Rugby Union: Roblin cashes in on easy win

Rosslyn Park. . . . .38

Plymouth Albion. . .7

CROWDED house? Rugby, as Rosslyn Park and others are discovering, is going through the equivalent of a population explosion. The crush as the season develops is set to create all manner of problems and that is without allowing for whatever the weather cares to throw at us this winter. Just keep your fingers crossed is a popular expression nowadays.

Quite simply, there are not enough Saturdays in the season, not now the top four divisions in the league have gone home and away and the number of participating clubs in the Pilkington Cup has been increased from 76 to 96.

Well, the Cup takes priority which means that if Park keep winning, as they did handsomely against Plymouth in the third round at Roehampton yesterday, they will be presented with all manner of negotiations because the fourth, fifth and quarter-final rounds all clash with the Third Division club's league programme.

Park's glory days in the Cup had come as beaten finalists in 1975 and 1976 but yesterday's fare was light years away from those heady times. Indeed, because of a little dust-up involving the All Blacks just along the road, Park officials were quite sure that this was their lowest gate for a tie.

Park more than satisfied the pitiful support they received yesterday, their captain and flanker Ian Pickup getting the show on the road inside two minutes. Andy Wyeth made the break after Ian Campbell-Lamerton's line-out take, Richard Downey took the ball on, and Pickup picked up to score.

Paul Roblin, the fourth stand-off used by the club in an injury-hit season, demonstrated a nifty boot by converting Park's four tries before the break besides landing a towering drop goal. To say Park won easing up was no exaggeration, Roblin adding just his own try and conversion in the second half for a personal haul of 18 points. Perhaps they were saving themselves for the crush.

Rosslyn Park: Tries Pickup, Roiser, Parton, Milward, Roblin; Conversions Roblin 5; Drop goal Roblin. Plymouth Albion: Try Chapman; Conversion M Thompson.

Rosslyn Park: A Parton; L Porter, A Wyeth, T Ashworth, S Roiser; P Roblin, T Smither; D Perrett, D Barnett, S Henderson, A Milward, I Campbell-Lamerton, I Pickup (capt), T Brooks, R Downey. Replacements: N Walshe for Smither, h/t; D Buckney for Henderson 75.

Plymouth Albion: R Thompson; P Hague, M Slade (capt), D Oakley, L Oman; M Thompson, M Trott; I Davies, K Courteney, A Wise, C Osborne, T Chapman, G Smith, I Goldsmith, M Scott.

Referee: M Edwards (Alcester).