For the sake of clarity, Winston Churchill was not describing the vagaries of life at Billesley Common when he came out with his immortal description ‘a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma’.

He could easily have been, however, since the current season has been one of consistent inconsistency for a Moseley team that has developed into a side capable of both remarkable demonstrations of resilience and lamentable lapses in application.

Indeed Ian Smith’s side have shown in the last seven months an ability to dissect opponents with clinical precision and also a tendency to become the subject of equally painful examinations.

As a result they are able to win a cup game at London Welsh less than two months after conceding ten tries and 68 points to virtually identical opponents.

They are also able to fight to the death for a 6-6 draw at Plymouth having earlier in the campaign handed five league points on a platter to a pretty modest Albion outfit.

Welcome to the world of Moseley’s first team where – as the slightly less statesmanlike Forrest Gump put it – you just don’t know what you’re gonna get.

The Billesley outfit complete the first phase of the 2010-11 Championship programme on Saturday when they travel to Surrey to take on fellow strugglers Esher, possessors of their own split personality.

Whatever happens at the Pillar Data Arena on Saturday, Moseley are safe – if that is the right word – in the knowledge that they will be in the relegation play-offs.

Happy – if that is the right word – that all they have to play for this weekend are intangible concepts like impetus and confidence.

Wind the clock back to the same juncture last year and they went into the final match with Bristol needing a victory over the league leaders and help from elsewhere to finish in the top eight.

The victory arrived, the win didn’t and tailspin ensued. There will be no such drama this time and bizarrely everyone seems the happier for it. “Last season we were going hell for leather to get into that eighth position,” Smith recalled.

“We thought we’d done it, then realised we hadn’t done it about two minutes later and it was a huge psychological impact.

“We were going into play-offs having beaten everyone – twice – and there was a huge mental impact in that.

“But now we are just going in looking to keep momentum and continuing to enjoy our rugby. We are more comfortable within ourselves now, we are playing better and there’s no angst or stress or having to win.