Match report Saturday Albion .v. Bristol
By A Nomad
November 3 2013
What a Game! Plymouth Albion 31 Bristol Rugby 38What a game, 10 tries, both teams gaining all bonus points available and both climbing up the table! As at Jersey last week the match started in bright sunshine although the wind was far stronger blowing across the pitch at an angle from the dressing room corner towards the ‘Supporters’ marquee. The match started with a bang. Bristol won the toss and elected to play with the wind advantage towards the Club House end. Albion kicked off towards the right hand touch. Bristol moved the ball up the pitch and after a series of phases Albion broke up the right hand touch line and they put Tom Bowen racing down the touch line. He out sprinted the cover defence and was able to run in under the posts for a simple conversation by Declan Cusack. Albion soon had Bristol wandering what was happening when not many minutes later Jack Arnott was put in the clear on the left wing and he also was able to run in under the posts.
At this stage Bristol did not look anything like promotion contenders. Some of their more illustrious players were on the bench. Was this over-confidence on Mr Robinson’s part? Did he think Albion would be lambs to the slaughter or was it careful husbandry of his playing resources? Bristol are banking that their league campaign will be 27 matches long.
Albion withstood pressure by Bristol with some excellent defending. Albion were awarded a line out on the 5 metre line down by the Supporters’ marquee. Then came the first of three calamitous errors. The ball failed to find its mark and the Bristol number 8 had the simple job of catching the ball and virtual strolling over the line to score their first try which went unconverted.
The wind was almost at gale force. Albion took a penalty kick towards the left hand touch line which seemed destined to go safely into touch beyond the half way line but as it neared the line the wind caught it and it ended in Bristol’s hands in the centre of the pitch. Thereafter kicks to touch whether from penalties or out of hand tended to be aimed at the right hand touchline.
It wasn’t too long before Albion created another opening for Tom after Bristol lost possession. Tom Bowen sprinted in from a long way out for his second try, again converted. Bristol where at sixes and sevens at this point nothing was going right and Albion had scored three great tries. However Bristol did not give up and did have periods of pressure with Albion’s defence holding out. Then came the next calamity. Bristol attacked down their right hand touch line Jack Arnott was somewhat exposed and in defending the line was penalised by referee David Rose and was sent to the sin bin. With just a few minutes of the half remaining Albion hand to defend a 5 metre line out. The hole left by Jack was exploited and a try was scored in the corner. A superb conversion followed. More trouble for Albion followed with another try scored this time nearer the posts making for an easier conversion. So at the half way mark Bristol had closed to gap by 14 pints whilst Jack was off leaving the half time score at 21 to 19.
The second half started in a similar way to the first. Bristol were attacking down their left hand touch line and were into Albion’s half but Sean-Michael made a brilliant interception and after carrying the ball over the half way line he passed the ball to Tom who again outsprinted the cover to score near the posts. (28-19) Jack re-joined the fray a few minutes later.
Bristol had by now had been bringing on their substitutes and began to get more of the play but Albion were still playing well but then the third calamity happened. Albion fielded a kick and returned it with interest and a Bristol player failed to gather the ball. It hit his head and rebounded up the pitch and was picked up by an Albion player. It looked like he thought it was a ’free ball’ assuming Mr Rose was playing an advantage and so took an attempted ‘Drop Goal’ but it hardly got off the turf and Bristol regained possession. Mr Rose waved play on and play went up the pitch for Bristol to score another converted try. (28-26).
The gap was again too close for comfort and Bristol created an opening out on the right for yet another try. Momentum was changing although Albion kept Bristol at bay for lengthy periods but following a period of pressure Bristol got the ball to their right winger Wagner scoring the second hat trick of the afternoon. He sprinted over from a distance to score. (28-33).
There followed more pressure on the Albion line which resulted in Bristol scoring their sixth try and in so doing put Albion out of bonus point range. Albion had now been making substitutions of their own including the old favourite, Martin Rice. During the build-up to the try there was unfortunate injury to a Bristol player. He required prolonged medical attention before being stretchered off. There was a delay of several minutes before fly half Robinson was able to attempt to the conversion, he missed. (28-38)
Albion drove back up the pitch and were awarded a penalty on the 10 metre line but the forecasted heavy rain arrived. It wasn’t heavy it was torrential and the wind seemed at gale force. Declan had previously been substituted so the kick fell to Chris Elder to take. The conditions were horrendous but Chris addressed the ball calmly, took his time and the ball soared over the bar much to the delight of the Albion players and fans. It was probably one of the most difficulty kicks ever taken by an Albion player because of the conditions and the score board pressure. The few minutes remaining were played out without further incident.
In summary it is fair to say that our team and particularly the scrum continues to improve week by week. The line out was less accurate this week compared to last but no doubt the strong wind played a major part. The difference between the teams is probably explained by the difference in the maturity of the two sets of players. Ours are still developing and gaining experience and this will continue throughout the season. Bristol have a mature and experienced team as is borne out by the fact that they came from behind and achieved a good win.
Bristol eventually came good but Albion did deserve the two bonus points and the players believed that it was again a match they could have won. We were entertained this afternoon with some excellent attacking rugby. The good crowd certainly had their monies worth. Not forgetting the winners of the 50 – 50 who had the largest jackpots for some considerable time with almost a total of £500 in prize money, plus a prize from sponsors Nando’s. As was said by the Sky commentators at the game against Jersey at Sandy Park, “Watching Plymouth Albion this season is going to be fun!” A win would have added to the enjoyment. This game was billed as a test against a side with Premiership experience and ambitions. Albion stood up well to the test and can be favourable compared to Bristol, the score suggests that we are not far behind.
Cheer up my hearties the future looks bright for Albion.
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Semper Sersum.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:11:03:17:12:00 by dragon27.
See you at the Mem !!
Both sides giving their all in difficult conditions.
Come on albion !!!!!!!
