COACH Kevin Maggs has challenged maverick play-maker Ollie Thomas to continue the brilliant form that inspired Moseley to their second victory of the season.

The 28-year-old was given a rare Championship start at fly-half against Bristol on Saturday and responded with a performance that was as mature as anything he has ever produced in a Moseley shirt.

If the 18 points were impressive, the way in which his positional kicking kept Bristol at arm’s length was even more so and, with incumbent Brad Davies having dropped out through injury, Thomas may have taken a grip on the No.10 shirt he privately covets.

Maggs was delighted with Thomas’ display but with a tricky trip to Bedford on the horizon on Saturday week, he may want Thomas to back it up with another in the British & Irish Cup match at Cross Keys this weekend.

“He did some absolutely fantastic things and he put us under pressure a couple of times as well. In fairness, he did bloody well and the positive far outweighed the negative,” the head coach said.

“That has got to be his benchmark and he has got to improve from that. We all know he is a very talented guy but sometimes he has to rein that in a little bit and do what’s required in the structure and where we are going with it.

“He has proven he can do that now and he has got to put his hand up to keep the shirt. He was on the right page for most of the game and at times I thought he kicked fantastically.

“You could only point to a couple of kicks that were silly and put us straight back under pressure.”

Which for Thomas, who earlier this season made Maggs nearly explode when he chipped out of defence in a cup match against Plymouth, is a massive improvement.

Indeed, the whole side made progress against Bristol in what was probably the best performance under pressure of Maggs’ short tenure.

The former Irish international, who has been critical of his players in recent defeats, lavished them with praise after the 33-27 victory.

“I can’t fault anybody,” he said. “Even the boys in the front row stuck at it and worked hard – everyone worked hard.

“We didn’t make any changes, we have come to the conclusion that the three lads are in there because they offer the most, they are just honest lads and they work hard. That’s all we want them to do.

“Considering Bristol have a very experienced front row who have all played in the Premiership, they have done outstandingly.”