But Albion forced a dramatic finale and only a resolute late defensive show from Warriors secured victory in a red-hot pre-season encounter.

Warriors took control of the encounter in the first half despite falling behind early on to a penalty from Plymouth fly-half Ross Laidlaw.

Wing Garvey, fresh from his heroics at the Middlesex Sevens, could have opened the Warriors account when he raced over after ten minutes only to be adjudged not to have grounded the ball after a desperate Albion tackle.

Lock Phil Murphy also looked set to cross but he was pulled back for a forward pass as Warriors looked to make early domination count.

Eventually the visitors turned ball retention into points and it was centre Trueman who grabbed the first official try of the Ruddock era on 18 minutes.

Midfield partner Dale Rasmussen created the space with a break and intelligently fed Trueman who raced over with fly half Shane Drahm adding the extras for a 7-3 lead.

Albion again hit back with a penalty from Laidlaw but it was Warriors who looked the more complete outfit and who again struck nine minutes before the break.

Drahm made a mini-break with a curling run in midfield and timed his floated pass out to Garvey to perfection to allow the speedster to scorch in the corner.

The home side attempted to build up a head of steam but with Warriors dominating the set piece they struggled for any ball to make attacks.

Craig Gillies was as dominant as ever in the lineout and the pack turned in an impressive show against a set of Plymouth forwards feared in National Division One.

Warriors always looked capable of scoring more tries and kept the ball alive with offloads in the tackle and quick tap penalties taken all over the field.

But the visitors found it increasingly frustrating to break down a hard-working Plymouth side on a narrow and tight pitch that negated any wide play.

Warriors enjoyed a 12-6 half-time lead and made only one change at the break with Ryan Powell replacing Matt Powell at scrum half.

And it was the same story as the visitors dominated both possession and territory for long periods at the start of the second half before finally making pressure count on the hour.

The forwards set up the score by turning over the ball close to the Plymouth line. Skipper Pat Sanderson the showed nice skills to fake to run and then grubber kick the ball over the line allowing Trueman to flop over for his second of the afternoon. Drahm added the conversion for a commanding 19-6 lead.

Albion took almost over 20 minutes to break into Warriors territory in the second period but as the visitoes rung the changes with eight new faces the home side struck a blow.

Plymouth, for once, opted to run the ball from deep and after quick hands the ball found elusive French winger Nic Sesteret who raced in under the posts. Laidlaw converted to reduce the deficit to 19-13.

It should have been no more than a consolation score but the home side were inspired by the try and produced a grandstand finale that had fans on the edge of their seats.

Late pressure saw Plymouth camped on the Worcesetr try line during 10 minutes of injury time played by referee David Rose. Only some brave late defending, summed up by one huge hit by Delport, kept the hosts at bay.

Despite the avalanche of pressure, Warriors were not to be denied and the forwards kept the door slammed shut before the final whistle sounded to mark a memorable opening win for Ruddock.

Warriors: 01 Tony Windo (Darren Morris 53); 02 Chris Fortey (Ben Gotting 53 (Matt Mullan 75); 03 Tevita Taumoepeau (Callum Black 69); 04 Craig Gillies (Will Bowley 60); 05 Phil Murphy; 06 Gavin Quinnell (James Collins 60); 07 Pat Sanderson (Craig Everett 60); 08 Tom Wood; 09 Matt Powell (Ryan Powell 40 (Nick Runciman 75); 10 Shane Drahm (Joe Carlisle 60); 11 Marcel Garvey (Uche Oduza 60); 12 Gary Trueman (Dom Feaunati 60); 13 Dale Rasmussen (Mark Tucker 60); 14 Thinus Deport; 15 Chris Pennell (Miles Benjamin 60)