Match Preview: Plymouth Albion v Bristol Rugby

Plymouth Albion v Bristol Rugby

RFU Greene King IPA Championship, Saturay 2 November 2013, Brickfields (kick-off 3pm)

Plymouth Albion head coach James Shanahan has made two changes to the starting line-up for the visit of Bristol on Saturday (2 November).

Irish fly half Declan Cusack comes into the side to replace the injured Dan Mugford. Mugford is Albion's top points scorer so Cusack has big boots to fill, but he impressed after coming on in last weekend's victory in Jersey, kicking two crucial penalties in the second half.

Paul Rowley will start at scrum half with club skipper Ruairi Cushion dropping to the bench. This week's re-signing of Martin Rice adds further squad depth with the prop sitting on the subs bench against Bristol. Shanahan has also named himself on the bench to provide cover at fly half.

Plymouth will be hoping for a better outcome to last season's 21-8 home defeat against their Westcountry rivals. They also went down 34-20 at the Memorial Stadium.

Bristol lie third in the Championship table with Albion seventh. A victory would provide Shanahan's team with great confidence and an important points boost. A tough game can be expected but Albion showed against Jersey that they have the courage for the fight.

Plymouth Albion: 15 Chris Elder, 14 Tom Bowen, 13 Ben Woods, 12 Toby Howley-Berridge, 11 Jack Arnott, 10 Declan Cusack, 9 Paul Rowley, 1 Ben Rogers, 2 Max Crumpton, 3 Dave Morton, 4 Dan Williams, 5 Ien Ascroft-Leigh, 6 Sean-Michael Stephen, 7 Rob Langley, 8 Rhys Oakley (c)

Reps: 16 G Evans, 17 M Rice, 18 H Tovey, 19 E Grace, 20, J Shanahan, 21 R Cushion, 22 H Stevens

See more at: http://www.plymouthalbion.com