Rugby league in Cornwall
Competitive Rugby League was established in Cornwall in 2010 by Joe Catcheside, a man working on behalf of the Rugby Football League, who organised and established an annual fixture between the County's of Devon and Cornwall. Until this time all rugby league played in the county had been exhibitional matches and featured teams from outside the County. The first match between Devon and Cornwall was played in August 2010. The match is now played annually and is regularly billed as the "County Clash" or the "County of Origin" game and the teams play for the Martin Roddy MBE Trophy.
The Cornwall Rugby League Association currently has only one member; Cornish Rebels RLFC who were established in 2013 play in the South West Premier division.
History
The first rugby league matches to take place in Cornwall were a series of exhibition matches between Hull and Hull Kingston Rovers which took place on three consecutive evenings in June 1962. The first match was at the Mennaye Field (a rugby union ground); the home of Penzance–Newlyn RFC and the former club of Hull Kingston Rovers player Graham Paul. Two more matches took place at Camborne and Falmouth.[1] There was an earlier attempt to introduce rugby league via a Western League in 1912[2]
| Date | Won | Score | Lost | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 June 1962 | Hull | 57–26 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Mennaye Ground, Penzance | 2000 |
| 5 June 1962 | Hull | 38−26 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Recreation Ground, Camborne | 1500 |
| 6 June 1962 | Recreation Ground, Falmouth |
The next matches to be played in Cornwall were in 1985 when Mansfield Marksman beat Carlisle in a challenge match at Penlee Park, Penzance and two Doncaster teams played each other at Looe in a second challenge match. The formation of the South West League in 1984−85 saw two amateur teams from Cheltenham and Bristol play at Ludgvan.[2]
Martin Roddy MBE Trophy
On 16 September 2010 the first team to represent Cornwall County took to the field to play Devon at the Rectory Ground, Devonport. [3] In 2012 the match was renamed from the Tamar Cup to the Martin Roddy MBE Trophy.[4]
| Date | Won | Score | Lost | Venue | Attendance | Match report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 September 2010 | Devon | 44–20 | Cornwall | Rectory Ground, Devonport | ||
| 24 August 2011 | Devon | 54–12 | Cornwall | Mennaye Field, Penzance[5] | [6] | |
| 29 August 2012 | Cornwall | 32-24 | Devon | Bitton Park, Teignmouth | ||
| 21 August 2013 | Recreation Park, Redruth |
- The 2011 match was sponsored by Leeds Rhinos as part of their commitment to develop the game in the south-west.
Cornish Rebels
In March 2013 the first ever rugby league club was established in Cornwall. Cornish Rebels RLFC currently play in the South West Rugby League against Devon Sharks, Exeter Centurions, North Devon Raiders, Plymouth Titans and Somerset Vikings A. Their home matches are played at The Recreation Ground, home of rugby union club Redruth RFC.
References
- ↑ The Cornishman 7 June 1962
- 1 2 Rugby League. Cornwall Super League. Cornishman 11 August 2011.
- ↑ Cornwall lose inaugural inter-county clash. West Briton. 23 September 2010
- ↑ Walrond, Nigel (26 August 2012). "Rugby Briefs". Independent (Plymouth). p. 48.
- ↑ Straughan, D (8 September 2011). "Cornwall Suffer Another Tamar Cup Loss". Cornishman.
- ↑ Straughan, Dick. "Cornwall suffer another Tamar Cup loss". Retrieved 22 September 2011.
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