Plymouth Albion 41 – 10 Rosslyn Park
24/01/26
Rosslyn Park battled hard in tough conditions but ultimately fell short against a Plymouth side who showed exactly why they sit top of the league. A second-half try from Luke Mehson and the boot of Bill Johnston were not enough to halt Albion’s 100% home record this season.
Plymouth started the brighter of the two sides. Some clever play in midfield saw Iwan Jenkins steam through under the posts to claim the opening try, converting his own score four minutes in.
Moments later, things got better for the hosts when Jenkins added three more from the tee following Park’s ill-discipline to make it 10–0. However, Park eventually found themselves on the front foot and soon cut the gap to seven through Johnston’s boot.
The visitors continued to hold firm as Plymouth piled on the pressure but were forced to defend much of the first half with 14 men. First, an intentional knock-on saw Joe Luca Smith spend 10 minutes in the sin bin, before Charlie Walker was shown yellow 10 minutes later at the 23-minute mark for the same offence.
The conditions then played their part for the remainder of the first half, with plenty of kicking from both sides. Park struggled to gain a foothold at the scrum, and eventually the pressure told as Plymouth slotted a penalty from in front of the posts on the half-hour mark, taking a 13–3 lead into the break.
Plymouth’s pressure mounted in the second half. Nine minutes in, Gulley Lucas emerged from the base of a maul to claim the first try of the half, before Legg Harrison strode in at the corner ten minutes later following a looping pass from Jenkins.
The hosts really turned the screw as Park conceded further scrum penalties. Plymouth again kicked to the corner and looked set to score, but before they could, Park conceded a penalty try as Marign Huis was sent to the sin bin for collapsing the maul.
It took until the 64th minute for Park to make a breakthrough, when a neat grubber was collected by Luke Mehson, who finished well in the corner. Johnston added the conversion a minute later.
However, Plymouth had the final say. Just as Park looked to be building momentum, a misplaced back pass pinned the visitors on their own line. Albion counter-rucked effectively, and Gulley Lucas picked up to claim his second try of the afternoon.
A day to forget for Park, who will no doubt be eager to right their wrongs when they return to The Rock to face Rotherham next weekend.
Rosslyn Park
Tries: Mehson (64’)
Conversions: Johnston (65’)
Penalties: Johnston (17’)
Yellow Cards: Smith (13’), Walker (23’), Huis (62′)
Team: Cade, Piper, Wade, Cleet, Huis, Digby (C), Cameron, King, Mulchrone, Johnston, Marfo, Volley, Stanton, Walker, Smith
Replacements: Post, Kennison-Cook, Orchard, Redpath, Mehson
Plymouth Albion
Tries: Jenkins (3’), Gulley (49’, 77’), Legg (57’), Penalty Try (62’)
Conversions: Jenkins (4’, 50’, 58’, 78’)
Penalties: Jenkins (8’, 30’)
Yellow Cards: N/A
Team: Boughton, Gulley, Pullinger (CC), Stevenson, Broadhurst, Bailey, Hodges, Moa, Oulton (CC), Jenkins, Dart, Hill, Wimbush, Wigginton, Legg
Replacements: Wilkinson, Bishop, Beckerlegg, Raivilita, Stone
Next up: The first XV will be back at The Rock for a big clash against Rotherham Titans! Not one to miss. Get your tickets here