Plymouth Albion R.F.C.

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Plymouth Albion
Plymouth albion badge.png
Full name Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club
Founded 1920; 95 years ago (1920)
Location Plymouth, England
Ground(s) The Brickfields (Capacity: 8,500)
Coach(es) Graham Dawe
League(s) National League 1
2014–15 12th (relegated) from Greene King IPA Championship
1st kit
2nd kit
Official website
www.plymouthalbion.com

Coordinates: 50°22′15.78″N 4°10′13.12″W / 50.3710500°N 4.1703111°W / 50.3710500; -4.1703111

Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club who play in Plymouth, England. The club was founded around 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC and Devonport Albion RFC. Since 2003 they have played their home games at The Brickfields stadium. Albion's traditional strip and club colours are white, strawberry (red or cherry) and green.

After thirteen seasons in the second tier of English rugby union, Plymouth Albion finish last in the 2014–15 RFU Championship, and now play in National League 1 for next season.[1]

Plymouth RFC[edit]

Formed 1875, the club played at South Devon Place.

In 1912, the Northern Union attempted to form a Western League of clubs in Devon and Cornwall. Huddersfield beat Oldham 31–26 in an exhibition game at South Devon Place in front of 8,000 spectators and as a result a meeting was held and the Plymouth Northern Union club was formed.

In July, the Northern Union club took over South Devon Place and as a result Plymouth RFC disbanded, later to re-emerge as part of a merger with Devonport Albion to become Plymouth Albion.

Devonport Albion RFC[edit]

Albion was formed in 1876 from apprentices at Devonport Dockyard and originally played at Devonport Park. After moving to Bladderly in 1887 they then moved to Home Park in 1893. The club stayed at Home Park for one season only, returning to Bladderley Lane in 1894, then, in 1896, Albion took a 14-year lease of Rectory grounds,[2] (the current home of Devonport Services R.F.C.).

Current club[edit]

At match between Plymouth Albion and Cornish Pirates at The Brickfields in 2007

Devonport Albion continued at the Rectory until it merged with Plymouth RFC to become Plymouth Albion and moved in 1920 to Beacon Park. In 2003, they moved from the run-down Beacon Park ground to a considerably more modern ground, The Brickfields, in Devonport. The Brickfields also has an adjacent athletics stadium.

Albion were a major force in English rugby union in the 1920s having five internationals on their books at one time. Around this time they attracted a crowd of 18,000 to a midweek game against Oxford University which established a record crowd for a club match in England which was not exceeded until the 1980s.

They were promoted to National Division One in 2002, and finished third in the 2003/04 season. Observers say it was Plymouth Albion's best position nationally since the 1920s. On their way to promotion, the team went on a two season unbeaten streak of over 50 games, starting when the club was in Division Three South and ending after their promotion to National Division One.

The major local rivals are Exeter Chiefs who also have an impressive new stadium at Sandy Park perched above the services junction of the M5. Devon local derbies have become major popular events. Together these clubs have reinvigorated the passion for rugby in the county.

Albion currently play in the RFU Championship. the second tier of English club rugby. The club have financial problems and only avoided entering administration early in 2015 following a cash injection of £250,000 by local businesses.[3]

Club honours[edit]

Current standings[edit]

2015–16 National League 1 Table watch · edit · discuss
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1 Hartpury College 7 6 0 1 225 122 103 3 1 28
2 Blackheath 7 6 0 1 203 111 92 2 0 26
3 Esher 7 5 0 2 224 159 65 5 0 25
4 Richmond 7 5 0 2 199 154 45 3 1 24
5 Ampthill 7 4 1 2 161 119 42 4 2 24
6 Rosslyn Park 7 5 0 2 203 147 56 2 0 22
7 Coventry 7 4 0 3 188 151 37 2 1 19
8 Fylde 7 3 0 4 200 209 –9 4 3 19
9 Hull Ionians 7 3 0 4 172 216 –44 3 2 17
10 Plymouth Albion 7 3 0 4 169 182 -13 1 3 16
11 Henley Hawks 7 3 1 3 132 231 –99 2 0 16
12 Wharfedale 7 2 0 5 192 221 –29 4 2 14
13 Darlington Mowden Park 7 2 0 5 169 196 –27 3 1 12
14 Loughborough Students 7 2 0 5 144 187 –43 1 2 11
15 Cinderford 7 1 0 6 138 221 –83 2 2 8
16 Blaydon 7 1 0 6 127 220 –93 2 2 8
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 18 October 2015
Source: "National League 1". NCA Rugby. 


Current squad[edit]

2014–15 Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union
Tom Cowan-Dickie Hooker England England
Ted Stagg Hooker England England
Luke Chapman Prop England England
Tom Fidler Prop England England
James Gibbons (D/R) Prop England England
Tom Harrison Prop England England
Tom Heard Prop England England
Dan Pullinger (D/R) Prop England England
Andrew Tiedemann Prop Canada Canada
Brett Beukeboom Lock Canada Canada
Tom Hicks (D/R) Lock England England
Tom Jubb Lock England England
Neale Patrick Lock Scotland Scotland
Alistair Bone Flanker England England
Eoghan Grace Flanker Ireland Ireland
Iain Grieve Flanker England England
Sam Matavesi Flanker Fiji Fiji
Sam Simmonds (D/R) Flanker England England
Herbie Stupple Flanker England England
Rob Langley Number 8 England England
Rhys Oakley Number 8 Wales Wales
Player Position Union
Ruairi Cushion Scrum-half Ireland Ireland
Josh Davies Scrum-half Wales Wales
Cameron Setter Scrum-half England England
Declan Cusack Fly-half Ireland Ireland
Lawrence Rayner Fly-half England England
James Shanahan Fly-half England England
Toby Howley-Berridge Centre England England
Marc Koteczky Centre Australia Australia
Ben Woods Centre Ireland Ireland
Jack Arnott (D/R) Wing England England
Jake Henry Wing Wales Wales
Peter Horman Wing England England
Mark Kohler Wing Canada Canada
Elliot Clements-Hill Fullback England England
Lewis Warner Fullback Wales Wales

Notable former players[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Marsh, Paddy (19 April 2015). "It's all over for Albion". Cornwall Independent. 
  2. ^ "www.DevonportOnline". 
  3. ^ "Plymouth Albion: Troubled club avoids administration". BBC Sport. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2015-02-07. 

External links[edit]