A summary of the 2007-2008 league season
This page summarizes all the league games involving Cornish clubs in National League 1, National League 2, National League 3 South, SW1, and SW2 (W) that took place in the 2007 - 2008 season.
A tough introduction it may have been for the Cornish All Blacks, but the National One new boys will have learnt plenty from their first official examination of the new rugby term. With local rivals the Cornish Pirates providing a taxing opening to the Launceston club's first taste of life in English rugby's second tier, the initial signs appear promising, this despite Saturday's 26-12 reverse.
At half-time -- and with the Pirates seemingly cruising at 19-0 up -- the initial diagnosis could well have been deemed more problematic. However, the encouraging showing from the home side in the second period not only ensured this opening day encounter ended a much closer affair than first thought, but it also served to show the All Blacks are not merely in the division to make up the numbers.
When reviewing the match footage this week, the positives will certainly outweigh the negatives for home coaches Chris Brown and Jon Hill. However, it's likely the duo will use training this week to remind their team that a game of rugby lasts 80 minutes, not just 40. Had the All Blacks displayed the same cut and thrust in the opening half as they showed after the interval, a bonus of some sort could certainly have been achieved.
Likewise, the Pirates will have plenty to ponder following this first excursion. With their imperious pack ruling the roost in the opening half -- and summer signing Gareth Steenson punishing any home indiscretion with his right boot, the visitors failed to show the same ruthless streak after the break. Sure, the upturn in the All Blacks' fortunes played some part in the second half switch, but a noticeable failure to convert some clear-cut openings was also highlighted by head coach Jim McKay in the immediate aftermath of the game.
For the first 40 minutes, however, McKay could have few complaints about the way his side, which included eight players making their league debuts for the club, went about their work. Having seen home fly-half Stuart Alred fail with a second-minute penalty chance, the Pirates opened their scoring account two minutes later with a try from newcomer Brian Tuohy. The Irishman was on hand to glide down the right flank after skipper Tim Cowley had collected a high, hanging kick from Andy Birkett before feeding full-back Adryan Winnan. With the ball in hand, Winnan made some useful yardage into enemy territory before shipping the ball to Tuohy who did the rest. Steenson, who like Tuohy made the summer switch from Rotherham to Cornwall, banged over the difficult touchline conversion, before punishing the home side with a sweetly-struck penalty on 17 minutes after Alred had been penalised for a late hit in midfield.
The simple difference between the two sides could be summed up in the roles played by the opposing number tens. Steenson was given an armchair ride as the visiting pack laid on clean and quick ball. Alred, on the other hand, looked nervy and was forced to live off scraps as the powerful play of Cowley, Bruce Cumming and Iva Motusaga in particular, caused no end of trouble to the home side. The pressure being created by the Pirates pack was forcing desperate measures within the home camp.
As the heat up front intensified, so came further chances for Steenson to punish the All Blacks. The Irish Under-21 international fired over three successive penalties to put the Pirates firmly in command at 19-0 at half-time. The somewhat shell-shocked All Blacks departed for the changing rooms knowing they needed to address a number of issues.
Whatever was said and what changes were made during the break, they clearly worked. The All Blacks re-emerged full of vigour and determined to make their mark. Taking control of the early exchanges, the home side capped a fine spell of pressure when, following a line-out on the left -- taken by Josh Lord, one of five former Pirates in the home ranks -- the All Blacks' pack combined to drive No.8 Dave Kimberley over for their opening score, which Alred converted.
With home spirits clearly lifted, the All Blacks continued their push forward. Alred failed with another long-distance penalty, before winger Matt Jess dazzled his former employers when he chipped over Nick Buckley and Winnan to collect the loose ball and dot down in the right corner to make it 19-12.
With just a converted score between the two, the Pirates quickly re-established their grip on proceedings on 69 minutes, when more strong running from the impressive Motusaga carved the opening for Cowley to cross under the posts, Steenson obliging with the extras. It sealed the win for the Pirates, but even then both sides had further chances; sadly they were not taken.
Cornish All Blacks 12 pts: Tries Kimberley, Jess; Conversion Alred
Cornish Pirates 26 pts: Tries Tuhoy, Cowley; Conversions- Steenson (2); Penalties- Steenson (4)
Launceston: A. Birkett, M. Jess, M. Sweeney (R. Westren 61), S Perry, J. Fabian (M. Dibble 70), S. Alred, S. Alford (B. Turner 70); J. Bolt (R. Liddington 51), O. Hambly, K. Brooking (capt, W. Reed 51), S. Pape, T. Parker (B. Jenkin 15-25, 80), J. Lord, T. Roques (T. Rawlings 70), D. Kimberley.
Cornish Pirates: A. Winnan, R. McAtee (A. Koko 61), P. Devlin, S.
Whatling (N. Buckley 61), B. Tuhoy, G. Steenson, R. Bolt (J. Moore 79); P.
Cook, R. Elloway, D. Seal (S. Heard 72), J. Beardshaw (S. Hobson 80), B.
Cumming, C. Cracknell, I. Motusaga, T. Cowley (capt, S. Betty 79)
Replacement (not used) D. Dawiduik
Referee Mr. L. Apgeriant-Roberts (RFU)
Cornish Pirates' coach Jim McKay will be looking for his side to re-discover their attacking edge ahead of this Sunday's home showdown with Northampton Saints. Despite seeing his side kick-off their National One campaign with a 26-12 derby win over the Cornish All Blacks on Saturday, McKay was somewhat disappointed that his side did not come away with a five-point haul.
Having led 19-0 at the break, the Pirates were unable to display the same kind of attacking threat in the second period.
"We'll take the win, but there is lots for us to work on," said the Australian. "Full credit to Launceston for the way they played, it was a great occasion for Cornish rugby, but we're disappointed with certain aspects of our play.
"We have four points, which is good, but we do feel we've perhaps dropped a point as well. Some of our lead up play was very good, but we didn't finish it off and that's something we will need to do, especially in tight games.
"We created lots of chances but probably blew away four or five really good scoring opportunities. They'll probably say they had chances as well, especially in the second half, but had we taken our chances it could have been a lot easier for us."
Although disappointed to start with a defeat, joint All Blacks' coach, Jon Hill, insisted there were plenty of positives to take from the game. He said: "Obviously we're gutted to have lost the game. We're disappointed because we felt we only played to our potential for 40 minutes. That said, we have shown that if we can play like we did in the second half for a full 80 minutes, we can more than hold our own in this division.
"The first half was tough for everyone. Gareth Steenson's boot was just awesome for them and he continually put us on the back foot. After the break I felt we were very effective and caused them quite a few problems. Perhaps our efforts deserved a bonus point of some kind, but overall we can take plenty from the game."
As Harlequins and Leeds Tykes have shown in recent years, it's not just home comforts which guarantee you a swift return to the Guinness Premiership, it's on the road where the hard work is really done.
Having started with a regulation opening day win over visiting London Welsh, Northampton did not have to wait long for their first acid test of life on the road in the ever-improving world of National League One.
Not only did the fixture compilers ensure the star-studded Saints had to face their longest trek of the season in their first away-day adventure, but it would be against a Cornish Pirates side who have lost just once in the league at their Camborne base.
Waiting for them in the rugby-loving Duchy yesterday were not only a pumped up Pirates outfit, but also a vociferous home faithful who dared to dream that their heroes could inflict an early season blow on the former top-flight club.
For an hour that dream was almost reality as the Cornishmen produced a display of true grit and determination - and one which will have made the hearty band of visiting Saints supporters sit up and take note.
In the end, however, elementary errors from the Pirates at crucial times, coupled with some exquisite moments of class from the visitors, ensured it was the Saints who headed back up the A30 with a vital 35-26 win under their belts.
It was certainly tough on Jim McKay's Pirates, who were denied a bonus point of their own when visiting fly-half Barry Everitt struck a decisive injury time penalty to rub salt into the already exposed home wounds.
The sense of disappointment within the home camp at the final whistle was clear to see, particularly as the Pirates had given so much in a pulsating encounter.
Skipper Tim Cowley summed up his side's frustration at the final whistle. He said: "It was pretty much there for us today and we're very disappointed not to have got anything from the game. They are a top team, but we really pushed them hard today and that's the most frustrating thing. I don't think they really won it, we lost it."
With the Pirates having established a superb 19-10 lead at the interval, Northampton upped the ante after the break and stung their hosts with a powerful second half display.
"At half-time we specifically talked about not letting them in early, but that's exactly what we did," added Cowley. "We got excited, it seems, they broke our line and after that we were playing catch-up."
In a rousing first half display, the Pirates took just five minutes to make their mark when fly-half Gareth Steenson netted the first of his 16-point haul.
The Saints - who included former All Blacks Bruce Reihana and Carlos Spencer in their line-up - responded immediately and hit back with the opening try of the game on ten minutes when hooker Dave Ward barged his way under the posts for Everitt to convert.
Everitt extended the visitors' lead moments later with a penalty, only for McKay's men to come roaring back with a succession of scoring chances.
Two more Steenson penalties cut the deficit to just a point, before the Rec exploded into life when the home side claimed their opening try of the game on 36 minutes.
Great turnover work by the home pack saw Richard Bolt feed Adryan Winnan on the blindside flank. With ball in hand, Winnan advanced before chipping the ball over the Saints defence. As Winnan hunted down his punt, he was impeded at least three times by winger Paul Diggin, before the ball fell invitingly for hooker Rob Elloway to dot down in the left-hand corner.
Steenson fired over the conversion and another penalty in first half injury time to leave the Pirates firmly in control at the turn.
On their re-emergence, however, it was the Saints who quickly stole a march on their rivals as a converted Everitt try on 42 minutes brought the score to 19-17.
What followed shortly afterwards was to prove pivotal. Strong forward pressure put the Pirates back into the Northampton 22 and following six minutes of pressure on the visiting line, the Pirates still had not added to their tally.
Kicks at goal were declined as the home side instead pushed for a second try. The move, however, backfired as Northampton turned the Cornish club over and swept down field to allow Diggin to add a third try.
Everitt converted that score via the upright, before on-loan winger Tim Visser finished off a pass from Spencer to claim a fourth score on 67 minutes.
As home hopes faded, Everitt administered another telling blow to make it 32-19, before the Pirates re-ignited their fire with a second converted try two minutes from time from James Moore.
With at least a bonus of some sort seemingly in the bag, the Pirates could feel some sort of reward for their hard graft. Sadly, the Saints had other ideas and in one final foray forward, Everitt punished some over exuberant defending with his last-gasp penalty.
Furious Cornish Pirates' coach Jim McKay pulled few punches as he let rip into his side following their last-gasp 17-16 victory away to Coventry.
A converted Chris Cracknell try five minutes into added-on time spared the Pirates from a second successive National League One defeat -- and condemned their hosts to a third successive loss of their own.
In truth, it was rough justice on the Midlanders, who not only led for large parts of the game, but offered significantly more in most departments than that of the below-par Pirates.
Sport, however, can be cruel. You only need ask the Pirates themselves after they were denied some much deserved booty following their Herculean display against Northampton Saints the week previous.
However, the difference between the Saints' display and that which was served up at the Butts Park Arena on Saturday was significantly different. Just how a side's standards could slip so much in less than a week is not just a concern, it's more problematic than that.
While rivals clubs such as Exeter, Northampton, and Doncaster have already stolen a march at the top of the table, McKay knows he and his coaching staff have plenty to work on ahead of Sunday's visit of Pertemps Bees to Camborne. For sure there is likely to be a response from the Pirates: if not, heads could well roll.
"We are very performance driven and I want our boys to do well and aspire to that next level," said McKay at the final whistle. "Playing like that is simply not good enough. I'm pretty furious because I want us to be the best and I want the boys to be the best, period. That's what we are about at the Cornish Pirates, that's what we want to do.
"Today our performance wasn't acceptable. We did too many silly things with guys going off on their own and not really playing to our systems. That really hurt us because we did create opportunities, but we didn't execute them as we would have liked."
McKay readily admitted his side had been fortunate to escape with a victory. He added: "Rugby's an amazing game, isn't it? Sometimes you lose games cruelly or you get nothing, a bit like us last week, and other times you get the bounce of the ball. That happens over the course of the season, so we'll take today and say that's our joker card used for the season.
"Obviously Coventry will be pretty disappointed because they had chances to win it, but one of the few positives for us to take was that we hung in there for the full 80 and we didn't capitulate."
Although the Pirates did well to dig deep for the whole game, the real rescue clause for the visitors came courtesy of two key factors. First was home skipper Ben Russell's failure to land two kickable penalty chances with his side 16-10 in front, the other was the two deserved yellow cards Cov received in the final five minutes. Had either one of those factors not materialised, it's unlikely the Pirates would have escaped with the spoils.
Coventry, however, had only themselves to blame. Having bossed the opening exchanges, the only real surprise was that they led 3-0, courtesy of an early Russell penalty.
But once home hooker Chris Whitehead was yellow-carded on 17 minutes, the Pirates finally sensed an opening. Using the resultant penalty, they kicked for the corner and although the initial attack faltered, Cov No.8 Lawrie McGlone handed the initiative back straight away with an unnecessary knock-on as he went to take a quick free kick.
With a scrum eight metres out, Richard Bolt and Gareth Steenson combined to set-up debutant Nick Buckley, who pumped his way to the line for the opening try, which Steenson was able to convert.
The joy of the vocal visiting support, however, was shortlived. Within three minutes Coventry hit back, stinging the Pirates with a deadly attack that saw fly-half Myles Dorrian ghost between Steenson and Iva Motusaga, before offering a simple offload to centre Donovan Sanders to score under the posts.
Russell netted the conversion, plus added the penalty which also saw Motusaga dispatched to the sin-bin, to put Coventry in control at 13-7 as half-time approached.
The fractious first period, though, was far from over and in the ninth minute of stoppage time, Steenson plundered a 40-metre penalty to cut the deficit to just three at the turn.
As the Pirates departed stage left, the hope was they would re-emerge for Act Two invigorated and ready to bring the house down. In the end, the only thing they brought down was their standard of play, which went from bad to worse.
Russell extended the home side's lead with a third penalty on the hour, but then crucially failed with two easier chances. Had just one of those efforts gone over, the Pirates would have been playing catch-up.
Instead, they were somehow still alive and kicking and when Cov lost Danny Hodge, then Michael Walls to yellow cards late on, it was the Pirates who finished with aplomb.
Bruce Cumming came within a whisker of a second score, before Cracknell finally prevailed when he picked up from the base of a scrum and drove to the whitewash, Steenson's conversion providing the perfect killer blow.
Cornish All Blacks' joint coach Chris Brown hailed his side's character after they recorded their first-ever National League One win with a 34-31 success over visiting Sedgley Park.
A delighted Brown said: "This for us was all about the result. It's a difficult situation as a coach to say this is all about winning, but after two defeats it was very important - and our manner of winning was very good."
Securing victory, however, was a hair-raising, last-ditch business and had supporters on the edge of their seats. But full credit goes to the Cornish club.
Trailing 27-31 in injury time and back on their own 22, many sides would have despaired, but not the All Blacks.
With the third minute of added time ticking away out wing Matt Jess, who had already scored the try of the match, suddenly turned on the after-burners out wide and skinned a startled defence. He reached the visitors' 22, found Steve Perry coming up on his inside, and the centre gave the scoring pass to prop Richard Liddington to touchdown.
Fly-half Stuart Alred landed a soaring conversion, the referee blew for time, the Polson support were delirious, and a really vital, four-try, five-point win was in the bag.
For much of the match there was seldom more than one score separating the sides. The All Blacks had a dream start, the backs racing into the 22 where Perry released winger Jon Fabian to shoot through the gap to score, with Alred converting.
Sedgley soon realised that their juggernaut of a pack was their key weapon - three of their four tries coming from heavyweight drive-overs - and they hit back, kicking to the corner and lumbering over from the catch-and-drive to enable flanker Jimmy Ponton to score their opening points of the game.
Ten minutes on and the Blacks' back line went into fluent mode again, Jess taking a superb pass at terrific pace on halfway, burning down the wing, swerving gloriously inside and touching down under the posts. Alred again added the extras.
The visitors, though, hit back immediately with ther second pushover, courtesy of prop Petrus du Plessis. However, fly-half Stephen Nutt was unable to convert. This was one of Sedgley's weaknesses - they were to land only one of four conversion attempts all game.
Approaching half-time the All Blacks crossed for their third try, the backs attacking dangerously allowing scrum-half Sam Alford burst away from a scrum to split the Park defence and score under the posts for Alred's metronomic boot to add the extras again.
The Cornish side were now two scores ahead leading 21-10, but back came Sedgley driving over after two penalty awards through the experienced Tim Fourie, the All Blacks seemingly unable to cope with the sheer weight of their opponents.
Both sides enjoyed some successes, Alred and his opposite number, replacement Philip Jones, trading successful penalty goals within ten minutes of the re-start.
Just after the hour mark, though, the visitors went in front for the first time with a well-crafted try that caught the All Blacks on the back foot and saw centre Andy Craig race untouched through to score for Jones to convert and nudge Sedgley into a one-point lead.
A second Alred penalty momentarily snatched the advantage back, but their cause looked irretrievably lost when Jones landed two late penalties with injury time looming.
The visitors, however, had not bargained for Jess' pace and the All Blacks' sheer determination to win.
Brown added: "We let the game go with a few lapses in defence at the breakdown area, but our will to win and desire for success was everything.
"In attack we played some sublime rugby; but expect a big defensive week in training after this. We were lucky to have conceded 31 points and still win.
"There were some tremendous performaces, including Stuart Alred and Matt Jess. We're delighted. We're off the mark now with a five-point win".
Mounts Bay skipper Nick Burnett hailed his side's showing after the National League Three South table-toppers made it three wins from three with a 47-17 victory over visiting Havant.
The all-action No.8 - signed in the summer from the Cornish All Blacks - led from the front as he claimed two of the Bay's seven tries at the Mennaye Field.
Saturday's success ensured another five-point maximum for the Penzance-based club, who in the opening weeks of the season have seen off Barking (63-10) and Bridgwater and Albion (42-18).
This latest victory, however, was certainly an impressive one, particularly as Havant finished third in the division last season.
"It was another good win for us," said Burnett afterwards. "We are very pleased with the way things have started. To get five points in each of our first three games, you can't ask for any more than that.
"This was a good test for us because Havant did pretty well in this division last year. They are a capable side with some good players, but again I felt we worked really hard for each other and we got our rewards with the tries we scored."
Havant's long trek to the far west did not begin well. With their coach breaking down en route to the ground, the game had to be delayed for half an hour while the visitors did their best to get themselves ready for action.
The Bay, on the other hand, were raring to go and it took the home side just two minutes to make their mark. Good early pressure put the Bay into the visitors' 22 and from a line-out move on the right, Burnett powered his way over for the opening try of the game, which fly-half Lee Jarvis was able to convert.
Havant, though, responded well and they hit back with a penalty from fly-half Nagapaka Ngapaka, before the same player added the extras to Matt Morgan's try on ten minutes.
That lead lasted until the 23rd minute when Bay centre Jon Marlin claimed try number two for the home side, the former Plymouth Albion and Barking back slicing through the visitors' defence to score under the posts.
Former Welsh international Jarvis sent over the easy conversion for that try and Burnett's second of the game on 29 minutes. With Havant a man down following a yellow card for Stephen Stapleton, the Bay's rampaging pack were back to their deadly best to assist their skipper over the line to make it 19-10.
Further tries flowed for the Bay as winger Tom Edyvean claimed a quickfire double, both of which were converted by the trusty right boot of Jarvis to make it 33-10.
With the half all but up, Ngapaka could have reduced the deficit with a penalty shot, but his effort flew wide of the posts and it was the Bay who departed for the changing rooms riding high.
The home dominance continued just four minutes after the break as flanker Tom Outram's try, converted by Jarvis, extended the Bay's grip on proceedings to 40-10.
Although the Bay lost Adam Flide and John Griffiths to the sin-bin in the second period, Havant's only joy of the half was a converted try from right winger Richard Buck.
With playing parity restored late on, the Bay wrapped up their win when impressive Aussie centre Tim Mosey applied the finishing touches to a sniping break down the blind-side from player-coach Ricky Pellow.
As is the norm, Jarvis dispatched the conversion to put the shine on another polished performance from the League newcomers.
Next up is Saturday's trip to Dings Crusaders, a side skipper Burnett expects to be tough on home soil.
"It's not an easy place to go to," he said. "They ran Canterbury pretty close the other day, so I'm expecting this to be probably our toughest fixture to date. That said, if we can keep playing like we have, then we'll go up there with plenty of confidence and hopefully get another win. That would be nice."
It may still be a case of "work in progress" but the Cornish Pirates finally showed that the foundations for this season's divisional assault are at last beginning to take shape.
In what has been a somewhat mixed showing from Jim McKay's side so far this season, normal service returned with aplomb in yesterday's 43-20 defeat of lowly Pertemps Bees at the Recreation Ground.
A puissant second-half performance -- which included the Cornish club landing four tries inside eight action-packed minutes -- not only enabled McKay's men to notch up their third win from four starts but, more importantly, their first five-point success of the campaign.
For the Pirates, yesterday's six-try victory was just the pick-me-up they needed after their phlegmatic display at Coventry the week previous. Clearly the final whistle dressing down McKay delivered to his troops had registered loud and clear.
With the words of their Aussie leader no doubt still ringing in their ears, it was little surprise to see the Pirates fly out of the blocks. Good early pressure soon brought its first reward when a march down the left flank saw flanker Iva Motusaga pick up from the base of a ruck, before darting his way to the line for the opening try on five minutes, which skipper Gareth Steenson duly converted.
It was the ideal start for the Pirates, who briefly survived a missed penalty chance by former Redruth fly-half Mike Hook, before Steenson stretched their lead with two quickfire penalties.
The response, however, from the visiting Bees was encouraging and they reduced the deficit on 24 minutes when Hook atoned for his earlier miss by landing a penalty after flanker Eniola Gesinde had strayed offside.
The Welshman then repeated the dose five minutes later, this time punishing Motusaga after he had been penalised for breaking off a scrum too early.
Despite this, it was the Pirates who still held the upper hand. As the half drew towards a close, twice the home side threatened. First, winger Rhodri McAtee made good yardage with a blistering run through the middle, then lock Bruce Cumming was held just short as he looked to pick and go from close range.
The pressure, however, finally told and when the Bees were penalised for collapsing a scrum in front of their own posts, Steenson landed the resultant penalty to make it 16-6 at the turn.
That would be as close as the Bees would get to their Duchy rivals, who returned for the second period not only refreshed, but determined to make their mark.
In the end it took just four minutes for the Pirates to make the breakthrough. A powerful opening blast put them within strike range -- and when the quick ball was worked left to create a four-man overlap, No.8 Chris Cracknell was on hand to add converted try number two.
The score, it seems, opened the floodgates and in eight devastating minutes, the Pirates not only wrapped up victory, but they showed the first real glimpse of what potentially lies ahead.
Hooker Nathan Kemp was first over, the Kiwi burrowing his way over in the left-hand corner, and he was soon followed over the whitewash by Cracknell, who applied the finish to a free-flowing move that was worked from the left flank to the right. Steenson converted both.
Winger Paul Devlin's double effort in as many minutes followed soon after to put the Pirates out of sight at 43-6, but still there was time for a spirited last hurrah from the visitors.
Late scores from Nick Griffiths and Jimmy Aston, both converted by Paul Knight, at least gave the visitors something to write home about, but even then it was still not enough.
On this display, the Midlanders face a testing season ahead. The Pirates, on the other hand, appear to be finally getting their act together.
"I'm not going to get too carried away just yet, but that was a much better performance from the previous week," said McKay. "It shows we are moving in the right direction, but we know there is still plenty of work to do.
"To win and to get the five points was the important thing. You can't get anymore points than that, so in that respect it's job done. We'll take this and we'll look to build a bit more. It's tough at the moment because we are missing a few blokes, but it's also an opportunity for others.
"The squad is getting tested, but all squads will be tested throughout the season. It just so happens ours is getting tested at the start, but that's OK, we'll cope with that and we'll move on. We know we are not performing fully to our aspirations at the moment, but we are working towards that and today was another step in the right direction."
Next up for the Pirates is Saturday's trip to Newbury, a game McKay knows will be another tough encounter. "We've had some good arm wrestles, a couple of one-pointers with them in recent years, so it will be tough," he said. "We are aware we will need to play better than today and that will be our aim for this week and for that game."
"Rubbish, diabolical, unacceptable" was how an angry Redruth head coach Nigel Hambly summed up his side's 48-27 reverse at Southend that brought the Reds nine-month unbeaten run to an emphatic end.
"The biggest thing for me today was that the boys did not show too much pride in the shirt," he said. "What I want is people who want to play for Redruth and because they are proud to play for Redruth. I want to make Redruth a better team and today we did not show much of that.
"We did not front up, we missed too many tackles, we tried to score from first phase every time. We only put together three phases twice and scored both times. From some of our senior players there was no shape or pattern.
"We lacked any cohesion between backs and forwards, the forwards did not front up and the backs did not help them out. It was a terrible performance.
"We did everything we said we were not going to do, We wanted to win the territory battle but in the first half instead of using the wind we kept trying to play from our 40-metre area. We've enjoyed a good spell, but I think we have read our own press and believed it. Life has a habit of biting you on the bottom and today we got bitten"
Redruth had looked to be in for a good afternoon when Paul Thirlby raced 65 metres to touch down Redruth's first try after nine minutes which Gareth Griffiths converted.
However, the Southend forwards - spearheaded by their captain Keith McLintock - were too streetwise on the day for the Reds. They pushed their luck on the offside line around the rucks and mauls before winger Andy Frost ran strongly to touch down an unconverted try in the 16th minute.
When Redruth's passing moves broke down they persisted in kicking the ball down field to give giant full-back Chris Green space to launch counter-attacks as Southend dominated the second quarter with Griffiths and Frost exchanging penalties.
Redruth looked to be taking a two-point lead into the interval before Southend's Chris Vaughn touched down in the final move of the first half. Frost converted from the touchline for the Essex boys to go in 15-10 ahead.
Then, in the third minute of the second half, Redruth committed the cardinal sin of stopping, waiting for the referee's whistle following a knock-on and Southend's powerful centre Faapoloo Soolefai, after an embarrassed look behind, cantered unopposed to the posts for Frost to convert.
Some inventive back play by the home side then cut the Redruth defence to ribbons as hooker Nick Pay and Soolefai added further tries, one converted by Frost, to open up a 24-point lead after 53 minutes.
The final quarter was a Barbarians style affair with Redruth taking tries by Paul Thirlby, Rob Thirlby and Lewis Vinnicombe to gain a bonus point.
The home side grabbed chances for Jamie Connors from a catch-and-drive and replacement Simon Holut to touch down to make the game safe.
England Counties' prop Peter Joyce and second-half replacement Nathan Pascoe gave wholehearted performances and may escape Hambly's wrath.
In the closing stages Southend conceded six penalties. but Redruth's unbeaten run was shattered.
Having somewhat coughed and spluttered their way through the opening weeks of the season, it appears at long last the Cornish Pirates are finally beginning to click into gear.
Saturday's 48-28 success at Newbury ensured a third successive win for Jim McKay's side, who at times this season have resembled either a state-of-the-art Ferrari or one of Arthur Daly's clapped out classics.
Not for the first time, the offering served up on the Monks Lane menu was a mixed platter to divulge. The starter was varied, the main course was sublime, while the end dessert was somewhat beastly.
However, when the reviews were collected at the final whistle, the general consensus agreed the Pirates were slowly edging back towards their award-winning masterclass.
"It's another step up from last week," commented McKay. "If we put today's result into perspective - the last two years we've come here, we've won by a single point in the last minute of the match. I know history is history, but today we showed we were the dominant side for all but the last 10 minutes. Even then we bombed two certain tries.
"This is a tricky place to come and they are a dangerous side, but we shut them out for long periods and we had really good shape to our play. We created many, many opportunities, so to score 48 points was very pleasing."
The only blot on what was a much improved showing from the Cornishmen was a disappointing final ten minutes in which the Pirates shipped three tries. That statistic ensured Newbury of a crucial bonus point, one they would only have dreamed about when they trailed 48-11 with ten minutes of the match remaining.
"We know the last ten minutes wasn't great," added McKay. "But I'd much rather concentrate on the positives and there were quite a few of those today. As I said, it's another step up from the previous week and that's what we need to keep doing. Next week against Exeter we'll need to raise it again because they're a very dangerous side and they'll come with plenty of emotion and all that."
With the unbeaten Chiefs next on the agenda for the Pirates, the Aussie coach felt it was vital his side maintained their own run of form, which has seen them lose just once in five league games.
Showing a number of changes to the side that beat the Pertemps Bees the week previous, the Pirates started slowly and it was Newbury who took a second-minute lead courtesy of a drop-goal from skipper Tim Walsh.
The home lead lasted merely five minutes as the visitors hit back with the first of their six tries on the day. A good break by centre Paul Devlin saw him combine with fly-half Gareth Steenson, who in turn offloaded the ball to hooker Nathan Kemp, who inched his way down the left flank before dotting down by the posts for Steenson to convert.
As play switched from end-to-end, Walsh and Steenson traded penalties before Richard Bolt claimed his maiden score for the Pirates when he finished off more good build-up play involving Steenson and the impressive Ollie Thomas, who shone on his debut.
Steenson converted that score, plus added an injury-time penalty, as the Pirates headed for the break 20-6 up. On the resumption, Walsh failed with an early penalty chance, before the Pirates wasted little time in picking up from where they left off. Former Newbury favourite Chris Cracknell was next over for converted try number three.
Again the home side countered with a Paul Finckner try in the left-hand corner. However, this merely acted as the catalyst for the Pirates to up the ante with some powerful running rugby.
With the hour mark fast approaching, another strong burst from Thomas created the opening for replacement Eniola Gesinde to crash over, quickly followed by Devlin, whose two tries in three minutes effectively sealed the match. Steenson obliged with all three conversions to put the Pirates seemingly home and dry.
Newbury, on the other hand, had other ideas and in a spirited last throw of the dice, the home side made the most of the Pirates' cooling down period to run in a try treble.
Replacement Matt Styles crossed for two of them, before former Pirate Jonny Hylton claimed the all-important fourth when he intercepted a pass just on halfway to race clear and score.
Walsh's conversion signalled the end of the action, but by then the Pirates were already on prep for this weekend's derby encounter with Exeter.
One can only wait to see what's on offer on the specials board this Sunday.
Referees at this level should know what they're doing because results in the Leagues' top flight can have major repercussions for clubs.
I may be doing an injustice to Adrian Hartwell - the man officiating in this National One match between the Cornish All Blacks and Moseley at Polson Bridge - but some key decisions mystified well-informed spectators in the stand, and probably the home players too, and turned the game.
Going into first-half injury time the visitors were ahead 5-3. They had had an ideal start when their wing Charlie Sharples scored in the corner after a kick to touch from his astute fly-half Matt Jones, a line-out and a handling move.
Five minutes on, his opposite number, Stuart Alred, who bagged all the All Blacks' points, missed a penalty shot by a whisker.
The game went back and forth with sweeping attacks from both sides until the 39th minute when Alred landed a simple penalty after Moseley handled in a ruck.
An intimation of what was soon to come had been seen ten minutes earlier when Moseley drove towards the home line and dropped the ball in a maul. All Blacks' openside flanker Tony Roques dived in on what was a loose ball and was promptly yellow-carded for collapsing a maul.
After Alred's successful goal All Black wing Matt Jess set off on a piercing diagonal run. Moseley went offside yet inexplicably were awarded the penalty, which Jones landed.
Nevertheless the All Blacks looked set to go in at the interval only 8-3 down with the prospect of an exciting, evenly matched second half. Then came the debacle. Two minutes into injury time All Blacks' skipper, blindside flanker Josh Lord, was also carded, this time for preventing release of the ball. However, it was pretty clear that he was away from both ruck and ball at the time.
In the 46th minute the All Blacks seemed to be succeeding in stopping Moseley from scoring from a driving maul, when, with no warning, a penalty try was awarded against them for coming in at the side, which they hadn't. Jones added the easy extras and at the interval the All Blacks were suddenly 15-3 down.
Their joint head coach Chris Brown was philosophical about it all but, reading between the lines, you could sense his frustration and annoyance. He said: "It was very disappointing not to take the result. However, that sort of performance from us was very pleasing. The manner of our play and our style was very exciting and we couldn't wait to get the ball over the line.
"I felt that we had more opportunities than they did but we didn't quite take full advantage at the crucial moments.
"We can't control decisions from the officials on the field, but ultimately we had chances to win the match but didn't take them. But there's a long way to go in the season and not for one moment did anyone say that this League wouldn't be tough. Collectively we were pleased with the team performance but disappointed with the result."
The All Blacks came out for the re-start raring to go and Alred, centre Steve Perry and full-back Andy Birkett kept up their well-directed, booming territorial kicks of the first half to keep Moseley on the back foot. The backs ran the ball with a will and intelligently, while the home forwards fought manfully against a juggernaut of an opposing pack.
Attack after attack swept towards the visitors' line and Jess and left wing Jon Fabian were both stopped agonisingly inches short of the line.
Moseley spent much of their time in their own half, but on a rare foray into home territory were awarded a penalty for handling on the ground, and Jones obliged with the three points to stretch his side's lead ominously to 18-3.
The spirited All Blacks, however, kept coming and in the 66th minute were finally rewarded when Alred blitzed away from a midfield backs move, split the defence wide open and shot through to score and convert.
The match was lost for the All Blacks in a moment of inexplicably weak defence, when Moseley's giant lock Oliver Atkinson picked up from a scrum on the home 22, brushed off tackles and trundled through to the posts for Jones to add the extras and seal a victory which was much more of a battle than the final scoreline might suggest.
Mounts Bay unearthed a dazzling new talent and bagged another maximum-points haul in their splendid 29-19 win over visiting Rosslyn Park at the Mennaye Field.
Teenage winger Billy Harris scored three tries on debut, revealing a combination of pace and power packed into a slight frame that left the visitors' cover in a permanent state of panic down the left flank.
Truro College student Harris, 17, was playing for Perranporth Colts last season and on Saturday benefited from the authority of Bay fly-half Lee Jarvis, who directed affairs in midfield behind a dominant pack.
The home team won turnover ball at key moments but went off the boil in the second half when, too often, they failed to build beyond first phase rugby and on occasions chose the wrong option.
A massive overlap on the right midway through the second period was ignored as the home forwards bossed a maul close to the visitors' line and the chance of an easy score went begging. Rosslyn Park capitalised, winning a turnover of their own and sending in lock Mike Poppmeier down the left for their sole try, their remaining points coming off the boot of fly-half Richard Mahoney, who converted the try and kicked four penalties.
Mounts Bay scrum-half and player-coach Ricky Pellow was frustrated by his team's inability to run up a bigger score after the break but was satisfied with the performance of the team, and especially that of his potent new winger. Pellow said: "We identified him as a quality player in pre-season but what you can't coach in a player is gas and he's got plenty of that. With the backline we've got he's going to get into space and I think we saw today that even when he wasn't in space he used his footwork to get himself out of trouble. He's got a big future if he keeps working hard and listens to the coaches and the players around him."
However, Pellow knows the London side were pushing his team hard in the final stages and individual brilliance will not always carry the day. He said: "They're a dangerous side, they came back at us and we went in at half-time heads up but thinking we had a lot of things to work on.
"We came off at the end feeling disappointed and that's good because we're pushing our standards further each week and to come off 29-19 and in Division Three (South) is good. But if we had used our forwards a bit more to move it upfield we would have broken them better. They stuck at it and defended well and the fact that they turned us over shows that they're a good side. When we go up there it's going to be tough."
Harris opened the scoring with Bay's first meaningful attack, finishing off a slick handling movement that started with a turnover on the right and ended in the left corner. Jarvis missed the conversion and Rosslyn Park - one of rugby's most illustrious clubs - hit back with a penalty ten minutes later, Mahoney converting from 20 metres out.
The Cornishmen hit back immediately when their opponents were penalised for failing to roll away and Jarvis converted the penalty. With big Kiwi lock John Griffiths doing all sorts of damage in the line-out and the home backs a pace quicker than their counterparts, another converted try soon followed for Harris and by the 22nd minute the Bay were 15-3 up.
Bay quickly won a line-out after a Jarvis kick to the corner and although the ball was lost in front of the Park posts, the home side's outstanding back row were there to tidy up. Duke Seymour was highly impressive on the flank in the absence of the injured Steve Dyer, and possession was spread left for Kiwi centre Andrew Cheung-Fook to power over the line. Jarvis converted.
Mahoney kicked two more penalties before the half-time whistle sounded but Pellow's men were denied what appeared to be a magnificent try down the right when winger Tom Edyvean was called back for a forward pass earlier in the movement. The crowd of 600 hooted with derision but the decision was probably marginally justified.
The home side emerged after the break with a 22-9 advantage knowing the game was far from won. Playing with pace and width they applied early pressure and Park's defence had to be resolute to keep them out. Play became scrappy as the midfield battled raged and it was the London side which broke the deadlock, closing the gap to 22-12 when Richard Carroll was penalised in the loose and Mahoney slotted the kick.
Bay were beginning to show signs of frustration as they felt the game slipping away from them and the mistakes began to creep in and wrong options taken. However, they finally turned their massive territorial advantage into points when Harris got his hand on the ball again after 65 minutes, Jarvis converting to make the game safe.
However, the visitors were determined to go down fighting and Poppmeier was able to canter in as the home concentration lapsed and a massive opening presented itself on the left.
Mahoney converted to give Park the final word but the day belonged to Harris. "I really enjoyed it, it was a great game," he said. I was just happy to be in the starting line-up and obviously delighted to score three tries. It was a real step for me."
Next up: Clifton, and a return to the club where Pellow honed his skills as a colt.
The National League 2 match between Cambridge and Redruth was abandoned at half-time, with the Reds 30 - 0 down, after the Redruth players found that their dressing room had been ransacked and valuables stolen.
The Reds returned to their dressing room at the interval 30 points down to find that an intruder had stolen a number of players' valuables. It is understood that the Redruth players were upset over the loss of personal items such as wedding rings and refused to take the field for the second half.
The Cambridge dressing room was also thought to have been raided.
Referee Terry Hall empathised with the players and took advice from RFU officals present, David Ford (Referee Assessor), Peter Wakefield (Referee Coach) and Murray Felstead (Touch Judge Coach) during the interval.
There were also discussions between officials of both teams and after a delay of 20 minutes the Cambridge team with the match officials took the pitch for the second half and after a 5 minute wait Hall was forced to abandon the game.
In a brief statement on behalf of the club, Redruth Director of Rugby David Penberthy said "We left the field at half time, we went into the changing room, our physio (Guy Bonham) was the first to say to me that he thought his bag had been interfered with.
"I went into the dressing room and there were clothes all over the floor. Our 4th official (Dave Ricketts) said his bag had been interfered with then the players came in and found their bags had also been interfered with. This did not bode well for a half time team talk when you are 30 points down.
"The general feeling was one of upset and concern. A number of the guys had left personal possessions such as wedding rings in their bags that had gone. We do hand valuables in before a game but there are certain items the players keep with them until the last minute and unfortunately someone has gone in there and invaded on our privacy.
"The general feeling around the squad was that we were not too happy with the situation, we were given the option to take the pitch for the second half, but feelings were high and the best thing was for us not to take the field in the second half. The Referee fully understood our feelings.
"I cannot say any more until we go through an internal investigation to find out exactly what is missing. To be fair the Cambridge officials have been very understanding and their players although upset were very understanding and I hope we can move forward. Until we hear if there will be any repercussions from the RFU that is all I have to say”.
Cambridge Chairman Jerry Otter gave a sincere apology to Redruth President Derek Collins and Penberthy for what had happened.
Ironic or not, Camborne Youth Band clearly knew what was on the agenda as they blasted out the theme from Rocky ahead of yesterday's latest bout between the Cornish Pirates and Exeter Chiefs.
Just like the Hollywood classic, the head-to-head between two of Westcountry rugby's leading contenders once again lived up to all the pre-match hype.
In a ferocious encounter at the Recreation Ground, neither side were willing to give an inch in their quest for a crucial points victory. In the end, however, it was the visiting Chiefs who were delivered a knockout slap in the face by one of their main rivals, the Pirates emerging victorious 30-23.
Having already come unstuck by one of the division's other prize fighters, Northampton Saints, the Pirates knew they can ill afford a second decking so early in the season.
Not surprisingly, Jim McKay's side - which showed three changes from that which won at Newbury the previous week - came out like a 'Raging Bull'. Just 35 seconds had been played when a crucial turnover on former Pirate Dan Parkes resulted in the game's opening score.
A bruising hit on Parkes saw debutant Ed Fairhurst skilfully slip the loose ball between his legs to home winger Ali Koko, who in turn thrust for the line. Although the Samoan powerhouse was felled just short of the whitewash, compatriot Iva Motusaga was hot on his heels and he gratefully accepted the pass to dive over, fly-half Gareth Steenson obliging with the resultant conversion.
If that opening hit on Parkes set the tone for the match, then Pirates' skipper Tim Cowley upped the ante just moments later with a thunderous sacking of Exeter centre Junior Fatialofa in midfield.
The collision was immense and was the first of several brutal and hard-hitting exchanges between the opposing camps. Even this morning, some observers could well be reviewing the shuddering flashbacks.
The action continued apace and Exeter were able to reduce the arrears on eight minutes through fly-half Danny Gray when home prop Alan Paver was penalised for handling on the floor.
However, no sooner had the Chiefs brought themselves back within range, they shot themselves in the foot with a string of unnecessary errors.
First, sloppy play from the pack gifted Steenson a 12th-minute penalty, before Junior Fatialofa then decided to seek his own spot of retribution on Cowley. Sadly for the Chief, his ugly 'clothes-line' on the home captain not only enabled Steenson to add a second kick, but also earnt him a ten-minute spell in the cooler from referee Mark Wilson.
With the man advantage, the Pirates looked to press on and they stretched their buffer to 13 points when the trusty right boot of Steenson once more administered another telling blow on 23 minutes.
The battle up front, however, remained red-hot and when Pirates' lock Bruce Cumming was later than a Camborne train that don't stop on a Wednesday, he too was dispatched to the sidelines for ten minutes following his high tackle on Chad Slade.
Like the Pirates, the Chiefs made the most of the yellow card as they worked a clever move up the blind-side and winger Josh Drauniniu did the rest as he brushed aside the attentions of both Brian Tuohy and Paul Devlin to cross in the left-hand corner.
Gray fired over the difficult touchline conversion to make it 16-10 and once more it was game on between the neighbouring rivals.
With the play not only pulsating, but end-to-end, the Pirates blew a golden opportunity of a second try just before the interval when a series of drives created the space for Steenson to drive for the line. Unfortunately, the former Rotherham back was tagged just short and his subsequent knock-on briefly relieved the pressure on the Chiefs, who were lucky Junior Fatialofa did not see yellow for a second time following a crude late hit on Chris Cracknell.
Although Fatialofa's indiscretion went unpunished, the Pirates were able to add a fourth Steenson penalty in first half stoppage time, referee Wilson stinging the visitors for handling on the floor once more.
The kicking duel continued after the break as Gray landed a superb 45-metre effort on 48 minutes to make it 19-13. But once more the indiscipline of a Fatialofa, this time older brother Mark, resulted in him being sin-binned for an off-the-ball incident on Cowley. As before, Steenson again plundered the resultant penalty to stretch the home side's lead to nine points.
Again, though, another moment of madness, this time from Motusaga, saw him carded for coming in from the side. Unlike the Pirates, the visitors instead opted for the corner with their penalty - and it was a decision which was to bring rich rewards.
A well-worked line-out to the back found No.8 Richard Baxter, who created the platform from which the Exeter eight grouped together to send Slade over for their second try of the afternoon.
Whereas Gray could not convert, Steenson - on the other hand - was in sublime form as he landed his sixth penalty, via the upright, just past the hour mark after replacement prop John Andress had been penalised at a scrum.
Suddenly the Chiefs needed a way back into the game. It duly arrived in the shape of Fijian flyer Drauniniu. A loose kick from Pirate Ollie Thomas was gathered by Jason Luff, who combined with Junior Fatialofa to release the Exeter speedster. Even then, Draunininu had plenty to do against the covering defence of the Pirates.
However, having slid past the flaying arms of Joe Beardshaw, Draunininu was temporarily felled by an excellent tap-tackle from Dan Seal, before rising to his feet and sliding over the line for a try, which Gray was again unable to convert.
Up by two, the Pirates knew they needed to play territory and keep their counterparts on the back foot. With Steenson and Thomas delivering a series of long-range punts into the enemy zone, the Chiefs were unable to clear their lines sufficiently.
Sensing the opportunity, the Pirates crucially turned over an Exeter scrum, the ball squirted out to James Moore who, having given Clive Stuart-Smith a head start, chipped over the top before winning the race to the line. Steenson failed with the touchline kick, but for the Cornishmen it didn't matter.
"Today was very important for us," said Pirates' coach McKay at the final whistle. "I have said it for five weeks and I'm not going to change my tune, we needed a performance and we needed a breakthrough and we got that today.
"We showed that we can raise the bar and step things up. It was a high intensity game and full credit to Exeter for the part they played. They pushed us all the way, as we knew they would, but our guys dug deep and they managed to do enough in the end."
Whilst McKay celebrated, opposite number Pete Drewett was left to reflect on a first defeat of the season for his team. He said: "We created our own problems by making quite a few errors which gave the ball to the Pirates and allowed them to create some pressure.
"We've got top players who know they have let themselves down and there's a real twinkle in their eyes about getting back to work on Tuesday. The great thing about this league is you don't have a great deal of time to dwell on things and we have got a chance to put everything right next Saturday."
Life with the big-boys was never going to be easy, but the opening weeks of the new rugby term have been quite a learning curve for the Cornish All Blacks.
Having eased their way into the classroom of National League One, their latest lesson was probably their toughest to date as Plymouth Albion handed out an eight-try schooling to their local rivals from across the water.
The gulf in class was clearly evident from the outset and Albion wasted little time in bullying their rivals into submission. By half-time, the Devon club had already secured the bonus point and were sitting pretty 31-0 up. By the final whistle, the end report was just as damming, Albion victorious 50-7.
With Albion looking to bounce back from their defeat at league leaders Northampton the week previous, Graham Dawe's side flew out of the traps to create an early buffer.
Full-back Emyr Lewis was the architect of the home side's opening score on 11 minutes, the former Bedford back breaking through the heart of the visitors' rearguard before offloading to scrum-half Ed Lewsey who, despite being temporarily halted, was aided over the whitewash by the home pack.
Ross Laidlaw slotted the extras to that score and Albion's second, which followed four minutes later, Lewis again heavily involved when he raced down the right flank, before slipping the ball back inside for centre Brad Davies to claim his maiden Albion score.
The onslaught continued apace as Albion stretched their lead to 19-0 on 18 minutes. This time a good move in midfield released winger Liam Gibson to turn on the afterburners and scorch his way to the corner.
The shell-shocked All Blacks were clearly in need of a respite, but ruthless Albion had other ideas. Using a series of pick-and-go moves down the left, the home side were once more within striking range. Although the initial thrust was halted, once the rampaging Plymouth pack ganged together just short of the line there was only ever going to be one outcome.
Indeed, when the assembled mass of bodies emerged from the resultant drive, it was hardly any surprise to see Frenchman Nic Sestaret proudly clutching the ball. With the bonus point already in the bag, Laidlaw's touchline conversion merely added to the visitors' misery.
Even then, Dawe's side had not finished their first-half rout as Gibson was on hand to net his second of the afternoon, the former Newbury flyer this time collecting a pass from skipper Jannie Bornman before racing to the corner to make it 31-0.
As cheers reverberated around the Brickfields, some for Gibson's double salvo, others for England's heroics across the Channel, the All Blacks could quite easily have packed up there and headed for home. The fact they didn't was a credit as they held firm for a large proportion of the second half, before shipping three tries in the final quarter of the game.
In between they did have a moment of magic to savour, former Albion favourite Wayne Reed sneaking over in the left-hand corner for a converted score that was celebrated just as much by the home faithful as those who had made the short trek across from Polson Bridge.
The popular prop - who in previous campaigns played a key role in helping Albion rise to their current status - is still held in high regard by the Plymouth public, many of whom were happy to show their appreciation at his latest touchdown.
Reed's effort, though, was the only bright spot on a dark afternoon for the All Blacks. Ahead of his score, Albion No.8 Adam Kettle had already crossed for try number six, the Scouse back-row forward finishing off some neat approach play involving Lewsey and replacement Tom Hayes. Laidlaw once more obliged with the added extras.
With time fast running out, Albion gift-wrapped their performance with two more tries. First, South African Wihan Neethling capped a free-flowing move which had started on the right and was finished on the left. Then, Sestaret grabbed his second score, converted by Davies, this time ghosting through from close range after Lewis had been halted by a double hit in midfield.
It was rich rewards for Albion, who it must be noted scored seven of their eight tries from their backs. Was this merely a coincidence, or has the penny finally dropped that the Devon club have a back division who can cause rivals a heap of problems?
For the All Blacks there is plenty to ponder. The end report for Albion would read something along the likes of "continues to show signs of improvement" - while for the visitors a simple "must do better" would suffice.
Redruth went into this game hoping to put the frustrations of a horrible week behind them, but instead their problems continued to mount after a 34-14 defeat to Blackheath.
This was meant to be the start of their fightback after their ten-point deduction for failing to come out for the second half at Cambridge after a dressing-room raid by thieves.
The Reds seem unlikely to appeal against that decision and were keen to do their talking on the pitch as they embarked on their first home league game of the season, boosted by the return of inspirational Kiwi No.8 Mark Bright.
However, after a bright start, they capitulated against a very good Blackheath side, and also saw debutant lock Keith Larrard added to their ever-growing injury list with a broken collarbone.
Redruth head coach Nigel Hambly said: "It's been a pretty tough week and this game hasn't done too much to put things right and give us too much cheer.
"We've got 23 league games to go and the boys have got to stick in there and fight for each other, train harder, play harder and make sure we make less mistakes.
"At the moment we are not so much shooting ourselves in the foot as blowing our legs off.
"We showed what we could do early in the game when we get our basics right, but we just became very predictable.
"Blackheath were a decent side and competed well at the break-down, but we have got to front up and be a bit smarter.
"The scoreline is a fair reflection of the performance, but if we play at the top of our game we can match the likes of Blackheath, but we are just playing nowhere near that at the moment."
One of the biggest concerns for Redruth is their defence, as they have shipped 112 points in their last two-and-a-half games, if you include the Cambridge scoreline.
After 15 minutes on Saturday, everything appeared rosy in the Redruth camp, with the anger and frustration of the previous few days purged with a devastating spell that produced two tries.
The first came from winger Rob Thirlby after a sweet exchange of passes with back row forward James Mann down the left flank; while the second was finished off by brother Paul Thirlby after a catch-and-drive line-out move took the Reds close to the Blackheath line.
Fly-half Gareth Griffiths converted both, and although Blackheath full-back Frankie Neale slotted a 40-metre penalty, Redruth were 14-3 up and seemingly on their way to a five-point win.
But that was amazingly the last time they troubled the scorers, and Blackheath were totally dominant in the lead-up to half-time.
They grabbed three tries, and if Neale and fly-half Matt Leek had not squandered the possibility of a further 13 points with the boot, they would have been out of sight by the break.
Instead they had to settle for a 20-14 interval lead, with tries by lock Neil Dewale, hooker Alex Natera and centre Rory Binder, with Leek adding one conversion.
The last of those tries came late in the first half after Redruth flanker Fale Seve had been sin-binned for repeated infringements by his team-mates, but despite being down to 14 men early in the second period, Redruth were awarded two very kickable penalties to get on level terms, only for Griffiths to miss both chances.
It stayed 20-14 until the 73rd minute, when Blackheath flanker Richard Pike delivered the killer blow with a try that stemmed from Rob Thirlby dropping a shoulder-high pass in midfield.
With Larrard then coming off injured, and Redruth having used all of their replacements, they once again had to endure a one-man disadvantage, and it was no surprise when former Launceston winger Martin Olima scored deep into injury time after Simon Peters lost possession in the tackle, and Leek booted over the conversion to round off a miserable week for Redruth.
With the points deduction, the Reds are now 11 points adrift of safety in National Two.
Mounts Bay returned to the top of National Division Three South after a 55-19 bonus-point victory in Bristol over Clifton, delighting player-coach Ricky Pellow with their improvement over last week's narrow home win over Rosslyn Park.
Pellow said: "We looked at last week and in the second half we let ourselves down really. We tried to go wide too early and we were disjointed. All week the forwards have been getting on to the backs saying 'get us in the game early and give us some platform so we can play and build a lead'. And that's what we did today, we kept it tight and Lee Jarvis controlled it well with the backs.
"We built a lead by half-time and we went in with the bonus point. It was a bit scrappy after that, but fair play to them, they came back and played some good rugby. But we kept building and scoring tries as we went along so it was good."
While their rivals for the top spot London Scottish stumbled on their travels to Canterbury, the Cornishmen cruised to a comfortable eight-try victory to move two points clear at the summit.
The visitors were simply too hot for their hosts to handle in the opening half and moved 15 points clear within ten minutes. Fly-half Jarvis scored the first of his personal 20-point tally from a third-minute penalty before creating a try for Tim Mosey on the left with a piercing run and pass through midfield.
Last weekend's hat-trick hero Billy Harris then added a second with a determined run and finish to the left corner flag. Unfortunately the angle proved too acute for Jarvis, but the Welshman made amends with a much easier conversion score after Andrew Cheung-Fook crashed over the line just under the posts on 26 minutes.
Skipper Nick Burnett opened the gap to 27 points eight minutes before the interval with a touchdown on the right after a successful Bay line-out. Jarvis then stuck the left post with his conversion attempt.
Clifton took advantage of a momentary drop in intensity from Mounts Bay at the beginning of the second half to get themselves on the scoreboard. Winger Rob Trinick brilliantly fielded a mis-kicked clearance inside his own half and ran the ball the full distance to the try-line, leaving half the Mounts Bay XV in his wake, before Kent added the extras with a conversion from the left.
Bay responded within three minutes when Adam Flide carried the ball with Jarvis adding a sweetly struck conversion, but Clifton found more gaps in the visitors' line with two tries in five minutes leading up to the hour mark.
Skipper Tom Lambert ran an unconverted try from deep, angling his run toward the left corner away from Edyvean in pursuit and Rob Viol completed a well-executed chip and run under the posts to set up another Kent conversion.
However, Mounts Bay maintained their winning margin with Harris' second try and a Jarvis conversion sandwiched between Clifton's quick-fire double.
The Cornishmen finished the game strongly with Jarvis scoring a try and two conversions to cap another commanding display. His 66th-minute try mimicked Viol's chip and run sixth minutes earlier, but the Bay fly-half left rather less margin for error with his kick as he reached the ball inches before it ran out of play behind the try-line.
Replacement Paul Andrew completed the try scoring seven minutes from time when he was driven over by the pack to the left of the posts to set up Jarvis for the final points of the game.
Andrew's performance was one of several that impressed Pellow, who also had plenty of praise for another young star, Harris. "I thought Billy Harris was outstanding again," said Pellow. "Not just in attack, but in defence as well. He scored two tries again as well. I thought Paul Andrew came on and did really well. The older boys like Nick Burnett, Richard Carroll also did well, and I thought Cheung-Fook and Jarvis controlled it well in midfield.
"Clinically, we probably played better in that first half, and I think they played better in the second half. They were trying to play a bit and we ran a couple of tries in as they went on the attack.
"When they scored first in the second half we all got under the posts and said 'we've got to put this right now'. We kept coming back and scoring, and so did they. Last week we struggled in the second half but this time we scored some tries.
"Overall, the boys' heads are high and we're moving on to next week."
After their massive battle against the Exeter Chiefs a week ago, Jim McKay's Cornish Pirates were again forced to dig deep in another bruising encounter before Ollie Thomas' late penalty finally killed off Esher 24-14 at Molesey Road.
With their sick bay resembling a scene from Casualty, McKay was forced into several changes for the trip to Surrey, which included a surprise appearance for long-term injury victim, Matt Evans, on the bench.
Despite the obvious difficulties faced in preparing for the game, the popular Australian was pleased with the final score.
McKay said: "We knew they were going to be tough opponents, but we are in the business of winning and that is what we got today. We defended really well and you must remember that we came into this game with only 21 fit players. Six wins out of seven in this league speaks for itself."
Despite the victory, the crucial loss of another winning bonus point disappointed skipper Tim Cowley. He said: "It was a real battle out there and we never underestimated these guys. The intensity was not there like last week, but I think we are to blame for a lot of that. We are happy to take the four points, but a bonus point would have been welcome. It was not to be."
The Pirates began positively and urged on by their regular travelling army of support, the Cornish club dominated the early exchanges with Nick Buckley and Bruce Cumming driving hard through midfield. Hampered, however, by handling errors in contact it took the Pirates until the tenth minute to open the scoring when Jimmy Moore, deputising for Gareth Steenson at fly-half, slotted a 30-metre penalty after Esher had been penalised for offside.
With a solid platform at the set-piece the Pirates slowly began to turn the screw. The accurate territorial kicking of Thomas, Moore and Ed Fairhurst pegged the home side back into their own territory, but Esher held their nerve and as they worked to stifle the Pirates' offensive moves, the contest became a territorial game of cat and mouse.
When Pirates hooker Nathan Kemp strolled offside in the 19th minute, Esher full-back Neil Hallett struck with the first of his three penalties to level the scores.
Parity, though, lasted just three minutes. A forceful drive up the middle deep into Esher territory resulted in an attacking scrum for the Pirates. Quick ball and an incisive attack from the backs ended with a delightful flip from Paul Devlin that fed Thomas on the touchline. His outrageous dummy on Dougie Flockhart and a decoy run from Brian Tuohy allowed Thomas space to skip along the line to score in the corner.
The Pirates looked to raise the intensity of the contest at this point with Fairhurst very much to the fore. Indiscipline, however, cost them another three points on the half-hour as referee MacPherson penalised the Pirates for pulling down a driving maul, Hallett's clean strike reducing the lead to 6-11.
Despite a sustained assault on the Esher line the Pirates were unable to extend their first-half lead. A try should have resulted from a five-metre scrum on the interval, but as Esher struggled to resist a seemingly certain score Dan Seal was inexplicably penalised for collapsing the scrum.
Having replaced the injured Nathan Kemp with Rob Elloway at the break, the Pirates found Esher a much sterner proposition after the break. Clearly encouraged by their first-half resolve the Surrey side opted for a more expansive game as they sought to stretch the jaded Pirates. Former Ireland and Lions centre Rob Henderson played a pivotal role in linking the strong running back row with the electric pace out wide of Matt Moore and Flockhart.
James Moore and Hallett traded penalties before Esher suddenly fell asleep in defence. They spilled possession just short of their own line, allowing the Pirates to pounce. Tuohy and James Moore diving on the loose ball with the score eventually credited to Moore, who converted his own try.
What should have been the catalyst for further Pirates points went unfulfilled. A well-worked driving maul resulted in a late Esher try for Duncan Cormack and though unconverted the home side refused to capitulate. A nervy finale was settled in favour of the Pirates two minutes from time as Thomas sealed the win with his long-range effort.
The Cornish All Blacks need to get streetwise if they are to avoid a swift return to National League Two, club captain Keith Brooking remarked after this damaging 32-8 defeat to Pertemps Bees at Sharmans Cross Road.
The All Blacks slumped to the bottom of the table and traded places with their hosts after they were outsmarted by the Bees. Though the All Blacks looked dangerous when they had the ball in hand, they played too much of their clever rugby in the wrong parts of the pitch, which played into the hands of the Bees' well-marshalled defence.
A succession of errors under pressure allowed the Bees' half-backs, Joe Carlisle and Paul Knight, to kick to the corners, then to pick off the All Blacks' shaky line-out and use their young backs to stretch the visitors' defence.
"We knew that this league was going to be a learning curve for us but we need to learn quickly," said Brooking. "We need to be more streetwise and to be able to adapt more during matches. The Bees played a tight, basic game, putting the ball into the corners and then waiting for us to make our mistakes. Their out-to-in blitz defence also caused problems. We need to be able to adjust. If we find that the way we have decided we are going to try to play on a Tuesday or Thursday isn't working we need to be able to change things around."
With barely two months of the season gone it is too early for Jon Hill and Chris Brown to start panicking, but the ease with which the Bees claimed a bonus-point win must concern the All Blacks' coaching team.
The line-out, usually an All Blacks strength, was shambolic for much of the first half. Lock Gareth McComb regularly picked off All Blacks' ball or Owen Hambly over-threw his jumpers and fed home scrum-half Knight at the back of the line.
"That's something we will have to look at this week," added Brooking. "I'm not sure what went on, whether there was some miscommunication and missed calls, but the line-outs have been a strength and an area we have cleaned up in during the last few weeks."
The line-out improved in the second half and the All Blacks also appeared to get stronger in the scrums which suggested that they may have been guilty of showing the Bees' pack too much respect to start with.
The Bees certainly did treat the All Blacks with sufficient respect when they met in a National Trophy game here in January and they stumbled to a 19-12 win. Having narrowly avoided embarrassment on that occasion there was no chance of the Bees under-estimating their visitors on this occasion.
Carlisle, one of six players on dual registrations from Worcester's academy in the Bees' squad, played a mature kicking game to keep the All Blacks pinned in their own half and the pressure produced points.
Winger Miles Benjamin, another Worcester loanee, powered over after McComb stole an All Blacks' line-out and Carlisle tagged on two penalties for infringements in the loose.
Hambly provided brief relief for the All Blacks when he hacked on a stray pass from Reece Spee to James Aston and beat Aston to the touch down.
But that proved a rare defensive lapse for the Bees, who quickly reasserted themselves when Carlisle ghosted through some flimsy tackling for a soft try which he also converted.
A Stuart Alred penalty in first-half injury time hinted at an All Blacks fight back that did not materialise after the break.
Benjamin came off his wing and clattered through the midfield defence for the try of the match and was only denied his hat-trick by a brave smothering tackle from Westren four minutes later.
The All Blacks played their best rugby when the match was lost but the Bees were not to be denied their bonus point. An attempted clearance from Alred was charged down by former England sevens flanker Will Matthews, who followed up the rebound.
Redruth head coach Nigel Hambly was in good spirits about his side's progress, despite a disappointing 25-19 defeat at Waterloo.
"It was probably our best performance of the season for commitment and togetherness," he said. "More things went right today than wrong. Obviously we are very disappointed with the result. I think [Waterloo] will be considering they were a bit lucky".
Hambly reflected on two crucial errors that gifted Waterloo 14 points "We gave them two converted tries and we lost by six. When you are down these things hurt you. We have got to stick at it. I do not think a win is too far away.
"There has been a big turnaround in attitude at training this week, it has been much better. Coaches can do so much but I cannot coach enthusiasm or pride. I think anyone who watched the game today was in no doubt that we played with plenty of pride and enthusiasm, all that's missing at the minute is a bit of luck. We have got to stick in there. I was pleased with the way the boys played today away from home. They fronted up, we competed, but I am real disappointed with the result."
Waterloo half-backs Luke Stringer and Alex Davies tested the Reds with their kicking game and a 30-metre dropped goal by Davies opened the scoring after 16 minutes.
Redruth half-backs Mark Richards and Gareth Griffiths then controlled the game as Redruth ran in two converted tries in the next ten minutes.
First a break from Richards, carried on by Craig Bonds and Rob Thirlby, led to Lewis Vinnicombe touching down in the right hand corner. Four minutes later, after a 20-metre driving maul Fale Seve dived over close to the posts, Griffiths converting both tries.
However, from the restart Redruth shot themselves in the foot - a bad pass presented a try to Dan Hall that Davies converted.
Two incidents either side of half-time had a big impact on the outcome. First a touchdown by Vinnicombe was ruled out for some shirt pulling in the build up to the try. Then, early in the second half, Griffiths, who was having his best game in a red shirt, broke his thumb to leave Hambly ruing his luck: "That is four breaks we have had in four weeks now. When you are down you are down."
After Griffiths went off Waterloo scored immediately, Arno De Jager diving over in the right-hand corner for an unconverted try.
Paul Thirlby moved to fly-half and, with Luke Collins getting through a lot of work, Redruth had a good spell of pressure, culminating in a first try of the season for Mark Bright in the 59th minute to put the Reds ahead 19-15.
Redruth had the opportunity to strike the killer blow in the closing stages with a catch-and-drive move from a line-out close to the Waterloo line but John Nugent ripped the ball away and the hosts started a spectacular breakout which ended with winger Pablo Freijoo just beating Rob Thirlby to be awarded a touchdown near the posts, Davies converting.
In injury time Redruth desperately tried to run out of defence to find a score to save the game, but they conceded a penalty for not releasing in the tackle. Davies took the three points and ran the clock down to see the home side to victory.
Having fought their way back into a slender six point lead the Pirates were forced to defend their own line for the final 10 minutes of the contest, as the determined visitors relentlessly battered home their territorial advantage.
Repeatedly penalised for a series of desperate indiscretions, there was no escape for the Pirates until they finally capitulated under the weight of a 13-man driving maul which marched directly under their goal posts. Greig Tonks' routine conversion sealed the win with the final kick of the match.
It was a deserved victory for the men from Meadow Lane but once again the Pirates were left to rue a string of first half chances during which the match, as a contest, should have been sealed. Once again poor decision making, individual handling errors, and some woefully flat back play allowed the visitors to weather the initial storm and remain in contention. When Nottingham took the game to the Pirates, the home side struggled against a disciplined and effective driving maul.
The Pirates began brightly and after early pressure were ahead with a try from full-back Ollie Thomas after just three minutes. His scything break down the left flank left the Nottingham defence in his wake. Steenson converted the score but the Pirates were pegged back immediately.
From the restart the Pirates failed to clear their lines. Rohaan Nirmalendran, the pacey Nottingham full-back, suddenly joined their line and turned a lateral move into a try scoring one as he straightened the attack and then flipped a pass to Dodge, who touched down in the clubhouse corner.
Steenson and Barlow traded further penalties as the Pirates repeatedly attacked, only to be thwarted time and time again just yards from the try line. Nick Buckley will have nightmares about ignoring a three man overlap with a certain try there for the taking. Instead he turned back into heavy traffic and was overwhelmed by the hungry defence.
Thomas then narrowly lost the race to score after an incisive chip ahead from Moore had been partially cleared. So it was left to the dependable Steenson to slot a 45 metre penalty on the stroke of half-time to make it 13-8 at the break.
After a ponderous restart from the Pirates, Nottingham cranked up their driving maul and marched home to score after just five minutes. Barlow then converted Hall's try. The Pirates responded to the shock with some good phases of play, leading to a score for Chris Cracknell as the flanker crashed home for his fifth try of the season. Despite missing the conversion Steenson extended the home lead with a 65th minute penalty to set up a tense finale.
Time and again Nottingham attacked. The Pirates, defending with increasing desperation, held firm but when they did get the ball kicked away possession too easily. It gave the visitors the platform they needed - and when their chance finally came, they took it.
The Cornish All Blacks produced arguably their best performance of the season but still came away from the Butts Park Arena with nothing to show for their efforts.
Two late penalty misses by new signing Scott Ireland denied them even a bonus point to take back to Cornwall with them, and results elsewhere saw them drop back into the relegation zone.
However, Ireland enjoyed a good away debut for the All Blacks with a personal 17-point haul, while winger Matt Jess weighed in with two tries against a side who had won 28-19 at Plymouth Albion only seven days before.
"It was a big ask of the players to go away to somewhere like Coventry on the back of their victory over Plymouth, but ultimately we gave an outstanding performance," said All Blacks' joint head coach Jon Hill.
"We were very, very pleased with all of our attacking play. Perhaps we let them in for two soft scores that really cost us in the end, but it was a massive progression for us.
"Most pleasing were the full debuts of 'Ron' Ireland and Tinus Du Plessis, who really made a massive impact, and the return of Mike Myerscough, and their performances have really filled us with confidence going into the Exeter game this weekend."
Kiwi fly half Ireland gave the All Blacks the lead after only a minute with a penalty, and he added another soon after, following Jon Fabian's miss from inside his own half.
However, the lead was shortlived as Coventry fly half Myles Dorrian skipped through the defensive line to score a try that he converted for a 7-6 lead.
The hosts added another touchdown only three minutes later when Kurt Johnson sent flanker James Miller free down the right for a second score, and although Dorrian squandered the conversion chance, he added a penalty to make it 15-6.
The visitors, though, struck back when man of the match Ryan Westren broke in midfield and fed skipper Andy Birkett, who put Jess in at the corner, and Ireland converted to close the gap to only two points.
They regained the lead after a thrilling opening 25 minutes when Fabian capitalised on a mistake by the home side and sent in Jess for his second try under the posts, which Ireland converted.
But the All Blacks suffered a blow when lock Steve Pape was yellow-carded for pulling down a maul, and Coventry made the most of their one-man advantage to score through flanker Darren Clayton, though Dorrian hit the upright with his conversion attempt to leave the scores tied at 20-20 at the break.
Coventry exploded out of the blocks in the second half and claimed their fourth try through skipper Laurence McGlone, with Dorrian adding the extras, but they then had hooker Chris Whitehead yellow carded.
The All Blacks though, try as they might, were crucially unable to score while their hosts were one man down, and when Whitehead returned, winger George Dixon crossed to put Coventry 12 points clear.
The Cornishmen refused to give up the fight and the impressive Ireland grabbed his first try for the club, slotting the conversion for good measure to put the visitors within a score of victory.
But Dorrian sealed it for Coventry with another penalty to leave the All Blacks still seeking their first away point of the campaign.
The Tigers, labelled the survivors in National 1, having finished 10th, 13th and 13th again in their three seasons at this level, had confirmed in the past that they are a dangerous outfit not to be underestimated. Indeed, the Pirates had lost two of their three previous visits to Sedgley Park's ground, in Whitefield, Manchester.
The Pirates made four changes to the line-up from the one that had started the previous week against Nottingham, with recalls on the wing and at scrum-half respectively for Ali Koko and Richard Bolt, in place of Rhodri McAtee and Ed Fairhurst.
In the forwards, Heino Senekal was about to make his first appearance since returning from World Cup duty with Namibia, taking the place of Bruce Cumming, and Matt Evans, who has made a welcome return back to full fitness following injuries suffered away to Coventry at the end of last season, replaced Chris Cracknell on the blind-side flank.
Showing early domination at the line-out, the Cornish Pirates put sufficient pressure upon their opponents for them to concede a penalty, which enabled the fly-half Gareth Steenson to put the visitors 3-0 up with only five minutes on the clock. It was just as needed, but what followed proved to be more balanced, as both sides tested each other without either making any serious impression.
Right on the half-hour mark the first try of the game was scored, full-back Ollie Thomas once again playing the telling role for the Pirates as he casually took to hand a wayward Park clearance before setting off on a meandering, tackle avoiding run which took him to the line. Steenson added the extras.
It looked likely that the Pirates would arrive at the break 10-0 up, but to their credit, there was still time for Sedgley Park to secure some points of their own. Influential fly-half Phil Jones slotting a penalty just after his half-back partner Jamie Albinson, who had made a number of danger-sign darting runs in the half, had to depart proceedings with a neck injury.
A second penalty kicked by Jones brought Sedgley Park back into contention early into the second period, a time when further changes in personnel were made to add to a number of others forced earlier for both sides due to injuries.
The Cornish Pirates have had to cope with their fair share of pressure on the field in recent weeks, a quick response now asked for and delivered when an opportunist response by Steenson saw him run in a try at the posts, which he also converted.
On certain occasions such a score might have broken the opposition team's will, but player-coach Tim Fourie's Tigers were still more than up for a scrap.
Jones almost created a try-scoring chance for replacement centre Freeman Payne who, though not able to take advantage, didn't waste a second opportunity which soon came his way after good play from his midfield partner Andy Craig, a former Scotland international. Payne's try by the sticks was converted by Jones and it was now tension time once more.
With only a few minutes left, victory was still in either side's grasp. Both teams had their chances, the Pirates ultimately relieved when a second Steenson penalty of the match proved the last score of the game.
It secured a hard-fought win, one which everyone knew would be difficult to attain, with the home side also fully deserving of their bonus point acquired.
Cornish Pirates head coach, Jim McKay, commented: "Sedgley Park are a good side who made things difficult for us. It wasn't pretty, but we didn't give up and we got four points."
On a chilly afternoon in Yorkshire that was a performance to warm the heart of any Pirates fan - and made for a thoroughly painless, though long, journey home.
There was something about the resolve, the sheer grit, and never-say-die attitude about the Pirates at Castle Park that reminded me of that cup run last season. It was never going to be a classic match and any thoughts of running rugby were dismissed by most long before the teams took the field. Yet there was a togetherness in the Pirates ranks missing for much of the season so far. Fifteen individuals became a true cohesive fighting unit in Doncaster on Saturday.
So the question is now, can they do it again? Well, why not? Next up come the misfiring and under-performing Rotherham Titans to the Camborne Rec. There are no walkovers in this league but the Pirates must surely fancy themselves here. It is time to lay the ghost of that dreadful afternoon against Nottingham and put on a show for the home faithful. Not everyone was lucky enough to be at Castle Park.
Doncaster is a welcoming club boasting fantastic facilities yet to be seen at a club ground in the Duchy. They will come for sure, but in the mean time we just have to appreciate what others can offer.
As a club they also boast something that must surely worry their die-hard fans, players and club officials. With 10 minutes remaining and the Pirates clinging on by a single point, people were leaving the ground. There was a queue of cars slowly exiting the car park. The Knights were camped on the Pirates line - they desperately needed their supporters during this crucial phase of the game, yet for a good few it was clearly just too much effort. The only noise you could clearly hear came from the army of Pirates on the East Terrace.
We do not have this fickleness at Camborne. I hope we never do. It is a by-product of the soccer-age and an unwanted spectacle in rugby union, but I have seen it before, at Henley Hawks, and just as here it saddened me.
From the confines of a raucous team bus bound for Cornwall, Robin Turner later told me how grateful and proud he and the squad were for the commitment and effort shown by the Pirates fans for travelling en masse to Doncaster. The compliment was genuine and heartfelt. The victory at Castle Park truly had been a team effort and the fans, the 16th man, had done just as much as anyone else to bring it about.
That special relationship, that kind of loyalty, is to my mind simply priceless.
Redruth Coach Nigel Hambly had a smile for the first time this season after Saturday's win. "We got back to doing what we do well, working hard and working for each other," was his view on the teams performance.
But he was keeping his feet on the ground.
"It has been a tough couple of months for us and we have contributed to that massively. We had a clear the air talk after the Blaydon performance and we have turned things around a little bit. I'm not getting carried away, we're still two off the bottom, the picture is by no means rosy but there are a lot of positives to take out of today's game.
"I thought for large parts of the game we played some nice rugby in the right areas which we have not done for a while.
"We kept pressure on them (Halifax), when they made mistakes we turned them over and scored."
Hambly recognised the efforts of the tight forwards. He said: "The front five in the last two games have been pretty good, made lots of tackles and forced some turnovers, The guys are working for each other."
Another factor in the Reds' win was the play at scrum half of David Pascoe. Hambly recognised the former Penryn player's contribution. "MR (Mark Richards) is a quality player but sometimes you need a change, Dave Pascoe has been a catalyst in us playing better, he had a chance and he has taken it.
"We have copped some flack, we are turning it around slowly, we are taking one game at a time, we've got three tough games coming up but we have got a bit of confidence now.
"We will work hard this week and prepare for Stourbridge on Saturday. The boys deserve a drink tonight. We are slowly putting some pride back in the red shirt."
The Cornish All Blacks were unlucky not to get at least a bonus point from this match. Having scored a try in the last minute of injury time to close the points gap to 23 - 31, fly-half Scott Ireland needed to land the difficult conversion to put the home side to within 7 points of the winners. Unfortunately, he missed. Yet, some minutes earlier, he had missed a much easier conversion from in front of the posts which, as it turned out, would also have secured the bonus point. On that occasion, with the Blacks then only one score behind and anxious to get more points on the board, he hurried his kick -- and missed.
There were a lot of positives for the All Blacks to take from this match. In particular, Matt Jess had a fine game and looked threatening every time he touched the ball. The forwards pick-and-drive game worked well, particularly in the second half. The Cornish team played most of the attacking rugby.
The Blacks' undoing was that they had no answer to the Nottingham rolling maul. The writing was on the wall after only 7 minutes when the Notts' fly-half kicked a penalty towards the corner. From the ensuing catch-and-drive, the huge Notts' pack started their march towards the Blacks' line, and there was no legal way in which the home side could stop them. The successful conversion made it 7 - 0 to the visitors.
This was a tactic that Nottingham were to use again and again during the match, and it helped them run in five tries.
Ireland pulled a penalty back for the Blacks, but another rolling maul soon made it 14-3 to the visitors.
The Blacks came out fired up for the second half, and put pressure on the visitors with some strong pick-and-drives, forward and back combinations, and loose play. Alas, it was not enough.
Having lost their previous three games, scoring just three points in the process, and parted company with their head coach, Phil Werahiko, Rotherham were desperate to put in a good performance for the new man at the helm - Craig West. They did just that and after 25 minutes had stifled the Pirates, silenced the home crowd and led 10-0. A grim afternoon at the Rec was developing fast.
The Pirates only had themselves to blame for their problems. Rotherham had come with a simple game plan, centred on their strong pack and concentrated on slow ball driven up the middle. The Pirates allowed themselves to be dictated to at the set piece, which resulted in several lost line-outs and a scrummage shunted backwards too often for comfort as Rotherham capitalised on Pirates hesitancy.
Denied a try in the ninth minute only by a forward pass, Jamie Blackwood kicked the visitors ahead a minute later following a 25-metre penalty. With the Pirates all too eager to kick away hard won possession, Rotherham were able to keep the home side firmly on the back foot. They were denied a try again from a close range driving maul by a handling error, only to finally cross the whitewash moments later.
Rotherham scrum-half and former Pirate, Neil Chivers, seized the ball from an attacking scrum 10 metres out. His blindside break and Tuohy's missed tackle allowing him to scamper over in the clubhouse corner. Blackwood slotted the conversion and the Pirates were in trouble.
After half an hour, the Pirates finally put some pace on the game and immediately Rotherham were shaken. Steenson, Motusaga and Cowley were all prominent as the Yorkshiremen were at last forced to retreat.
Rotherham flanker Neil Cochrane was incredibly fortunate to stay on the field after a cynical trip on Motusaga, but two minutes later the Pirates struck as lock Joe Beardshaw was driven over in the town corner, following an incisive break from Buckley. Steenson converted with a monster of a kick from the touchline. That was as good as it got in a turgid first half, mercifully ended early by the whistle of Mr Doyle. Whatever was said in the Pirates' dressing room at the break had an effect as they were out of the blocks quickly at the restart. Five minutes of Pirates' pressure resulted in a try for Nathan Kemp after a bulldozing drive from Bruce Cumming.
Steenson again converted but a minute later Blackwood replied with a penalty for Rotherham, as the Pirates were penalised for holding on.
The introduction of Fairhurst at scrum-half breathed new life into the Pirates, and he scored his second try in two weeks after 55 minutes as he danced through a gap in heavy traffic to touch down by the posts.
Vunga Lilo almost crowned his home debut with a score after 62 minutes when his blistering 60-metre break was ended only by a flailing last ditch tackle. The Pirates then opted for route one and claimed a try scoring bonus point as Motusaga crashed over after excellent work by Cowley and Dawiduik.
Steenson's fourth conversion sealed a five-point win.
There was still time for McAtee to be yellow carded for an offence in the loose as he went looking for work, while Rotherham's Connolly unbelievably escaped punishment following a late tackle on Lilo.
Then with the Pirates unable to clear their lines and forced to defend at length, the rumbling Rotherham maul struck as Wade was driven over deep in stoppage time.
On a cold damp November afternoon the Yorkshire side just about deserved the four points from this dour, forward-oriented encounter to maintain their promotion push for a swift return to National League 1.
It wasn't a game for the purist: when both sides weren't engaged in an ariel bombardment exchange, then it was trench warfare of the pick-and-go variety. But Otley also brought with them their savoir faire and nous from last season in National League 1 and it showed!
In fairness, the visitors did have the majority of the territorial advantage throughout the match, though credit to the Redruth defence, whichheld out under considerable pressure. Otley too were manful in defence, both sides only conceding tries when they had a man in the bin.
Both packs should take a big bow for their huge effort and commitment today.
The opening score didn't arrive until the 22 minute, through a penalty kicked by Otley full back and skipper Ian Shuttleworth. Just prior to the opening score the Reds lost their full back Rob Thirlby with a thigh injury.
Reds' scrum half Mark Richards was a the centre of much that the Reds attempted, mixing up the play with clever box kicks and ground-making grubber kicks. He was also quick to spot any gaps in the pretty mean Otley defence.
The Reds enjoyed their best periods of the game either side of half-time. Running up to the break they had a long period of possession in the Otley 22. The visitors were reduced to 14 men when flanker Nathan Bland was guilty of a professional foul. From the resultant penalty and catch-and-drive the Reds went through various phases of play before the lively Richards crashed over for a try which Gareth Griffiths converted for a 7-3 half-time lead.
Otley managed to pull back three points early on with a second Shuttleworth penalty kick, before the Reds looked like continuing where they had left off. A long period of possession saw them encamped down in the Strawberry Lane corner, but unlike the first half this time they could find no way through the stern Yorkshire defence. In the context of this match it was to prove a seminal moment.
There were long periods of stalemate during the second half. Eventually the breakthrough came through Redruth hesitation allowing Otley to mount a big assault down in Hell Fire corner. Numerous phases of play eventually led to the Reds conceding a penalty which resulted in flanker Nathan Pascoe seeing a yellow card. The Reds infringed once more on their line and Mr. Sainsbury had no hesitation in running under the posts to award a penalty try on 72 minutes, Shuttleworth adding the extras for a six point lead.
Redruth threw everything at Otley in an attempt to wrest the game back, though to no avail. Thankfully for the Reds supporters, Shuttleworth missed with a couple of late penalty attempts which would have denied the Reds a losing bonus point.
The result was as dreary as the weather. Both David Penberthy and Nigel Hambly were philosophical after the final whistle as they prepare the Reds for another tough assignment next Saturday at leaders Manchester.
REDRUTH 7 pts: Try Richards; Conversion Griffiths; Yellow Card, Pascoe
OTLEY 13 pts: Penalty Try; Conversion, Penalties (2) Shuttleworth; Yellow Card, Bland
Redruth: Thirlby (Peters 20), Vinnicombe, Meredith, PJ Gidlow,
Bonds (capt), Griffiths, Richards; Jacques, Cooper (M. Gidlow 76), Joyce
(Morcom 65), Cook, Collins, Pascoe, Fuca (Betty 58), Bright. Otley;
Shuttleworth (capt), Parsons, Whatmuff, Mooney, Smith, Monks,
Easterby;Trethewey (McCormack 65), Steele (Plevey 47), Fullman, Snowball,
Williams, Tiffany, Bland, Stockdale.
Reps not used, Wenderell, Andre
Ref Mr. D. Sainsbury (RFU)
Despite the difficult playing conditions following the heavy rain during the morning, Redruth served up a ten-try feast to advance into the fourth round draw of the EDF-Energy Trophy, one of four Cornish clubs in Monday's draw at Twickenham.
Redruth will be only too aware that the Stourbridge side they defeated this afternoon will bear little resemblance to the side they will face in two weeks time when the Reds travel to Stourton Park in a league encounter. Stourbridge had thirteen changes in their line up from the side that started their last National League 2 encounter at Henley. Victory came at a price though, with Redruth's winger Lewis Vinnicombe suffering a dislocated shoulder in the dying minutes of this cup-tie.
It was the visitors who kicked off, playing down the slope. Before long, Redruth were taking the game to Stourbridge in a lively opening. Redruth's No 8 Mark Bright was soon making ground with his powerful runs, as was centre PJ Gidlow in the midfield. The home side were perhaps guilty of pressing a touch too hard during the opening stages, making a number of mistakes. Stourbridge looked comfortable at this stage, popping up passes with their young England U. 18 scrum-half Daniel Pointon confidentially spreading the ball to his backs and looking sharp. However, a loose kick by the visitors towards the Redruth 22 was seized upon by Vinnicombe on 12 minutes. Chipping ahead into space, he gathered his own kick before easily out sprinting the cover to score under the posts. Fly-half Gareth Griffiths kicked the first of his successful seven conversions of the afternoon as the scoreboard began to tick over.
From the re-start Vinnicombe was at it again with