Round 8 - Albion V Rams
By Dark Prophet
October 25 2024
Albion play host to Rams this Saturday in the 8th round of this season's campaign.
Rams are on top of the league dropping just one point in their first seven fixtures. Meanwhile Albion, having missed out on an opportunity to move up the table last weekend, find themselves in 5th, some 11 points behind.
Whilst Rams will have momentum on their side, they have mainly faced sides in the lower half of the table. Their last two conquests were less convincing against Sale and Birmingham Moseley. Albion will have the advantage of the home support, but have been inconsistent with performance.
At present Rams have outscored Albion in tries 4:3 and conceded 2:5. Rams tries have been shared fairly between the forwards or the backs, but we can expect the forwards to put a lot pressure on the line if they are allowed to get close. Meanwhile Albion have been stronger in offence amongst the backs, although will need to tighten up the defence in the same area. Rams have also been particularly effective when it comes to the 2nd half-substituions.
Recent seasons have seen close encounters with the home side coming out victorious, but Rams certainly have the advantage of wins to losses in the last 7 match ups.
In the Rams side we will find former Albion players, Fraser Honey, Nile Dacres and Dan Swain. However, the ones to watch are the Hooker - Max Hayman, and the fullback Zach Clow.
The man in the middle should be Alan Chandrachud, who has only officiated two games this season at Level 3, presenting just one card to Michael Hoyt of Blackheath.
Weather - Sunshine all day - a little bit of a chill but only a slight breeze from the South West. Should be a good day for kickers.
Prediction:- A win for Rams if only because of the momentum they have to date. Albion could reverse this, but will need to put in a really strong and consistent performance for the full 80.
Other games to note - Birmingham Moseley v Rotherham. Occupying 3rd & 4th in the table offering Albion a chance to gain ground on at least one of them. Meanwhile Bishops Stortford will take on 2nd placed Richmond - which could be a banana skin.
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Come on the lads.
Denied a victory by what some suspect to be a poor performance by the match officials.
My body is a temple - I desecrate it every day
Quote:Igwok Dominus
A close encounter with Albion putting in the hoped for full performance.
Denied a victory by what some suspect to be a poor performance by the match officials.
The match officials made as many poor calls against Rams as they did Plymouth, trust me .... we got what we expected, a fully committed Albion team backed by a noisy crowd, we're thankful to come away with the win, something we've only managed once in 4 previous visits .....