Bill Hooper’s Cornish Roundup

…that I wrote this week to the papers has certainly caused more than a few ripples in the normally calm waters of the CRFU. It is not easy to make someone stand in front of a mirror and to see themselves as others do. Being under the spotlight is not something that the CRFU are comfortable with,  the ball is very much in their court and we await to see if they are prepared to evolve!

It has certainly engaged a debate amongst the rugby public of Cornwall. The need for greater communication and transparency is urgently required, I very much hope that the CRFU will embrace this and move forward. Will they continue to play their old and well-drilled tight knit game or will they be emboldened to spread play for a faster more expansive style? 

To borrow a saying from this year’s Rugby World Cup hosts;

Messieurs…a vous de tirer en premier!   

CORNWALL 60 - 22 SURREY

Cornwall out-gun Surrey in a big win at Camborne to ensure their participation in the County Shield again next season.

….AND GET YOURSELVES DOWN TO CAMBORNE THIS SATURDAY TO SUPPORT THE BOYS AS CORNWALL SEEK TO STAY IN THE SHIELD NEXT SEASON.

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED AND CHEER THE TEAM HOME TO VICTORY.

UP CORNWALL, CHEER LIKE MAD FOR THE BOYS IN BLACK & GOLD. 

 
CORNISH FIGHTING SPIRIT EARNS AWAY DRAW

Oxfordshire 22 Cornwall 22

By NIGEL WALROND for the Western Morning News at Chinnor RFC

A SUPERB try-saving tackle by Mount’s Bay centre Pale Nonu in the dying moments of the game earned Cornwall a battling draw in their second County Shield group match at Oxfordshire.

Nonu was a late call-up into the squad, but he prevented what seemed a certain hat-trick try by Oxfordshire winger Eric Brown when he forced him into the corner flag – a tackle which unfortunately saw Brown stretchered off with an ankle injury.

However, Nonu’s magnificent last-ditch effort was befitting of a passionate and totally-committed display by the men in Black and Gold which seemed a country mile from the previous week’s dismal offering, when they were thrashed 60-14 by Somerset.

The odds appeared to be stacked even more heavily against Cornwall than at Bridgwater, with Oxfordshire boasting 14 National League players in their squad to the Duchy’s three – and they seemed set for another humiliating experience when they trailed 22-0 after only 27 minutes – but there were two major differences this time.

Oxfordshire had a fierce wind behind their backs in the first half, so Cornwall were always going to be up against it in the opening period, while secondly, 10 of those Oxfordshire players came from Chinnor, who have just been relegated from National Division Three South, where they will, ironically, be replaced by Mount’s Bay.

It was the first time Cornwall had avoided defeat in five county championship matches stretching over two seasons, but they still face a relegation decider against Surrey at Camborne on Saturday.

However, on the basis of this display, and the fact Surrey have suffered crushing defeats against Oxfordshire (43-14) and Somerset (53-14) so far, Cornwall should have a great chance of securing their Shield status.

Confident Cornwall coach Joff Rowe said: “Today is the first time in two years Cornwall haven’t lost and I take great pride in being part of that unit, but next week will be the first time that Cornwall win in two years.”

He added: “For me personally, the performance today is a huge victory in itself, but we are disappointed at the result.

“I don’t think we were much better than them, but our commitment was excellent and we showed great fight, and that is something we have instilled in the last eight to nine weeks.”

Rowe was particularly impressed with Nonu, and the back row of Ian Boase, Tom Rawlings and Louis Stevens.

“Hats off to Nonu, who came in to assist us when we were short of a player, while the back row was outstanding. The amount of work, effort and commitment they put in was a major contribution to our result.”

Roared on by another excellent turn-out from Trelawny’s Army - who got soaked as there is no cover from the elements at Chinnor - Cornwall made a good start but still conceded three tries in the opening half.

The first was perhaps a bit unfortunate, with the ball squirming out of the side of a scrum on the Oxfordshire 10-metre line and scrum-half Anthony Cope feeding Brown, who ran 50 metres to score, but the less said about the next two the better.

An overthrown line-out by hooker Darren Semmens close to his own line – a move that cost Cornwall two tries against Somerset - presented winger Brown with his second try; and then Brixham full-back Jake Lawrence’s wayward clearance kick gifted full-back Ben Hewitt a touchdown.

Reading fly-half James Cathcart kicked two conversions and a penalty, and Cornwall were staring down the barrel at 22-0 down.

Crucially, they got a try back three minutes before the break when a period of concerted pressure resulted in a 22-metre scrum, from which fly-half Lee Jarvis put Camborne winger Rob Ley over in the corner.

Three minutes into the second half, Cornwall scored again, when more time spent in Oxfordshire’s 22 created a score for Mount’s Bay winger Olly Faulkner, and when home hooker Henry Mace was sin-binned in the 47th minute, the Duchy capitalised soon after with a try by Cornish All Blacks centre Ryan Westren – his second in two games – after good work by Nonu.

Jarvis converted both, and kicked a penalty after replacement lock Harry Jackman had also been yellow-carded, and all of a sudden Cornwall were level at 22-22 with 14 minutes of normal time remaining, but then the wind dropped.

Both sides had their chances in the closing stages, with Jarvis attempting two long-range drop goals for Cornwall, but Oxfordshire came closest to scoring through Brown, until Nonu’s excellent intervention.

Oxfordshire: Tries, Brown (2), B Hewitt; cons, Cathcart (2); pen, Cathcart.

Oxfordshire: B Hewitt (Chinnor), J Carter (Chinnor), A Henley (Oxford Harlequins), J Hewitt (Chinnor), E Brown (Chinnor), J Cathcart (Reading), A Cope (Oxford Harl), R Fuller (Henley), H Mace (Clifton), J Iosefo (Chinnor), O Root (Clifton), C Burrows (Chinnor, capt), J De Bruin (Chinnor), M Young (Oxford Harl), G Hayter (Newbury).

Replacements: S Chadbone (Oxford Harl) for De Bruin 50-57 & for Iosefo 74, J Eckert (Oxford Harl) for J Hewitt 72, P Soper (Oxford Harl) for De Bruin 74, G Duder (Chinnor) for Cope 72, H Jackman (Chinnor) for Root 58, R Williams (Chinnor) for Henley 72, D Lynch-Smith (Chinnor) for Brown 79.

Cornwall: Tries, Ley, Faulkner, Westren; cons; Jarvis (2); pen, Jarvis.

Cornwall: J Lawrence (Brixham), R Ley (Camborne), R Westren (Cornish All Blacks), P Nonu (Mount’s Bay), O Faulkner (Mount’s Bay), L Jarvis (Mount’s Bay), B Wakfer (Camborne), A Flide (Mount’s Bay), D Semmens (Mount’s Bay), T Stevens (St Ives), B Hilton (Mount’s Bay, capt), J Wilce (Wadebridge), I Boase (St Ives), T Rawlings (Pertemps Bees), L Stevens (St Ives).

Replacements: S Peters (Redruth) for Lawrence 60, B Keary (Mount’s Bay) for Wakfer 75. Not used: D Clackworthy (Mount’s Bay), B Jenkin (Plymouth Albion), T Outram (Mount’s Bay), T Hurdwell (St. Ives), M Woolcock (Camborne).

Yellow cards: Oxfordshire: Mace 47, Jackman 66.

Referee: R Parker-Sedgemoor (RFU).

GROUP TABLE AS IT STANDS

Somerset    P2 W2 D0 L0 F113 A28 Pts 4

Oxfordshire P2 W1 D1 L0 F65  A36 Pts 3

Cornwall     P2 W0 D1 L1 F36  A82 Pts 1

Surrey        P2 W0 D0 L2 F28  A96 Pts 0

CORNISH REACTION By NIGEL WALROND

CORNWALL coach Joff Rowe was pleased with his players after they produced an excellent fightback from 22-0 down to draw 22-22 against Oxfordshire at Chinnor yesterday.

The point leaves Cornwall facing a County Shield relegation decider against bottom-of-the-table Surrey at Camborne on Saturday, but Rowe is looking forward to it.

‘Today is the first time in two years Cornwall haven’t lost and I take great pride in being part of that unit,’ said Rowe.

‘We could have done with the win today, which would have put us in a comfortable position, but let’s bring the Surrey game on.

‘We will take the same approach, I am sure it will be the same group of people, and we have got to show something more on our own turf.

‘We have learned from last week and this week, and next week we have got to be more the finished article in order to maintain our status in this competition.’

The Duchy produced a much improved display from their 60-14 thrashing at Somerset last weekend, and could have come away with a win against an Oxfordshire side fresh from a hefty home win over Surrey.

‘We started well in difficult conditions and against a very competent side, and our continuity and ball retention was great, but again we made mistakes and they capitalised on those and scored some good tries,’ said Rowe.

‘But I thought, when we scored the try just before half-time, we showed strength and power in our game not only to go up the middle, but to go wide.

‘Then we came out in the second half and scored, and then maintained possession, and at the very end we had opportunities to win.’

He added: ‘The players have come out today, and for me personally, the performance is a huge victory in itself, but we are disappointed at the result.

‘I don’t think we were much better than them, but our commitment was excellent and we showed great fight, and that is something we have instilled into the players in the last eight to nine weeks.’

There were plenty of fine performances all over the pitch for Cornwall, but Mount’s Bay centre Pale Nonu and the back row of Ian Boase, Tom Rawlings and Louis Stevens were particularly impressive.

Rowe said: ‘Hats off to Nonu, who came in to assist us when we were short of a player, while the back row was outstanding. The amount of work, effort and commitment they put in was a major contribution to our result today.’

Cornwall captain Ben Hilton was pleased with the result, but disappointed it was not a victory.

‘It was a better performance. It was a big step up for us, but the work is not done yet,’ he said.

OXFORDSHIRE 22 - 22 CORNWALL

Cornwall fight back from being 22-5 down at half-time to earn a draw at Chinnor. Cornwall’s tries were scored by Camborne’s Rob Ley, Mount’s Bay’s Ollie Faulkner and Cornish All Blacks’ Ryan Westren with Lee Jarvis kicking the points.

Cornwall entertain Surrey in their final match next Saturday at Camborne kick-off at 3pm.

CORNWALL go into tomorrow’s game at Chinnor against Oxfordshire knowing that only a win will suffice. County coach Joff Rowe has made some changes to last Saturday’s line up, which suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Somerset.

Jake Lawrence (Brixham) comes in for Ian Morgan at full back, whilst Redruth’s Simon Peters will partner Ryan Westren in the centre in place of Marc Sweeney. Up front Adam Flide comes in at loose-head, with Julian Wilce partnering skipper Ben Hilton in the second row, finally Tom Rawlings who has just been released by Pertemps Bees, and who could be on his way to the Cornish All Blacks next season, comes into the back row.

Cornwall: J Lawrence (Brixham); O Faulkner (Mounts Bay), S Peters (Redruth), R Westren (Cornish All Blacks), R Lea (Camborne); L Jarvis (Mounts Bay), B Wakfer (Camborne); A Flide, D Semmens (both Mounts Bay), T Stevens (St Ives); J Wilce (Wadebridge Camels), B Hilton (Mounts Bay, capt); L Stevens (St Ives), T Rawlings (Pertemps Bees), I Boase (St Ives).

REDRUTH COLTS played their National Colts Cup Final at Northampton Saints Franklin’s Gardens Ground on Bank Holiday Monday against the Colts from Bedford Blues. Despite a brave effort the Redruth youngsters were defeated by Bedford 30 - 5 in the final. Well done to the lads for carrying the Cornish flag to the final. 

SOMERSET 60 - 14 CORNWALL

ROWE TAKES RESPONSIBILITY AFTER DUCHY ARE OUTGUNNED
 

By NIGEL WALROND, for the Western Morning News at Bath Road, Bridgewater

IF Cornwall fans thought it was bad enough getting relegated from the top flight of county rugby last season, then matters got a whole lot worse on Saturday.

Joff Rowe and his team were hoping to win promotion from the County Shield at the first attempt and restore the Duchy to where their supporters believe they rightfully belong.

Instead, all Trelawny’s Army got for their journey to Bridgwater was humiliation as Cornwall crashed to possibly their biggest ever defeat.

On the basis of this performance, the Duchy seem more likely to suffer the ignominy of another relegation, than claim the promotion Somerset seem a good bet to land.

Many Cornwall supporters were very unhappy with what they saw at Bath Road, but while the margin of victory was unexpected, defeat was perhaps not, when you look at the two sides that took to the field.

Somerset were able to call on nine National League players, and had a further three on the bench, while Cornwall had only four in their whole squad of 22.

There were only three players from the county’s top three clubs – Cornish All Blacks (two players), Redruth (one) and Pirates (nil) – for whatever reason, and while Saturday was bitterly disappointing, one has to feel for Rowe, who can only work with what is available to him.

No matter how much the fans would love to bring back the good old days of Cornish county rugby, that seems a very long way off unless there is a dramatic change in the relationship between the clubs and the county.

After going through a pretty traumatic afternoon, Rowe said: “We weren’t good enough. They outgunned us in open play, in rucks and mauls and, in terms of physicality, we weren’t up to their level.

“I take full responsibility. Somerset were sharper, they were quicker in the back three, and they looked hungry. We have got no-one else to blame apart from ourselves.

“We need to have a bit of a wake-up call, but we will stick together and come back next week.”

He added: “I would love to be able to look at other opportunities within the county to see if I can bolster the side, but I don’t think that is an option for me.

“What Cornwall, the senior management and everyone else needs to realise is that Cornish rugby is great at the top, but it isn’t so great at the next level, and we are competing at the top when we are playing in the Shield.”

Despite Cornwall’s obvious shortcomings, Somerset were excellent after they survived an initial 10-minute onslaught from the visitors, which crucially failed to produce any points.

After that, the hosts took control, with their back row of former Pirates loan signing Chris Morgan, Weston’s Mike Denbee and Newbury’s Matt Styles outstanding, as was Clifton full-back Rob Voil, and it was pretty much one-way traffic.

Morgan scored the first try from a catch-and-drive penalty move, and three more followed before the interval.

Two stemmed from line-out throws by Cornwall hooker Darren Semmens deep inside Somerset territory that cleared his own jumpers, leading to moves which were both finished off by Voil, while another came from Duchy centre Ryan Westren’s under-hit chip over the defence falling gleefully into the hands of winger James Wheeler, who raced 50 metres to score.

Impressive fly-half Sam Osbourne, who finished with a 20-point haul, converted three to add to his early penalty, but Cornwall got their first points on the board in first-half injury time when a great surge to the line by scrum-half Brett Wakfer created the space for Westren to cross beside the posts and Jarvis – who had earlier missed two penalties – converted for a 29-7 interval deficit.

Any hopes of a Cornish comeback were killed off four minutes into the second half when Styles crossed for Somerset, with Osbourne converting, but Cornwall did keep the hosts out for the next 15 minutes, and even managed a try of their own when Rob Ley sent Jarvis in under the posts, with the conversion making it 36-14.

However, the less said about the final quarter, from a Cornwall point of view, the better, as tired legs and some lame tackling saw Somerset run in three tries in nine minutes through centre James Waterman and winger Paul Sprague (2), with Osbourne converting all of them and adding a penalty.

Next up for Cornwall? A trip to Chinnor on Saturday to face Oxfordshire, who walloped Surrey 43-14 in their opening game.
 
SOMERSET 60 PTS
 
Scorers: Tries: Morgan, Voil (2), Wheeler, Styles, Waterman, Sprague (2); Cons: Osbourne (7); Pens: Osbourne (2).
 
 
CORNWALL 14 PTS
 
Scorers: Tries: Westren, Jarvis; Cons: Jarvis 2.
 
Somerset: R Voil (Clifton), P Sprague (Weston-s-M), J Waterman (Minehead Babas), D Litt (Hornets), J Wheeler (Walcot), S Osbourne (Hornets), M Ranson (Bridgwater & A), A Raines (Clifton), G Cooper (Newbury), C Meddick (Dings), D Hodge (Bridgwater & A), O Hodge (Exeter), C Morgan (Newbury), M Denbee (Weston-s-M), M Styles (Newbury, capt).
Replacements: S Brown (Redruth) for Ranson 69 mins, C Derrick (Cinderford) for Raines 29, G Sparks (Weston-s-M) for Styles 64; S Pape (Cornish All Blacks) for D Hodge 62, A Russell (Weston-s-M) for O Hodge 62, J Saunders (Walcot) for Litt ht, J Gatford (Taunton) for Cooper 72.

Scorers: Tries: Morgan, Voil (2), Wheeler, Styles, Waterman, Sprague (2); Cons: Osbourne (7); Pens: Osbourne (2).

Cornwall: I Morgan (Penryn), R Ley (Camborne), M Sweeney, R Westren (both Cornish All Blacks), O Faulkner, L Jarvis (both Mount’s Bay), B Wakfer (Camborne), T Stevens (St Ives), D Semmens, D Clackworthy (both Mount’s Bay), A Harris (Newbury), B Hilton (Mount’s Bay, capt), L Stevens, I Boase (both St Ives), T Outram (Mount’s Bay).
Replacements: A Flide (Mount’s Bay) for Clackworthy 56, T Hurdwell (St Ives) for Semmens 64, J Wilce (Wadebridge) for Harris 62, G Corin (St Ives) for Hilton 64, M Woolcock (Camborne) for Outram 72, B Keary (Mount’s Bay) for Wakfer 62, S Peters (Redruth) for Faulkner 56.

Scorers: Tries: Westren, Jarvis; Cons: Jarvis 2.

Referee: Nigel Higginson (RFU).

Saturday sees the start of this season’s County Championship and County Shield competitions, last Saturday the County Plate (the third tier got underway). For the first time in many a long season Cornwall will not be competing in the main tournament now named after the former England captain Bill Beaumont, a Lancastrian.

It has been said that this is the first time that Cornwall have not played at the highest level of the County Championship, this is not true. When the competition was re-vamped in 1982/83, Cornwall were placed in League 2 along with Devon, although they were both in different groups. It was only the two groups in League 1 which actually contested the title. Cornwall found themselves in a tough group with Northumberland, Durham and Kent. Northumberland were defeated at Redruth 13-6, but the long trip to Durham was to no avail as Cornwall lost 28-15 at West Hatlepool, a win against Kent at Camborne 16-3 saw Cornwall finish second in their group condemned to play the winners of the other League 2 group away, Devon at Torquay, Cornwall lost that match 18-3, to stay in League 2, it was the same the following season when they again were runners-up in their group only to lose another play-off this time at Nottingham to Notts Lincs and Derbys 18-13. The following season worse was to follow having lost their opening two matches to Cumbria 17-4 and then Durham at Camborne 16-3, Cornwall managed to win their third game at Redruth against Cheshire 9-6. Cornwall now faced a play-off to avoid the drop into League 3 again against Devon again the venue was Torquay and once again Cornwall lost this time 7-3. Cornwall’s blushes were saved as the RFU decided to re-vamp the Championship once again with the Cornwall rejoining old foes Devon Gloucestershire and Somerset in SW Division 1. It was the start of a golden era  for Cornwall.

Enough of yesteryear, what of today, the task is simple promotion back to the main competition is what Cornwall want and that starts this Saturday at Bridgewater against old rivals Somerset. It is strange that the two counties have not met in the Championship since 1995 when Somerset won 42-22, let’s all hope that this time around the score is in Cornwall’s favour. Cornwall have to travel again next Saturday to play Oxfordshire at Chinnor RFC, before playing Surrey at Camborne.

The best of luck to the boys, Kernow bys Vyken.

Cornwall side to play Somerset

1.Tony Stevens (St. Ives), 2. Darren Semmens (Mounts Bay), 3. Danny Clackworthy (Mounts Bay), 4. Adam Harris (Newbury), 5. Ben Hilton (Captain, Mounts Bay), 6. Louis Stevens (St. Ives), 7. Ian Boase (St. Ives), 8. Tom Outram (Mounts Bay), 9. Brett Wakfer (Camborne), 10. Lee Jarvis (Mounts Bay), 11. Olly Faulkner (Mounts Bay), 12. Ryan Westren (Cornish All Blacks), 13. Marc Sweeney (Cornish All Blacks), 14. Rob Lea (Camborne), 15. Ian Morgan (Penryn)

Replacements:
16. Simon Peters (Redruth), 17. Blaine Kearey (Mounts Bay), 18. Adam Flide (Mounts Bay), 19. Julian Wilce (Wadebridge Camels), 20. Graham Corin (St. Ives), 21. Tom Hurdwell (St. Ives).