Cornish rugby

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Flag of Cornwall
Flag of Cornwall

The Cornish Rugby Football Union (CRFU) was formed in 1883. It is a union of 39 rugby clubs which includes every Cornish rugby union club, the open age Cornwall representative side and representative at various age groups.

Contents

[edit] History

The CRFU are members of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the governing body for rugby union in England. Their rugby jerseys with gold and black hoops were introduced in 1885 and the strip is currently sponsored by Trago Mills. The patron of the Cornwall RFU is H.R.H. The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, K.G., K.T.

Cornish Rugby has had the honour to have played host to many international touring rugby teams over the years including New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand Maori, France, Romania, the USA, Canada, Japan and the Soviet Union.

One of the most important times of the year in a Cornish rugby fan's calendar is the County Championship. Cornwall won the championship for the first time in 1908, when they played in front of 17,000 fans at Redruth. The game was against Durham, also known for its mining, this time coal not tin. Cornwall won the game 17-3, scoring 5 tries. The added incentive for the winner was the chance to represent Great Britain at the 1908 Summer Olympics.

Two other countries entered the 1908 Summer Olympics, France and Australia. France withdrew before the tournament which left Great Britain (Cornwall) playing Australia. The final score was 32-3 to Australia with Bert Solomon managing to score a try for Great Britain. (see Rugby union at the 1908 Summer Olympics for the teams.)

Cornwall reached the Championship final again in 1909, 1928, 1958, 1969 and 1989 but had to wait until 1991 before re-claiming the trophy. In a final that most Cornish fans will remember forever, Cornwall played Yorkshire at Twickenham in front of 54,000 fans, the majority of which were supporting Cornwall. In a game that had everything, from a Cornish point of view, all seemed lost when after 54 minutes, Cornwall found themselves trailing at 16-3 down, having been tricked when Yorkshire ran a penalty that the Cornish believed they had indicated to kick. That one moment changed the course of the game and Cornwall fought back to draw level at 16-16 after 80 minutes. They even missed the conversion that would have given them victory in normal time. The game then went into extra time when Cornwall managed to continue their scoring.

The final score was 29-20 to Cornwall which sent the Cornish fans into a state of total elation. The Cornish tries were not pretty but no one cared. Richard Nanckivell's two tries were the inspiration that they could win and Tommy Bassett and Billy Peters put the icing on the cake in extra-time. Cornwall's first title since 1908.

Cornwall managed to reach the final again in both 1992 and 1998, unfortunately losing both and it was not until 1999 when they met Gloucester in the final that Cornwall managed to win the Championship again.

Cornwall play most of their home games at Redruth, but Camborne's ground is sometimes used and also Penzance & Newlyn and Launceston's.

The premier club side in Cornwall are the Cornish Pirates (recently renamed from Penzance & Newlyn RFC) who play in National Division One. They are hoping to increase their fanbase by appealing to the large Cornish nationalist sentiment to help them gain promotion to the Guinness Premiership. Launceston RFC ("The Cornish All Blacks") and Redruth RFC ("The Reds") play in National Division Two and also get good support. The other major Cornish club sides who play in the South West 1 and 2 leagues are Camborne, Mount's Bay, Penryn, St. Ives and Truro.

[edit] Motto

FETHY PO FYLIEL AN GWARRY HA TRA NAHEN ! (Cornish for "Win or Lose, The Game and Nothing Else" !)

[edit] Cornish International friendlies

  • New Zealand 1905, 1924
  • Australia 1908 (twice) - GB Olympic Silver medal
  • South Africa 1906,1912
  • Maoris 1926
  • Selection Francais 1969
  • France "B" 1970
  • Comite-de-Lyonaise 1971,1972
  • Romania 1972
  • USA 1977 (Cornwall won 12-11 )
  • Canada 1979
  • South African Barbarians 1979,1993
  • Japan 1986
  • NZ Barbarians 1987
  • Soviet Union (12 - 12) 1989
  • Canterbury (NZ) 1994

(Cornwall players have also represented Cornwall & Devon and South-West Division teams)

[edit] Championship finals

  • 1908 Cornwall 17 Durham 3 (at Redruth RFC)
  • 1909 Durham 12 Cornwall 0 (at West Hartlepool RFC)
  • 1928 Yorkshire 12 Cornwall 8. (at Bradford RFC)
  • 1958 Warwickshire 16 Cornwall 8 (at Coventry RFC)
  • 1969 Cornwall 9 Lancashire 11 (at Redruth RFC)
  • 1989 Cornwall 9 Durham 13 (at Twickenham)
  • 1991 Cornwall 29 Yorkshire 20 after extra time (at Twickenham)
  • 1992 Cornwall 6 Lancashire 9. (at Twickenham)
  • 1998 Cornwall 14 Cheshire 21 (at Twickenham)
  • 1999 Cornwall 25 Gloucestershire 15 (at Twickenham)

[edit] Players with 50+ Caps for Cornwall

  • 102 A. Cook
  • 88 C.R. Johns
  • 86 P.J. Hendy
  • 83 C.B.Stevens
  • 70 R. Jackett
  • 69 D. Weeks
  • 68 J. May
  • 67 R.G. Corin
  • 65 J. Atkinson
  • 64 G. Bate
  • 62 R.F.S. Harris
  • 61 R. Jennings
  • 60 H. Stevens
  • 60 P.J.B. Mitchell
  • 56 R. Keast
  • 56 A. Bick
  • 55 T.A.Pryor
  • 54 T. Bidgood
  • 54 R.W. Hosen
  • 54 G. Williams
  • 53 C.J. Durant
  • 53 P.J. Winnan
  • 52 T. Palmer
  • 52 N.Tregurtha
  • 52 K.C. Plummer
  • 51 A.L. Semmens
  • 51 G. Champion
  • 50 E.J. Jackett
  • 50 A. Williams
  • 50 B.J. Trevaskis
  • 50 K. Thomas

[edit] Cornish players to have toured with the British and Irish Lions

  • E.J. Jackett (Australia and New Zealand 1908)
  • J. Davey (Australia and New Zealand 1908)
  • F.S. Jackson (Australia and New Zealand 1908)
  • B.B. Bennetts (Argentina 1910/11)
  • R. Jennings (Australia and New Zealand 1930)
  • V.G. Roberts (Australia and New Zealand 1950)
  • M.C. Thomas (Australia and New Zealand 1950 & 1959)
  • R.A.W.Sharp (South Africa 1962)
  • C.B.Stevens (Australia and New Zealand 1971)
  • A. Reed (New Zealand 1993)
  • P. Vickery (Australia 2001)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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