By Worried of Whitton
December 9 2005

This weekend Harlequins have a “run ashore” in Devonport, home of the Royal Navy, as they Plymouth Albion. This is the third consecutive match against top of the league opposition, and our sixth away match in seven weeks!

Please note that the kick off at the Brickfields ground is at the earlier time of 14.15. Turn up at 15.00 and you'll only see the second half!

Once again the match is a near sell out with only a limited amount of ground tickets left. As the Times reported on Monday this week, Quins are big box office. For the past few weeks the match preview has been slightly repetitive with the same phrases “top of the table clash” a “must win match”. Last week’s hard fought win against Bedford has opened up a 14 point gap between the two teams, although Bedford still have that game in hand, which they have to win! With Pirates winning last weekend with four points the eight point gap between 1^st and 2^nd has been maintained. Like Harlequins, 4^th placed Plymouth Albion have beaten both Bedford in the league and Pirates in the Cup at home in recent weeks, and so the scene is set once more for another exciting match. Plymouth meet Pirates in the League on Boxing day a result every Quins fan will be interested in. This weekend Quins will need to be on their mettle to ensure a further extension to their record unbeaten run this year. It will be another tough one but Quins will know what to expect.

 

Whilst Quins were grinding out their win at Bedford, Plymouth were away at Sedgley Park; a match they won 8-26, but by all accounts a mediocre performance, against a very poor side in front of a crowd of 200. Plymouth should have scored many more points, squandering three potential try scoring opportunities in the first half alone, but the win for Plymouth was far more important than their performance, and they picked up a bonus point, their eighth of the season. A very important fact from this win shows Plymouth have now won their last five consecutive league games, seven games if you include the Powergen Trophy.

 

Last weekend, Plymouth were without their injured first choice kicker Mat Saumi who has injured his calf and their Argentinian Flanker Martin Schusterman out with back spasms. All four of Albion’s tries came from their backs as they were able to exploit Sedgley Park’s weak defence. Their Tongan centre Fisilau and French Winger Sestaret both scored tries after outpacing the Sedgely defence, along with additional tries by van Eyk and Arscott; it will be a very different defence for them to break this week.

The history of the club shows that Plymouth Albion were founded in 1876 by a group of apprentices from the Royal Naval Dockyard in Devonport. Albion first played at Devonport Park but by 1887, in the first of a series of removals over the years the Club moved to Bladderly. During the 1894 season Plymouth Albion played at Home Park, which is now the home of Plymouth Argyle, and then moved to Rectory Fields. After the First World War, the Navy purchased the Rectory for use by Devonport Services and Plymouth Albion moved once more this time to Beacon Park, and by 1927, Plymouth Albion were described as one of the leading clubs in the country.

This success continued during the 1950s and 1960s, when the Club had an excellent playing record. When the leagues were introduced in the 1980s, Plymouth Albion saw its best season in 1988-89 with a 100% record in Courage League Three, Albion were crowned champions. After three seasons in Division Two, Albion suffered relegation in two successive years, ending up in Jewson League Two (South). In the 1998-99 season, Albion only avoided relegation from National League rugby by winning their last match of the season.

As with their West Country neighbours in Penzance, bold action was urgently required to resurrect the club. Graham Dawe (Bath and England) was appointed Chairman of Rugby and made his presence felt immediately by achieving a creditable fourth in Jewsons League Two (South) in his first season. The 2000-2001 season was another highlight for Plymouth Albion winning promotion to National League Division Two and also being unbeaten in League rugby In the following year 2001 – 2002 the club saw promotion again to National League Division One.

To support the rugby off the field and improve the weak commercial position, Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club Limited was formed in 2001 and the finances of the Club were placed on a sound footing. In the summer of 2003, the Club moved from Beacon Park to its current location at the Brickfields Recreation Complex in Devonport.

In terms of team news, this will not be announced until Friday However, Scotty has announced that “with Will Greenwood still shaking off a slight hamstring strain the team will probably only show one change to last weekend, with George Harder likely to start”. There was no clue as to whose place he would take, be it center or wing, at the time this article was published.

With their experience and the confidence gained after the battle at Bedford last week should see Quins through again this weekend. Plymouth will need to improve greatly after last weeks lack lustre performance and combined with their injury problems, they probably have more to do. Home advantage though will be a huge bonus with a near sell out crowd. Both teams will be going for the “treble” the honour of winning all their matches against their closest opposition at the top. I expect a very close result with a Quins win by less than 7 points as Plymouth pick up another precious bonus point.

Finally who needs the BBC when we have GCQ who will once again will be providing a sterling service with his live updates on CAW website on Saturday afternoon. Don‘t forget the kick off is at 2.15pm

Come on You Quins !

NEC Harlequins:

To be confirmed: but it is understood to be same team as last week but with George Harder to start;
15) Tom Williams, 14) Simon Keogh 13) Gavin Duffy, 12)Tosh Masson, 11), Ugo Monye, 10) Andrew Mehrtens, 9) Steve So’oialo 1) Ceri Jones, 2) Tani Fuga , 3) Ricky Nebbitt 4) Jim Evans, 5)Simon Miall, 6) Andre Vos,© 7) Luke Sherriff 8) Nick Easter,
Replacements: 16. James Hayter,17. Lorne Ward,18. Kevin Burke,19. Chris Robshaw,20. Adrian Jarvis, 21. Mike Brown,22. George Harder,

Plymouth Albion:. expected to be
15. Arscott, 14.Sestaret,13. van Eyk, 12 Fisilau, 11.Fabian, 10.Barnes,9.Cane, 1.Rice, 2.Pearl 3.Hopkins, 4. Rouse, 5. Hayes, 6.Lowrie 7. Thomas D ©, 8. Tooala.
Replacements: Defty Zimmermann, Stroud ,Leung-Wai, Dawe, Luxton, Albina

Match Officials:

Referee: Llyr Apgeraint Roberts
Touch judges: Eric Woodmason, Mark Summerhayes