Plymouth Albion R.F.C.

Plymouth Albion
Full name Plymouth Albion Rugby Football Club
Union Devon RFU
Founded 1876 (1876)[1]
Location Plymouth, Devon, England
Ground(s) The Brickfields (Capacity: 8,500)
Chairman Al Hannaford[2]
Coach(es) Keiran Hallett[2]
League(s) National League 1
2016–17 2nd
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 present club was founded in 1920 from a merger between Plymouth RFC (founded 1876) and Devonport Albion RFC (founded 1876). 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 currently play in National League 1.[3]

Plymouth RFC

Formed 1876, 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

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,[4] (the current home of Devonport Services R.F.C.).

Current club

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 newly built 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 National League 1, the third 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.[5] Albion entered administration on 8 April 2016 and were deducted 30 pts by the RFU.[6] Following administration they were taken over by former players, Bruce Priday and David Venables who put forward a business case to the RFU.[7]

Honours

Current standings

2016–17 National League 1 Table
Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1 Hartpury College (P) 30 30 0 0 1455 532 923 28 0 148
2 Plymouth Albion 30 24 0 6 879 523 356 17 5 118
3 Ampthill 30 22 0 8 844 584 260 17 3 108
4 Coventry 30 20 1 9 974 733 241 17 2 101
5 Birmingham Moseley 30 20 0 10 854 682 172 15 3 98
6 Rosslyn Park 30 16 1 13 867 682 185 13 7 86
7 Blackheath 30 14 1 15 692 724 −32 13 4 75
8 Esher 30 13 0 17 828 854 −26 16 6 74
9 Old Albanian 30 13 0 17 749 926 −177 14 5 71
10 Darlington Mowden Park 30 13 1 16 695 791 −96 10 5 69
11 Loughborough Students 30 10 1 19 905 966 −61 16 8 66
12 Fylde 30 10 0 20 691 1050 −359 15 4 59
13 Hull Ionians 30 10 1 19 679 944 −265 9 7 58
14 Cambridge 30 8 1 21 779 994 −215 18 6 58
15 Blaydon (R) 30 8 2 20 642 1010 −368 10 6 52
16 Macclesfield (R) 30 4 1 25 579 1117 −538 8 5 31
  • Points system: 4 points for a win; 2 points for a draw; 1 point if a team loses by seven points or less (losing bonus); 1 point if the team scores four or more tries in a match (try bonus)
  • 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: 29 April 2017
    Source: "National League 1". NCA Rugby. 

    Current squad

    2016-17 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
    Jamie Salter Hooker England England
    Rupert Freestone Prop England England
    Billy Keast Prop England England
    Samuel Nixon Prop England England
    Will Norton Prop England England
    Dan Pullinger Prop England England
    Dan Collier Lock England England
    Dan Williams Lock England England
    Ed Holmes Lock England England
    Tom Prisk Lock England England
    Cameron Thompson Flanker England England
    George Mills Flanker England England
    Nile Dacres Flanker England England
    Setareki Raumakita Flanker Fiji Fiji
    Rupert Cooper Number 8 England England
    Herbie Stupple Number 8 England England
    Player Position Union
    Clement Le Roy Scrum-half France France
    Cameron Setter Scrum-half England England
    Jack Maunder Scrum-half England England
    Joe Simmonds Fly-half England England
    Dean Squire Centre Wales Wales
    Harry Strong Centre England England
    Harrison Cully Wing England England
    Jon Dawe Wing England England
    Matt Crosscombe Wing England England
    Robin Wedlake Wing England England
    Dan Powell Fullback England England
    Matt Shepherd Fullback England England

    Notable former players

    References

    1. ↑ McCormack, Stephen (2001). The Official RFU Club Directory 2001-2002. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. pp. 265–270. ISBN 1 85291 640 0.
    2. 1 2 Walrond, Nigel (26 June 2016). "Albion appoint first female chairman in club's history". Sunday Independent (Plymouth). p. 60.
    3. ↑ Marsh, Paddy (19 April 2015). "It's all over for Albion". Cornwall Independent.
    4. ↑ "www.DevonportOnline".
    5. ↑ "Plymouth Albion: Troubled club avoids administration". BBC Sport. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
    6. ↑ "Plymouth Albion taken over by David Venables and Bruce Priday". BBC Sports. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
    7. ↑ Walrond, Nigel (8 May 2016). "Albion could face huge drop if RFU rejects business plan". Sunday Independent (Plymouth). p. 60.
    8. ↑ "DRFU Handbook 2011-12" (PDF). Devon RFU. Retrieved 30 January 2017.
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