On the heels of an almost perfect home record last season, Plymouth Albion kept their early momentum rolling, dispatching league newcomers Sheffield to preserve their unbeaten start to the National 1 campaign. In front of an ever-vocal Brickfields, Albion ran in 7 tries, but the key story of the match was the home side’s mammoth defensive performance.
With an injury forcing a tactical reshuffle, Harry Legg, usually deployed at fullback, stepped up to pull the strings at fly-half with remarkable composure, helping Plymouth get off to the best start possible after his testing high ball was misjudged by a member of Sheffield’s backline.
Noah Fenton managed to control the bouncing before offloading inside, as Albion surged up the pitch. The forward pack took control of proceedings with a series of robust carries before Sam Daly powered his way over the line for the first score of the afternoon.
Things soon worsened for Sheffield, as poor discipline (and several punches) saw a penalty initially in their favour overturned, allowing Plymouth to form a strong attacking platform. Off the ensuing lineout, Daly led the charge with a thunderous carry before finding support, which swiftly saw captain Huw Taylor dot down for the second try within 5 minutes. The conversion was once again slotted over by Frankie Dart, who kicked 86% off the tee over the duration of the game.
Momentum soon swung the way of the Northerners, after a sequence of poor discipline saw Jarrard Hayler sent to the bin. Threatening just metres from the line, Sheffield’s attack ultimately faltered against Albion’s unyielding defence, who managed to hold up their opponents’ maul to regain possession.
Minutes later, Plymouth found themselves in an almost identical situation, making no mistake as Daly drove over for his second.
The first half concluded with Albion securing the bonus point score, after a slick move saw Sam Daly complete his first half hat-trick in style. With Sheffield bracing for another destructive drive from the Albion maul, the home side altered their approach.
A clinical pass found James Kenny, who hit a crisp wrap-around line to smash through the initial line of defence, paving the way for Jack Oulton to feed Daly who secured his 3rd try. Plymouth went into the half 28-0.
Sheffield continued to struggle with their discipline after the break, allowing Albion to carry their dominant first-half momentum straight into the second.
After a fantastic goal-line tackle prevented Pita Ratukadreu from scoring on his debut, Daly topped off his man of the match performance by adding another try after 3 defenders failed to quell his carry.
Plymouth’s incredible dominance on both sides of the ball was emphasised following a breathless few minutes of rugby. Initially, Sheffield looked destined to finally score after exploiting the blind-side to create a two-on-one against the fullback.
Just as the pass was about to be released, Jake Clemson produced an unbelievable cover tackle, sprinting from miles back to smash into the ball carrier and force the ball into touch.
Moments later, Sheffield opted for a desperate clearing kick, and Harry Legg made them pay in sensational style. Gathering the high ball, he lofted a clever chip over the defence, out-raced two defenders to read the bouncing ball perfectly and collected it to add his name to the scoresheet in breathtaking fashion.
Following the score, Harry Wilkinson and Jack Oulton were substituted off to applause on their 100th caps for the club.
The visitors finally got points on the board after Callum Posa’s cross-field kick was collected by Will Smith, who dotted down in the corner.
Albion capped off the fantastic performance with a seventh try, scored by Cameron Doak, once again through success at the line-out, as the game finished 47-5.
Nuffield Health man of the match Sam Daly spoke on the win, “Two lads that are very important to the club, Harry and Jack, to get the win for them it’s really a testament to the team of how hard everyone’s willing to work for one another”
Jack Oulton and Harry Wilkinson spoke on their achievement, “It’s a great achievement 100 games for any club, but this is a great club with great culture, so I’m really happy to get 100 games here.”
Up next:
Next week Albion travel to Richmond to take on London Scottish following their relegation from the Championship.
This will be the first fixture between the two league favourites since 2015, which ended in a 12-12 draw.
The next game back at Brickfields will be on the 3rd of October against Cambridge.
🖊️ Words by Will Porter
📸 Pictures by Thomas Anthony and Matt Boys.