GKIPA Championship - 2014/5 Week 18

Can the Great Escape continue? It certainly will if we get the right result against Yorkshire Carnegie who visit Brickfields this coming Saturday. Like Albion, they had no involvement in the B&I Cup semi-finals at the weekend and will be similarly rested. A change of name is not the only thing new about the Headingley-based team who previously operated under the Leeds banner. They will have a new head coach in the shape of Bryan Redpath whose appointment was announced last Thursday. The ex-Scotland international (60 caps, 26 as captain) has previously at coached at Gloucester and Sale Sharks (where he had also played).

Redpath is a permanent replacement for the temporary arrangements that have been in place for most of the season and which go a long way in explaining the indifferent form the ex-Prem outfit have shown this season. They are currently in sixth slot and have been as low as eighth. Albion's last encounter resulted in a 19 - 19 draw back in November, one of many games this term where we seem to have emerged short-changed. We certainly gave them a run for their money and performed well in spite of finishing with well short of 15 functioning players on the field. Latterly, they have beaten Bedford at home, but taken a fair beating at Rotherham. Albion are unbeaten at home in 2015; we must aim to uphold this record and accept our role in keeping the team fully geed up – start exercising those vocal chords!

This fixture is the PARFC's Men's Day Out - the Club's annual charity event where St Luke’s Hospice are hosting their fund-raising Men’s Walk. An "all-in" package includes a charity walk, pint, pasty and a ticket to see Albion v Yorks (KO - 15.00) at an amazing cost per person of £20! Please visit the St Luke’s website to register. (To avoid any of the confusion of last year, St Luke's will have their own marquee to facilitate returning walkers.) It's the ideal opportunity to introduce new faces to the Brickfields Experience, so why not get a mate, a work colleague or an in-law to come along and be part of our bid for Championship survival?

With the day likely to bring in larger numbers to the ground, pre-booking of tickets and early arrival is strongly recommended. Phone the Office on: 01752 565064, or order online at: www.plymouthalbion.com to get everything sorted ahead of time.

Here are all this weekend's fixtures:

Fri 20 Mar

Bedford Blues v Cornish Pirates   19:45   Goldington Road

London Scottish v Doncaster Knights   19:45   Richmond Athletic Ground

Sat 21 Mar

Jersey v Worcester   15:00   St Peter

Nottingham v Moseley   15:00   Lady Bay

Plymouth Albion v Yorkshire Carnegie   15:00   Brickfields

Rotherham Titans v Bristol Rugby   15:00   Clifton Lane