played Moseley, I didn't play and neither did Ben Lloyd. Also, we now have Andy Craig on the wing, Ian Voortman and Chris Briers in the centre and a different approach to defence.

"They were lucky to win that game, but are a different team and now we've got them at Park Lane. Plus they simply have to win; we don't, so it should be a different game altogether.

"We slipped up early on in the season and we have had time to put things right.

"It's a cup final for both of us, although the result will be more pressing for them because they are getting closer and closer to desperation the more games they lose. If we lose we drop right back into the relegation mix; if they lose they are in dire straights."