St Austell RFC

St Austell RFC
Full name St Austell Rugby Football Club
Union Cornwall RFU
Nickname(s) The Saints
Founded 1963 (1963)
Location St Austell, Cornwall, England
Ground(s) Tregorrick Park (Capacity: 4,000 (300 seats))
Chairman Paul Hayes
President Roger French
Coach(es) Andy Ashwin
League(s) Tribute Western Counties West
2015-16 11th
Team kit
Official website
www.pitchero.com/clubs/staustell

St Austell RFC is a Cornish rugby union club that is based in the town of St Austell and was founded in 1963.[1] The club run three senior men's teams as well as ladies side, a colts and multiple junior/mini sides. The club's kit is red and white hoops and the first team currently play in Tribute Western Counties West with home games at Tregorrick Park.[2]

Tregorrick Park, home of St Austell RFC

History

Early history

St Austell RFC was formed on 31 July 1963 by Wilf Vernalls and Des Robbins, with home games being played at Cyprus Avenue in Par Moor. Interestingly there had been a previous rugby club in St Austell called the Hornets who had formed in 1933, but during the 1954-55 season this club relocated to Newquay, becoming known as the Newquay Hornets. The club moved to Circus Field at Cromwell Road in 1967 but would have to wait until the mid 1970s until it emerged as a player on the Cornish senior circuit, defeating established clubs Truro and St Ives in 1976. Several years in 1978 the club reached the final of the Cornwall Cup for the first time, losing 7-6 to Camborne at the Recreation Ground in Redruth.[1] In 1986, St Austell sold their Circus Field ground to Asda spending several seasons without a ground until they moved into their current ground, Tregorrick Park, in 1988.[3]

League rugby

With the creation of the Courage national leagues in 1987, St Austell were placed in Courage Cornwall/Devon (division 8 of the league system). They had a poor debut season in the new league, finishing second bottom in 10th place and were relegated to Courage Cornwall League 1.[4] In 1991 St Austell reached the final of the Cornwall Clubs Cup (the secondary cup in Cornwall at the time) but ended up as losing finalists after a 13-0 defeat to Helston.[5] After 7 seasons in Cornwall League 1 the club finally achieved promotion in 1995 as they claimed their first ever league title and booked a return to Cornwall/Devon.[6] Several years later a second league title and promotion was achieved as St Austell won Western Counties West to reach the dizzy heights of South West 2 West - which at tier 5 is the highest level the club has reached to date.[7]

The 2000-01 season ended up in disappointment for St Austell, as although they were competitive in the division, they were unable to stay up, going down in 10th place just two points behind relegation rivals Ivybridge.[8] This relegation would see the club fall through the league system as they suffered two more relegations, first from Western Counties West and then from Cornwall/Devon.[9][10] St Austell stabilized itself during the 2004-05 season when it bounced back with a league and cup double - winning promotion from Cornwall League 1 as champions and then winning the Cornwall Clubs Cup for the first time in the club's history, defeating Perranporth 11-9 at the final held at St. Clement's Hill in Truro.[11][12] Several seasons in Cornwall/Devon ended in relegation in 2007 as the club finished in 10th place after a tough relegation battle, just 2 points off safety.[13] St Austell then had a period of resurgence as it was promoted from Cornwall League 1 after finishing runners up in 2009.[14] Two years later another second-place finish, this time in Cornwall/Devon, saw the club promoted to Western Counties West.[15] In 2012 St Austell reached the final of the Cornwall Cup for the first time in 34 years losing 20-17 to Wadebridge Camels at the Memorial Ground, Penryn.[16]

The 2012-13 season was the most successful season in St Austells history to date. Firstly the club had an excellent run in the RFU Intermediate Cup (a competition for sides based at level 7 of the league system), beating Wimborne at home 14-8 in February to win the South-West section, making the national semi-finals.[17] A 31-19 defeat away to Brighton at the beginning of April ended the club's chance of making the final at Twickenham Stadium but they had some compensation as the claimed the Tribute Western Counties West league title with a 38-5 win over Exeter Saracens in front of a club record attendance of 800 at Tregorrick Park.[18][19] In 2014 St Austell reached the final of the Cornwall Cup held at the Recreation Ground in Redruth in what was a repeat of the final of 1978, with Camborne once again victorious in a 24-10 win.[20] The following season St Austell were relegated from Tribute South West 1 West as well as experiencing another disappointment in a Cornwall Cup final, losing to nemesis Camborne, 23-13 after extra time at St Clements Hill, Truro.[21][22]

On 17 April 2017, St Austell won the Cornwall Cup for the first time in the club's history, in what was their fifth attempt, defeating fellow league side Wadebridge Camels 33-22 at the final held at the Recreation Ground in Redruth in front of a crowd of 850.[23][24]

Honours

Notable former players

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "St Austell RFC - The Early Years". St Austell RFC. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. ↑ "St Austell RFC". St Austell RFC. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "St Austell RFC - The Nomadic Years". St Austell RFC. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Stephen Jones, ed. (1988). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1988–89. London: Rothmans Publications Ltd.
  5. ↑ Cornwall Rugby Football Union Official Handbook and Byelaws 1996–97. Cornwall RFU. 1996.
  6. ↑ Cleary, Mick; Griffiths, John, eds. (1995). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1995–96 (24th ed.). London: Headline Book Publishing. pp. 179–195. ISBN 0 7472 7816 4.
  7. ↑ "Final League Tables 1997–98". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "South West 2 West 2000–2001". England Rugby. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "Final League Tables, 2001–2002". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "Final League Tables 2002–2003". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  11. ↑ "Final League Tables, 2004–2005". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  12. ↑ "The Senior Leagues 2004-05". Trelawny's Army. 23 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "Final League Tables 2006–2007". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  14. ↑ "Final League Tables, 2008–2009". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  15. ↑ "Final League Tables 2010–2011". Trelawny's Army. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
  16. ↑ "Camels hang on to deny Saints in cup final thriller". West Briton. 7 April 2012.
  17. ↑ "Hat trick of Cup Wins!". St Austell RFC (Pitchero). 23 February 2013.
  18. ↑ "BRIGHTON GIVE SAINTS THE BLUES". Trelawny's Army. 3 April 2013.
  19. ↑ "St Austell v Exeter Saracens rugby match report". Cornish Guardian. 17 April 2013.
  20. ↑ "Camborne claim Cornwall Cup against St Austell in battle of the elements". Western Morning News. 5 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Tribute South West 1 West 2014–2015". England Rugby. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  22. ↑ "Camborne complete Cornwall cup hat-trick with extra time win over St Austell". Western Morning News. 4 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "Super Saints give Camels the hump". St Austell Voice. 19 April 2017.
  24. ↑ "Saints march to historic cup win". Trelawny's Army. 18 April 2017.
  25. ↑ "Scrum-half Matt Shepherd makes the switch to Plymouth Albion". Plymouth Albion R.F.C. 26 June 2015.
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