Plymouth Albion
Plymouth Albion RFC was born in 1875, raised from a
hard core of Devonport Royal Naval Dockyard Apprentices from a merger between Plymouth RFC
and Devonport Albion RFC. They first played at Devonport Park and the
players and officials carried the goal posts and flags to the park. There were
no facilities so the players had to return home for a bath after the match! In 1887
spectators paid three old pence to watch the game and players even had to stump
up one penny each to play. During the 1894 season Plymouth played at Home Park,
now the home of Plymouth Argyle Football Club, before moving to The Rectory
Fields. Since 2003 they have played their home games at The Brickfields
stadium. Albion celebrated its 125th Anniversary season during 2000-2001
and includes England International greats such as James Peters (the first
black player to don an England shirt) in 1902 in its history.
In 1912, the Northern Union attempted to form a Western
League of clubs in Devon and Cornwall. Huddersfield played Oldham 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. Albion began to grow from this and in
a 1927 classic book on ‘Rugger’, Plymouth Albion is described as one of the
leading clubs in the United Kingdom.
Albion was indeed 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. During the 1950s and 60s, the Club had an
excellent record despite no major league or cup success. When the leagues were
introduced in the 1980s, Plymouth Albion saw its finest hour in the 1988-89
season, with a 100% record in Courage League Three, as Albion were crowned
champions. After three seasons in Division Two, Albion suffered relegation in
two successive years, ending up in Jewson League Two (South). In the 1998-99
season, Albion only avoided relegation from National League rugby by winning
away against Weston-Super-Mare in the last match of the season. Albion's only
away win of the entire season!
Bold action was urgently required. Graham Dawe
(Bath and England) was appointed Chairman of Rugby and made his presence felt
immediately by achieving a creditable fourth in Jewsons League Two (South) the
next season. The 2000/2001 season must be one of the highlights of recent rugby
in Plymouth with Albion winning promotion to National League Division Two and again
being unbeaten in League rugby. The 2001/2002 season saw promotion again to the
second tier of the English game.
On their way to promotion to the Championship, 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. On finishing third in the 2003/04 season, fans and officials at
the club have said it was Albion's best position nationally since the 1920s. The
club parted company with Graham Dawe in November 2011 after 12 years service
having rescued the club from the brink of falling out of the National League to
the heroics of almost reaching the promised land of the Premiership.
Nat Saumi is the current head coach at the Albion, taking
over from former Exeter boss Peter Drewett. After funding for Drewett's post
was lost and he was forced to leave the club,
Saumi took over until the end of last season in a caretaker role,
before taking over full time this term. Saumi, a former Fijian international,
has been associated with Albion since first joining as a player in 2003. As a
player he starred for the Cornish Pirates, where he could play anywhere behind
the scrum, was an elusive runner, a destructive tackler and a first rate goal
kicker all rolled into one. Saumi's appointment as head coach came at a
difficult time for Albion. Off the field they had severe financial problems and
had to appeal to fans and shareholders to donate money, (believed to be in the
region of £250,000) in order to keep the club afloat.
Having lost a good sized chunk of the squad in the
summer, Saumi has been aided in recruitment by their major local rivals.
Exeter Chiefs currently supply Plymouth with several duel registered players, and
have signed a number of former ‘Chiefs’ players on permanent deals. Together
these clubs have reinvigorated the passion for rugby in the county, and Devon
local derbies have become major popular events.
Second bottom during the regular season last term with
only six wins, and like London Scottish last week they contested the relegation
play offs. Surviving relatively comfortably with four wins from six. They were
predicted to struggle again this term especially after the loss of so many top
players. In a recent Championship poll they were out on their own as the side
most expected to be relegated. However with several duel registered stars from
Premiership neighbours Exeter, and a strong Tongan/Canadian influence, they
have surprised the division and sit handily placed in the top half of the table
taking four wins from their first five league games, Albion’s best ever start
to a Championship season.
Who to watch out
for:
Flanker.
The 6’2” 16 ½ stone 28 year old local lad, born in
Liskeard, a stone’s throw from Albion’s home ground. He made his Albion debut
in 2009 having previously been on the books at Launceston (where he was loaned
to Albion) and Premiership Bath. Hocking has represented Cornwall at English
rugby HQ, Twickenham in the county championship. Joint top scorer in the league
overall with six tries this season, scoring in all bar one league match,
actually doubling his tally for the previous two seasons, Hocking is definitely
this seasons danger man.
Brett Beukeboom.
Lock.
At 23 years old, 6’5” and
tipping the scales at 17 ½ stone, the young up-and-coming Canadian second row
is one of Albion's new summer recruits. Signing from Ontario Blues, and the
third Canadian in the squad, (replacing countryman Tyler Hotson who moved to
last weeks opponents London Scottish). In his first season as a full
professional, both Albion and Canada have big hopes for Beukeboom, who made his
debut for their national team in the summer having starred in the 2009 Junior Rugby World Cup. Beukeboom is a product of the Canadian
Rugby Championship program that was set up to facilitate the move from club
rugby to the test arena, Described
as a physical lock who specialises in line outs, he will give Jersey Captain Nathan
Hannay something to think about.
Aaron Carpenter.
Number eight.
Another formidable back
rower, at six feet and 17 stone, Canada’s new international captain is
beginning his third season at Albion and fourth in the Championship having previously
been on the books at Coventry. Carpenter's story is one of success, found
through Canada's development ranks starting with Ontario under-16s. He also
played under-21 for his province and represented his country in the under-18
and under-21 sides. Represented his country in both the 2007 and 2011 World
Cups where he was steady, reliable, and a lot of people in rugby took notice. He
is one of Albion's key players and he was missed at the start of last season when
he was away on World Cup duty. However, he finished last term strongly and
claimed The Herald readers' player of the year award. Always a solid player,
100% committed every minute of every game as the England Saxons players will
testify. His outstanding play in his first season won him rookie of the year
honours for Canada. The North American
influence in the Albion pack is not to be underestimated.
Keni Fisilau.
Centre.
Starting his 12th season
with the club, the former Tongan international veteran centre is Albion's
record league appearance holder with over 200 games under his belt. He is
popular with the both club and supporters, having won the clubs player of the
season previously. Earlier this year the evergreen back enjoyed a successful
testimonial. Albion coach Nat Saumi was happy to offer Fisilau a new deal for
this season. ‘He is an experienced guy, who works really hard,’ said Saumi. ‘He
is really fit. He is much fitter than most of the backs. In fact, I think he is
the fittest and you can combine that with experience.’ Having served an 18 week
ban at the tail end of last season for a dangerous tackle, he has a reputation
for a strong tackle showing no fear on the pitch, the mobile Tongan certainly
takes no prisoners.
Rupeni Nasiga.
Lock/back-row.
A monster of a Fijian, at 6’4”
and well over 18 stone, the Fijian international is one of Albion's big
signings of this summer. Played in the 2011 World Cup and looking forward to
tasting Northern Hemisphere rugby for the first time. The versatile former farmer
previously spent a year in New Zealand playing semi-professionally. ‘Island
people like running rugby,’ according to Nasiga. He added, ‘And physical games,
and since I play lock, and used to play in the loose as well, I'm used to playing
both types of game.’ Albion boss Nat Saumi knows
Nasiga from Fiji, and was instrumental in bringing him to Brickfields as he had
several offers from elsewhere.
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