Albion Start the Season With a Statement Win
Plymouth Albion took to the road for Saturday’s fixture, heading to the nation’s capital to face Rosslyn Park.
Priory Lane has been something of a cursed journey for Albion, including a defeat last season, being only one of a handful of losses all season. In fact, the best Albion could manage prior to Saturday’s fixture was a 28-28 draw back in 2022.
Rosslyn Park seem permanent contenders, rooted in the top four of National 1, with a rich history steeped in rugby tradition. And rightly so when you consider the likes of Danny Cipriani, Nick Easter, Neil Edwards and Martin Offiah, to name but a few of the international talents that developed their trade at the Richmond-based club.
Albion themselves came into the tie also as favourites to push for promotion, yet with the series of struggles at the hands of Rosslyn Park, there was definitely an element of the squad not taking anything for granted. With all things considered, neither side could have had the slightest inkling of what lay ahead after kick-off.
Albion came flying out of the blocks and had the perfect start after just five minutes. A driving maul from one side of the pitch gave Albion the early platform, with Harry Wilkinson crossing for the opening try. Iwan Jenkins added the conversion to give the visitors an early 7-0 lead.
Jenkins was soon involved again as Albion continued to put the hosts under pressure. This time, a driving maul from the opposite side of the pitch produced the same result, with Wilkinson grabbing his second try in the 10th minute. Jenkins again converted to extend the advantage to 14-0 after only ten minutes.
Rosslyn Park responded with a try of their own in the 16th minute, although the conversion was missed, reducing the deficit to 14-5.
Albion quickly regained control and forced their impressive territorial advantage. After pressuring the home side’s defensive line for an extended period, Ben Moa crossed for Albion’s third try in the 27th minute, with Jenkins adding the extras to make it 21-5.
There was a setback for the home side moments later when Rosslyn Park’s Alistair Wade was shown a red card for foul play in the 29th minute, leaving the hosts with 14 men for the remainder of the match. A numerical deficit that simply opened a chasm between the two sides, as if the game wasn’t already proving one-sided.
Albion immediately capitalised on the numerical advantage. Archie Hill, with a turn of pace, scored in the 30th minute, and Jenkins converted once again to put Albion 28-5 ahead.
The points continued to flow before half-time. Some excellent Albion defence forced the turnover and created the opportunity to break away, with Noah Fenton crossing in the 38th minute for his first try of the game. Another successful Jenkins conversion made it 35-5 at half-time as the teams headed back to the dressing rooms.
The second half began almost exactly like the first, with Harry Wilkinson completing his hat-trick in the 42nd minute, another solid charge for the line from Albion’s hooker. From a tight angle, the conversion attempt was missed, however, leaving the score at 40-5, with Jenkins’ first and only miss of the game.
Albion again piled on the pressure and proved relentless in attack as well as solid in defence. They were also showing a real clinical nature inside the opposition’s 22, and it wasn’t long before Ben Moa crossed for his second try of the game in the 47th minute. Jenkins got back to winning ways, converting the extra two, sending Albion into a seemingly unreachable lead, dominating at 47-5.
Archie Hill was shown a technical yellow card in the 50th minute, temporarily reducing Albion to 14 men and levelling the field for the next 10 minutes.
Despite the yellow card, it was in fact Albion that continued to apply pressure and head for the hosts’ try line. Sam Daly smashed over the try line for his first of the game in what was an epic performance, deservedly adding five points for the visitors, before Jenkins tacked on another conversion, taking the score to 54-5.
Rosslyn Park took advantage of the opportunity of having the same number of players for a brief period and added a try of their own through Archibald Hosking, followed by the two-point conversion from Joe Luca Smith in the 63rd minute, bringing the hosts to 12 points.
Albion continued to find gaps in the Rosslyn Park defence and camped out deep inside the home side’s 22. After further pressure in the 66th minute, Oscar Stewart found a way through and darted over the try line to score Albion’s ninth try of the game, securing the victory and the bonus point. Jenkins added the conversion, taking Albion beyond the 60 mark, making the score an insurmountable 61-12.
Rosslyn Park managed something of a consolation score through Freddie Vaughan with a try in the 76th minute. The conversion was missed, leaving the final scoreboard reading 61-17.
When the referee brought proceedings to a close, Albion had completed a remarkable and historic win against an old foe that previously they had struggled against.
It was a performance that announced Albion’s intent in National 1 this season in the strongest possible terms. Nine tries, eight successful conversions from Jenkins and a 44-point winning margin made for a hugely impressive afternoon in south-west London.
For a side that had struggled to get the better of Rosslyn Park at Priory Lane in previous years, this was more than just an opening-day victory. It was a statement.
“It is a great start to the season,” began fly-half Iwan Jenkins post-game. He continued: “Rosslyn Park are a top National 1 side and we just put 60 points on them. There’s obviously some positives in there, particularly the first-half performance. We took away their strengths and put our game on them… There’s obviously things to work on, but for the first game our performance was right up there.”
Head Coach Ryan Lamb was also upbeat after the game, saying: “It was an outstanding performance, particularly in that first 40 or 50 minutes. We dominated physically and we dominated field position as well and the boys were really, really clinical.”
He also added: “…Rosslyn Park are an outstanding team, and we’ve never actually won up here, so to come out and put 60 points on a team like that, although I think they had a few guys out so they’ll get better as the year goes on. But it was an outstanding start for us and a chance to take the momentum into our next few games.”
Lamby then proceeded to name Albion’s Man of the Match, but had positive words for the squad in general, closing the interview by saying: “There were a few candidates. James Kenny was outstanding, Sam Daly put an unbelievable shift in, Iwan Jenkins at 10 was fantastic… You could name all of them, to be fair, but I’ll give it to Wilko (Harry Wilkinson), because he scored a hat-trick.”
Up Next: Camborne Away
There is little time for Albion to dwell on an impressive opening-day victory, with another big test on the road coming next.
Albion travel to Camborne on Saturday 12 September for the second game of the National 1 season, with kick-off at 1500.
After starting the campaign with a statement victory in the capital, Ryan Lamb’s side will be looking to carry that momentum into another tough away fixture.
Camborne will provide a very different challenge and, with a strong home following expected, Albion will need plenty of support making the journey into Cornwall.
So, if you can, join us on the road.
Get behind the boys, bring the noise and help us take a strong Albion following to Camborne as the opening weeks of the National 1 campaign continue.
Camborne v Plymouth Albion
Saturday 12 September
Kick-off 1500
