MATCH REPORT: Tonbridge Juddians 35 – 25 Plymouth Albion
Saturday 18 October – The Slade, Kent
Plymouth Albion were in action Saturday afternoon, when the team headed for the Kent countryside and a fixture with newly promoted Tonbridge Juddians.
Albion were looking to continue their incredible start to the 2025–26 campaign, having made one of their best starts in recent memory. Out of the six previous games this season, they had managed five wins and only one loss. Head Coach Ryan Lamb has often opted for consistency with his selections, only rotating one or two positions at a time, and this weekend was no exception.
Their opponents had also made a solid start to the season and had made a name for themselves as the best of the promoted teams so far. They had managed three wins at this point and were hoping to take their tally to four. Prior to the game, Tonbridge made seven changes, bringing in players with plenty of Premiership experience.
First Half
The home side made the better start, managing a try almost immediately through George Merrick, adding the extra two shortly after. With a score in the first minute of the game, there was plenty of rugby still to play.
For twenty minutes the game ebbed and flowed, with Albion holding a slight territorial advantage — one they managed to convert into a try through Harry Wilkinson from a set piece. Frankie Dart didn’t quite make the conversion, but Albion were back in the game.
Two minutes later, Tonbridge hit back, regaining control of the game with a try from Vincent Everett and a conversion from Connor Lloyd. The game became a tough-fought contest with Albion pushing hard to get back into the tie.
On the thirty-second minute mark, Harry Wilkinson crashed over the line for his second try of the game, with Dart narrowly missing a difficult kick, making the score 14–10.
Albion piled on the pressure, constantly punching through the Tonbridge defensive line, and four minutes later looked like they would go into the half-time interval ahead after skipper Jack Oulton managed to get the ball over the try line — thinking quicker than his opposite number as usual. Again, a tough kick for Dart was agonisingly close, but the flags stayed down, Albion in front 15–14.
At this point, the visitors and their travelling fans would have preferred to go into the break with the slender one-point advantage and regroup for the second half. However, Tonbridge had other ideas. They moved the ball swiftly inside the Albion twenty-two, and with seconds left in the half managed to push over for their third try of the game through Connor Lloyd, who also kicked the extra two, making the half-time score 21–15 to the Juddians.
Second Half
Albion came out with a renewed thirst for the opposition try line and immediately poured on pressure, forcing the home side onto the back foot. After five minutes, Ben Moa bulldozed his way in for Albion’s fourth try of the game. However, with Dart continuing to struggle, the score remained 21–20.
Albion continued to push Tonbridge back into their own twenty-two, and on the fifty-minute mark, Oscar Beckerleg managed to force his way in for Albion’s fifth try and a four-point lead over the Juddians, with Dart narrowly missing again, keeping the score at 25–21.
Albion remained on the offensive, looking to put some distance between themselves and Tonbridge. However, the home side’s defensive line dug in and held strong, despite the pressure from Albion. The game hung in the balance for almost twenty minutes until the home side made a breakthrough after forcing a turnover and swiftly moving the ball down to the Albion try line, where Luke Boon crashed over to give Tonbridge the lead, Lloyd again adding the extra two. Tonbridge back in the lead, 28–25.
Minutes later, and any chance of some Albion heroics was lost, as the home side managed to add one more try and conversion through Curtis Barnes and Lloyd, stretching the lead to 35–25 with only two minutes left to play.
As the final whistle sounded, it was clear that it wasn’t Albion’s day. Despite having strong territorial advantages, long spells of pressure, and an outstanding Man of the Match performance from Harry Wilkinson, it was the home side that appeared to be more clinical on the day, dealing Albion their second loss of the season.
Post-Match
Head Coach Ryan Lamb was straight to the point with his post-game analysis, saying:
“Disappointing result and performance. We had times in the game we were on top but missed tackles. Giving up penalties gave them opportunities and they capitalised well. We definitely need a big reaction next week.”
Next week, Albion invite Birmingham Moseley to Brickfields for the only evening home game of the season. They’ll be keen to bounce back and retain their unbeaten record at home.
The evening promises to be a Halloween extravaganza, with fancy dress encouraged and plenty for fans to get involved with.
Saturday 25 October — doors open at 5:00pm, kick-off 7:45pm.
🎟 Tickets available now at plymouthalbion.com
Pablo Cheeks
