Plymouth Albion Ladies - A Brief history
By Webmaster
April 25 2006
PLYMOUTH ALBION LADIES
A BRIEF HISTORY
PLYMOUTH ALBION LADIES RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB was formed in about 1995 when a group of women players, mainly from the College of St Mark & St John, wanted to play rugby union at weekends as well as for their college during the week.
Life was difficult for the fledgling club, known initially as Marjons Albion Ladies. They had to work hard to combat prevalent male attitudes at the time and had to scrap for their very existence, wearing borrowed kit and having little in the way of help.
Nevertheless, Marjons Albion survived, almost unheard of by the general public, but with a reputation that it has maintained to this day, of always fulfilling fixtures.
The big breakthrough for the Club came when a Plymouth Albion committee member happened upon a Marjons Albion home match and watched the game. Offers of assistance then slowly began to filter through from the main body of the Club as it began to realise the potential of having a Ladies side.
A big moment in the development of the side came in 1999 when two of the side, Samantha Johnson and Shauna Vetch, played together for England Students to much local public acclaim.
In 2000, Marjons Albion officially became Plymouth Albion Ladies with the Rugby club throwing its official weight behind the team which responded by winning the Devon & Cornwall League wearing the official Albion colours.
In 2000-01 Albion won National League Division Three and reached the semi-final of the South of England Cup, and the following season they captured the National League Division 2 South West title with a perfect record of ten wins from ten games.
More and more players achieved individual recognition and one of the proudest moments of the club came when Albion Ladies provided 21 out of the 22-player Devon squad that roundly defeated the then South of England county champions Dorset & Wilts.
By now Albion Ladies were also putting out a Development side as their burgeoning public profile attracted more players to the club, and honours continued to come in both the 15-a-side and seven-a-side games.
In 2004, in recognition of winning national leagues in successive seasons, Albion Ladies were given a Civic Reception by Councillor David Stark, then Lord Mayor of Plymouth.
Albion Ladies have since continued to grow and now draw on players from all walks of life from all over the region, including the Armed Forces, and are immensely proud to represent the City of Plymouth.
This season Plymouth Albion Ladies are playing in Premiership 2, the second highest tier of English women's rugby. They are officially among the top 16 sides in the country.
No less than eight players have gained international student recognition, four players are in the national Supertens sides – the top eighty players in the country - and seven more players have been selected for the South West regional squad
Albion Ladies have put together their own Road show to promote themselves and their sport, and have helped to set up the South West Academy to bring on players of the future, while several of the side’s former College players who are now teachers have settled in the area and are coaching youngsters in schools.
The Ladies’ side are keen to play their part in the local community, are heavily involved with Plymouth Albion Rotary Club, and also help Plymouth Albion around the ground on men’s first team match days.
Plymouth Albion Ladies play their home games on Sundays at the Brickfields, home of Plymouth Albion RFC. Matches normally kick off at 2.30pm and details of home fixtures can be found in the local Press and in Plymouth Albion men’s match day programmes and hopefully on this website.
If you are reading this and either want to try to play woman's rugby or wish to offer some sponsorship, or just want to find out more about the sport, please feel free to talk to anyone involved with Plymouth Albion Ladies Club.
If you don't who to contact then email frank and I will pass on your information.