Match Preview: Plymouth Albion vs Dings Crusaders
Saturday 11 October – Brickfields, 3:00pm KO
Plymouth Albion return to Brickfields this weekend for their sixth game of the National One season, as they welcome Dings Crusaders in what promises to be another exciting afternoon of rugby.
Dings will be making the short trip down the M5 looking to build on recent improvements after a difficult start to their campaign. The Crusaders endured a tough opening few weeks, suffering heavy defeats — including a 73-24 loss to Rams — and conceding over 100 points in their first two matches. More recently, however, their form has picked up with an impressive 34-19 win over Birmingham Moseley followed by a narrow 36-31 defeat to high-flying Blackheath. Their recent performances suggest they will be no pushovers, and Albion will need to be fully focused.
Building Back at Brickfields
Albion have enjoyed a superb start to their 2025/26 campaign, collecting four wins from their opening five games and maximum bonus points in each of those victories. Their first setback came last weekend, when they fell 29-14 away to Rosslyn Park in testing conditions on a difficult artificial surface. Despite showing promise in attack, a mix of inexperience and ill-discipline at key moments proved costly.
Head Coach Ryan Lamb and his side will be eager to bounce back this weekend in front of a strong Brickfields crowd, keen to get their season back on track and stay firmly in contention at the top of National One.
Team News
There are several changes to the matchday squad as Coach Lamb rotates and rewards strong performances in training. Harry Wilkinson returns to the starting lineup at hooker, while Iwan Jenkins earns his first start of the season at fly-half, with Harry Legg moving to the bench.
George Hillson, recently back from a loan spell with Brixham, and Rhys Williams, who impressed last season, are both named among the replacements for their first appearances of the campaign.
Starting XV
- Jenson Boughton
- Harry Wilkinson
- Dan Pullinger
- Joel Broadhurst
- Freddie Stevenson
- Angus Hodges
- Jago Sheppard
- Ben Moa
- Jack Oulton (C)
- Iwan Jenkins
- Bobby Wigginton
- Archie Hill
- Oscar Stewart
- Shea Cornish
- Frankie Dart
Replacements
16. Rhys Williams
17. Liam Bishop
18. Oscar Bekerleg
19. George Hillson
20. Harry Legg
Player Thoughts
Speaking ahead of the match, Harry Wilkinson shared his excitement about returning to the field:
“It’s going to be good to get back to Brickfields in front of the home fans — we always get a really good turnout, which makes the game day special. Losing last week was disappointing, but Roslyn are always strong at their place. It gives us plenty to work on.”
Looking ahead to this weekend, he added:
“We’ve done our homework, we’ve been working hard all week, and now it’s time to put it into practice and get back on track.”
From the Coach
Reflecting on last weekend’s defeat, Head Coach Ryan Lamb said:
“It was a difficult game — the conditions made it hard to play the rugby we wanted to. It was tight early on, and I thought we did well in the first half. In the second half, they showed their experience, which got them through. It’s always tough down there.”
Turning his attention to Dings Crusaders, Lamb added:
“We were competing throughout last week, we just weren’t as clinical as we have been. The effort was really good. Being back at home is exciting — we’ve got a strong record at Brickfields, and hopefully, we can get back on the horse this weekend.”
🎟 Tickets are available now at plymouthalbion.com. Book online in advance for the best prices and join us at Brickfields this Saturday for another great day of rugby.
