PLYMOUTH Albion’s director of rugby Graham Dawe admitted his team’s one point home defeat to Rosslyn Park was tough to take.
Albion lost 16-15 at Brickfields to last year’s runners-up, with the visitors scoring both their tries from turnovers.
“It was a spirited performance from our guys,” said Dawe after his team came back from 13-0 down.
“They (Rosslyn Park) are an experienced team, who came with a set way of playing, but we thought we’d coped with it relatively well but got done by a sucker punch with that turnover try early in the second half.
“We also missed several opportunities to cement field position and possession.
“It was tough to take, but we have to put it behind us pretty quickly and look forward to next weekend.”
Rosslyn Park’s first try came after Albion lost a line-out five metres from their own line, while their second came after Plymouth gave the ball away attacking their opponents’ line.
“That’s always going to happen in a game of rugby,” said Dawe. “We’ll score tries off turnovers in the future.
“You have to accept it, but it’s always hard when you lose a game on it.”
Rosslyn Park dominated territory in the first half but Albion, who struggled early on with their line-out, defended well.
Plymouth were much better second half. Their set piece greatly improved and their backs managed to make some ground, with Matt Shepherd and Jake Murphy crossing for tries.
“We didn’t get the win, but it was another good game,” said Dawe. “There were good performances from the 15 players on the field and the bench.
“But we didn’t seem to get two decisions in a row. Normally teams profit from getting two decisions in a row, but we never seemed to get that.”
Albion face their first away trip next Saturday when they make the long journey to Hull Ionians.