With rain forecast for later in the evening, and a full programme to get through, the teams got cracking early with this fixture, which proved to be an entertaining one with favourable signs for both sides. Monarchs took all three Championship points with a 52-38 win on the night but Plymouth provided two of the main stars of the meeting along with a never-say-die attitude from their team mates.

The Monarchs enjoyed a great team performance and a thumping home win over Redcar in their most recent home meeting. They remain firmly in the play-off places but will face a very tough test this week from a Plymouth Gladiators team who are also post-season contenders and have already secured a MAXiCab KO Cup Final match-up with Berwick later this year.

The Monarchs this Friday take on Plymouth Gladiators at Armadale in an important Championship fixture with the two match points and the aggregate bonus available. As Monarchs won at Plymouth in June, any win for the home side will mean they take all three points.