What was supposed to be a day of celebrations in the Devon sunshine for the dozens of Leeds Carnegie fans who travelled down to Plymouth Albion turned into a cold, drudge in the rain as the Yorkshiremen finished their National Division One campaign with a hard earned 17-6 win. 
Two years ago, almost to the day, Plymouth had done exactly the same to Leeds when they forced a draw on the final day of the season to ruin the promotion party however they were never able to show enough attacking ability to suggest they could do any more than just frustrate Carnegie in this encounter and prolong the inevitable. 
For the second successive week, Carnegie dominated possession in the first half but were left to rue missed opportunities as they allowed a side from lower down the division to grind them down.
Leeds looked like they would score after just ten minutes however with the forward pack rumbling forward referee David Rose pulled them back for a forward pass.
The visitors constantly caught the attention of full time official Rose which allowed Plymouth to clear their lines. The home side for their part were happy to clear the ball down field and try and force an error from Leeds.
Eventually they did attack with ball in hand and they were able to open the scoring after 27 minutes when Ross Laidlaw kicked a drop goal from 25 metres out.
That seemed to finally wake Leeds from their slumber and instead of forcing the pass, they showed patience to recycle the ball and eventually Fosi Pala'amo was driven over from a line out close in. Jason Strange added the conversion to make it 7-3 after 35 minutes.
However, Plymouth refused to lie down and managed to cut the lead to just a point at half time when they were awarded a penalty for offside right in front of the posts in the last minute. Laidlaw added the simple kick to make it 7-6 at the break.
Leeds came out fired up after the break but they still allowed Plymouth to draw them into a dog fight. However, the arrival of the experience of Jon Pendlebury and Vili Ma'asi ten minutes into the half seemed to settle things down and the latter crossed for his side's second try of the game after 52 minutes after close work by the forwards near the home line. Strange was off target with the touchline conversion so it remained 12-6.
With 19 minutes remaining, the Champions crossed for their third try. A good break by Rob Vickerman and Tom Biggs got Plymouth on the back foot before Leeds kept the ball alive and a clever grubber kick through from Scott Mathie was touched down by Vickerman. Strange was again unable to add the conversion by Carnegie had stretched their lead to 17-6.
Plymouth battled hard until the last minute as they looked to secure a losing bonus point to ensure their place in the new look Championship next season. However, Bedford's win over Esher meant that both sets of supporters had something to celebrate at the final whistle.
For Leeds though, the hard work starts now as they look ahead to their return to the Guinness Premiership in 2009-10.

Plymouth: Ireland, Gibson, Allan, Cruickshanks, Mensah-Coker, Laidlaw, Newman, Rice, Owen, Porte, Stewart, Brenton, Stephen, Sprangle, Marriott
Replacements: Nichollsfor Newman (59), Jarvis, Richie, Hopkins for Porte (49), Dawe for Owen (64), Thomas, Denbee for Sprangle (64)
Leeds Carnegie: Goodridge, Welding, Vickerman, H Paul, Biggs, Strange, Mathie, Pala'amo, Nilsen, McGee, Lund, Murphy, Clark, Fourie, D Paul
Replacements: MacDonald for McGee (61), Ma'asi for Nilsen (50), Pendlebury for Lund (50), Boyde for D Paul (61), Bedford for Mathie (61), Brooks for Strange (74), Armstrong for Welding (60)
Referee: David Rose
Attendance: 4,998