Josh Thomas scored a 96th-minute equaliser after an unbelievable topsy-turvy FA Cup tie at Butlin Road against Malvern Town.
The two newly promoted Step Four clubs will have to meet again in an Extra Preliminary Round replay after sharing ten goals in a rollercoaster affair in the rain.
Rugby dominated the first half and raced to a 4-1 lead in the process, but the visitors amazingly turned the game on its head after the break and - aided by the dismissal of Valley skipper Barry Fitzharris - they looked set for the victory until Thomas's late intervention.
Carl Adams named a largely familiar opening line-up for Town, with midfielder Roger Lee the only player not to feature in last season's promotion winning squad, and the hosts started well with Jordan Wilson's deflected shot soon finding the side netting.
It was not long before they opened the scoring though, when on three minutes David Kolodynski cut inside to curl home.
Malvern were nearly immediately on level terms though when Matt Turner had a shot saved by the feet of Matt Hill, with the end-to-end nature of the match then continuing when another Wilson deflected effort was kept out by Malvern keeper Kieron Blackburn.
Rugby's second came after some neat build-up play ended with Tom Fielding's clever flick onto Kolodynski, who duly beat Blackburn again with his finish.
Wilson blazed over from a decent position and Kolodynski's acrobatic volley drew a fine save from Blackburn as the chances continued to come Town's way, although at the other end Turner was denied by a well-timed challenge by Loyiso Recci.
The visitors did pull one back on 20 minutes when a lack of communication between Hill and Recci saw the Rugby defender help Mark Magee's delivery from the right past his own keeper.
A Magee header was gathered low down by Hill, before the two goal differential was restored when Wilson headed home a Kolodynski corner after Drew Kear's initial low strike had been turned round the post by Blackburn.
It was four for Valley within just 25 minutes when after Kear's surging run into the box and Fielding's blocked shot, Lee opened his Town account with a crisply struck goal into the bottom corner.
The remainder of the opening period was relatively uneventful, although Kolodynski did see an on-target strike deflected over and then Wilson found himself in behind the Malvern back-line - only to put his strike wide.
The visitors were immediately on the front foot after the restart, and they reduced the arrears with a nicely executed finish by Harry Clark to Jordan Annear's slid assist.
Hill was then down well to keep out a strike from Magee, whilst Fielding dragged a good opportunity wide after Kolodynski's pull-back had picked him out.
Malvern skipper Lewis Platt made it 4-3 when the ball looped in off Josh Thomas, when the Town defender attempted to block his well-struck effort.
Rugby were clearly rattled by this unexpected turn of events, although Lee's long range strike drifted wide and a speculative attempt from distance also failed to trouble Blackburn.
Turner screwed one wide, before the tie took another twist on 76 minutes when Fitzharris was given two yellow cards within a few minutes to receive his marching orders.
The visitors used their extra man to good effect and were soon level when Hill could only get a leg to Alex Bell's effort before it bounced over the line, and then the Town keeper fumbled Callum Clayton's header to allow Turner the opportunity to help it home from close range to give Malvern the lead.
Hill saved Annear's strike as the visitors looked to dump further misery on Rugby, who - aside from an off-target effort from Kear - looked unlikely to salvage anything from the game until Thomas popped up at the death to apply a striker's finish to Dan Summerfileld's whipped in cross to send the soggy Valley fans behind the goal into raptures of delight.
Valley
Line-up: Hill; Francis (Summerfield), Recci, Thomas; Rosser, Kear, Lee, Fiztharris, Fielding; Kolodynski, Wilson (Lock). Subs not used: Motshweni, Sahota, English, Ahenkorah, Taylor. Bookings: Wilson, Fiztharris, Thomas, Kear. Sent off: Fitzharris.
