Match Report sponsored by Relationships Plymouth.
Plymouth Albion brought the curtain down on a stellar 2025/26 regular season in emphatic fashion, dismantling Leeds Tykes by 30 points at Brickfields to secure vital momentum heading into the Championship playoffs.
1st Half
Leeds made the stronger start of the two sides, capitalising on a loose pass chewing up yardage with a series of powerful carries before Lucas Walsh burst through to score under the posts, securing the opening try of the afternoon. The conversion was scored by Edward Crossland after hitting the left upright.
Albion’s response was clinical and instantaneous. The breakthrough came via a monstrous carry from Ben Moa; the powerhouse number eight dragged five defenders with him in a display of pure defiance. With the Tykes’ narrow defence sucked in, Iwan Jenkins pulled the strings, darting a pinpoint miss-pass to Noah Fenton. The winger showed superb balance to tiptoe down the touchline and dot down, with Jenkins adding the extras to seize the lead.
Plymouth came agonisingly close to touching down once again before the ten-minute mark, being help up over the line twice within a matter of minutes, giving Leeds an opportunity to clear their lines. Tykes respite didn’t last long, as Albion’s fly half Jenkins dispatched a series of monstrous kicks, which kept the away side pinned deep within their 22. Things quickly worsened for them after the ref called their goal-line interception, which looked to go the distance, back for a penalty and a yellow card to try scorer Walsh, gifting Albion a new lease of life. Rhys Williams dotted down after his inch perfect lineout was mauled over the line, with Jenkins slotting the conversion.
Albion secured their 3rd try of the contest within minutes, following excellent work at the breakdown from Harry Wilkinson, who found captain Dan Pullinger out the back with a glorious offload. Iwan Jenkins then delivered a precise pass to Bobby Wigginton, who ran a strong arcing run to break through the defence, before being wrestled to the ground a few metres out. The ball was quickly recycled which allowed Huw Taylor to dive over and finish the move. Jenkins retained his perfect record off the tee to take the score to 21-5.
Plymouth’s momentum swiftly faded, as handling errors once again proved costly. No longer on the back foot, the traveling team seized the opportunity to turn the screw and find their own attacking rhythm. The visitors hit their stride with a flurry of sublime offloads down the right touchline, which shredded the Albion defensive line, allowing full-back Seremaia Bai Turagabeci to scurry over the line.
The first half descended into a scrappy affair, concluding with a wave of errors from both sides that allowed Leeds to capitalize on the unstructured, end-to-end chaos. Albion inside centre Archie Hill pounced on the unclaimed ball and exploited a sudden gap in the Leeds line, but after being hauled down just meters short, his isolation allowed the visitors to secure a penalty at the breakdown. After taking a quick tap & go, Plymouth’s defence was immediately scrambling, enabling The Tykes to ghost through Plymouth’s porous defence, as Walsh dotted down for his second of the afternoon. The conversion was pulled wide, as Albion went into the break with a slender 21-17 lead.
2nd Half
Plymouth emerged after the break firing on all cylinders, looking like a completely different outfit as they dictated the tempo and firmly established themselves on the front foot, wasting no time in turning to their most potent weapon. They pinned the visitors deep in their own territory before turning to their maul to once again power them over the line on two occasions in the opening eight minutes of the second half, as man of the match Rhys Williams completed his hattrick before the 50-minute mark.
In what was becoming a recurring headache for the home side, a third unforced error from Plymouth allowed the visitors to capitalize and narrow the deficit, keeping the Yorkshiremen within striking distance. Crossland launched a high ball, their best attacking weapon throughout the match, which was caught by Iwan Jenkins who attempted to establish a counter-attacking opportunity; however, his pass was misjudged by Wigginton, gifting Leeds their bonus point try under the sticks.
As if fuelled by Brickfield’s glorious rendition of the YMCA, Albion unleashed a spell of champagne rugby producing contenders for try of the season. After a loose ball was nudged to within metres of their own line, Albion’s Wigginton superbly scooped the bouncing ball up off the deck, and surged upfield before offloading to Archie Hill. The ball was then moved swiftly down the line to Williams, who made further ground before linking with Ben Raivalitia, who cut inside and broke through the defence, before delivering the final pass to his support runner to score.
Minutes later, Plymouth dotted down once again after another counterattack from deep. Capitalising on a loose ball, they offloaded back and forth in a Fijian 7’s style of play, scoring within the first phase of the move, as Oscar Stewart got his name on the scoreboard. In the final clinical attacking sequence, Zack Wimbush capped off his imperious performance off the bench by latching on to a wide pass and breaking through the defensive line, before firing a pinpoint pass out to Morgan stone to finish in the corner for the final score of the match.
FT score: 54-24
Looking Forward
Plymouth next travel to Blackheath for their promotion playoff fixture in search of return to the Championship for the first time since 2015. Albion have previously faced the London-based team twice already this season, narrowly losing both contests, but will face London Scottish or Richmond in the playoff final with a win.
Not travelling to the play-offs?
Join us in the Stormforce Marquee and watch Albion take on Blackheath.
🎟️ £10 entry includes a pasty and a drink on arrival
👉 Full details here
Will Porter
50/50 1st Prize 55005 – 2nd Prize 54532
