PLYMOUTH Albion’s director of rugby Graham Dawe said there were ‘no excuses’ for his team’s 38-12 home defeat against Esher on Saturday.
It was the first time this season Albion had not picked up a point in a game and the first time they been out-scored on tries by opponents.
Esher ran in five tries, three in the first half, with Albion only managed two – both in the second period.
“It’s not an ideal scenario losing at home and not being competitive on the scoreboard come the final whistle,” said Dawe. “That’s not how we hoped it would end up.
“But credit to Esher, they played very well. I think you could count their errors on one hand and discipline-wise I don’t think for the first hour they gave away a penalty. They were good.
“We have to find solutions to this defeat amongst ourselves. There are no excuses.
“This will hurt the guys.
“We have to address certain issues and move forward.”
Albion’s set piece the week before against Coventry had been outstanding, but against Esher they struggled with their line-out.
“They won them – you have to give a lot of credit to Esher for that,” said Dawe. “It was a long time before we got two line-outs in a row. They read it very well.”
Albion handed debuts to Jon Dawe and Cameron Thompson. Winger Jon Dawe started the match, while Plymouth-born flanker Thompson came on as a replacement at half-time.
“They both acquitted themselves well,” said Albion boss Dawe. “Jon didn’t have a lot of ball but his field positioning was good, his ruck work was good and he shut off their kick options well.
“Cameron slipped into the team easily. It’s nice for anyone to make their debut, but especially for their home-town team.”
A number of players will be looking to push their first team claims on Tuesday when Albion’s development side travel to Exmouth.