This page is an archive of match reports that have previously appeared on the News page. Mostly, they've been submitted by Trelawny's Army members. Please feel free to send in your own reports of matches that you enjoy.
Cornwall coaching co-ordinator Dave 'Benji' Thomas admitted his side had been made to pay for their mistakes as they went down 25-11 to Northumberland in yesterday's County Shield final at Twickenham.
Cornwall conceded two tries in each half, but Thomas felt three of the scores were self-inflicted. Poor tackling and a woeful clearance kick provided Northumberland with their first two tries, while a crossfield kick caught Cornwall napping for the fourth and final touchdown, provided by winger Peter Cole.
"We gave away 17 points without any question at all," said Thomas, who suffered his third defeat in four Twickenham finals with Cornwall. "We were in it, except for those mistakes, but at the next level up, you can't afford to make mistakes like that. You've got to be absolutely watertight.
"We are disappointed for all the spectators who came to support us. What a turn-out of Cornish people it was, and they gave the team their complete backing, but we didn't play to our potential by any means."
Thomas was impressed with the way Northumberland played, but revealed he had been frustrated with some of the decisions made by ref Richard Phillips.
"Northumberland were a very well-organised side. They won the breakdowns and we lost a lot of ball in contact, and that was the deciding factor.
"We've been bossing the breakdowns in the other games we've played this season, but we didn't do that today. Perhaps I was not as happy as I might have been (with the refereeing of the breakdowns), and the decisions went against us, but you have got to play with what you get. We didn't have the ball to make the platform to get people moving."
Despite the disappointment, Cornwall can look back on a successful campaign, where they have won promotion back to the top flight, and their goal next season is to play in the main County Championship final, which enjoys a later kick-off than the 10am start they had to endure yesterday.
"At the end, the players said that they had given five weeks of their close season up to play for Cornwall, and they'd like to do it again, so I said 'okay, let's come back for a 12 o'clock kick-off next year'. That's the target," said Thomas.
London is calling for the first time in years for Cornish rugby, for the famous Black and Golds will be back at Twickenham after they booked their place in the final of this season's County Shield following a comfortable 43-0 success over Eastern Counties on Saturday.
Not since 2001 -- when they tackled Yorkshire in the Tetley Bitter Challenge -- have the Duchy graced the home of English rugby. That, as the title makes out, was merely a friendly encounter after the County Championship had been called off that season because of the foot and mouth crisis.
Since then, Cornwall have endured lean times within the county structure, including surrendering their spot within the main Championship group. Instead it has been near neighbours Devon who have emerged as the leading lights and Twickenham regulars.
It has certainly been a tough pill to swallow for many members of Trelawny's Army, but on Saturday their loyalty was rewarded when their heroes not only sealed their final date against Northumberland on June 1, but also their place back in the Bill Beaumont Cup.
For returning coach Dave 'Benji' Thomas -- the man who steered Cornwall to glory over Yorkshire at Twickenham in 1991 -- Saturday's success was just the first part of what he hopes will be a memorable second spell in charge.
Knowing nothing less than victory would be good enough following their defeat at Hertfordshire the week previous, Cornwall wasted little time in getting stuck into their Eastern counterparts, who had arrived in the Far West with an unblemished record.
Indeed, it took just three minutes for the home side to bag the first of their six tries. With Richard Carroll brought into the fray for the first time in the campaign, the experienced Mounts Bay lock quickly set the tone for the day's proceedings.
He -- along with his fellow forwards -- tore into the visitors in a lively opening blast, one which created the opening for the home back line (made up predominantly from the Cornish All Blacks) to deliver their first score.
Quick ball from Mark Richards at the base of a ruck saw it shipped along the line through Messrs Scrivener, Perry and Westren to the onrushing Matt Jess, who needed no reminding on how to cross the whitewash.
Fly-half Mark Scrivener bagged the conversion, before adding the extras to a try from No.8 Sam Hocking on nine minutes, then a penalty midway through the half after full-back Paul Thirlby had been upended by a high tackle.
It was certainly a dream start for Cornwall, who continued to boss all facets of the game, particularly the breakdown. It was therefore no surprise when they extended their advantage to 24-0 when more good donkey work from the home pack enabled Richards to feed Steve Perry, whose looping pass in midfield found the onrushing Jess, who in turn offloaded to Thirlby just yards from the line.
Three minutes later and the Redruth full-back was claiming his second of the game, this time finishing off more good approach work involving Westren and Scrivener, the latter of whom converted once more to make it 31-0.
It was one-way traffic and -- with half time fast approaching -- Cornwall claimed their fifth try of the game. Having won a penalty, Scrivener kicked for the corner. The resulting line-out was taken by Carroll and, when the shove was applied, it was lock Ben Hilton who emerged from the bottom of the pile clutching the ball.
At 36-0 down, the stunned Eastern Counties side could well have packed up there and then. Indeed, things got even worse when they fell further behind just five minutes into the second half.
A loose kick out of defence had Cornwall's Lewis Vinnicombe tracking back deep inside his own half, but when the Redruth speedster turned on the after burners, no one could stop him as he scorched his way to the line. Scrivener landed the conversion with his last telling action of the day.
With the game effectively done and dusted at that point, the second half somewhat deteriorated as a spectacle. Replacements aplenty littered proceedings, while some resolute home defence ensured the visitors were to return home empty handed.
Not that Thomas was complaining too much at the final whistle. "I'm delighted," he said. "The boys played fantastically well, especially in the first half. It was textbook stuff and you couldn't have asked for any more.
"They were really fired up for it. They were disappointed after last week and disappointed for all the supporters who went up to Hertfordshire to support them. They were determined to put things right."
Cornwall certainly did that with some style, but Thomas knows there is still much work to be done in the coming days.
"I am very lucky to have been to Twickenham three times, unfortunately losing twice and winning once," added Thomas. "But we are in a professional era and I have had to re-learn coming back in to try and set things up in Cornwall.
"What is better than getting back into Division One of county rugby, where we rightfully belong? I bet there are people up at Twickenham tonight rubbing their hands thinking 'Cornwall are back'."
Cornwall: 15. Paul Thirlby (Redruth), 14. Matt Jess (Cornish All
Blacks), 13. Ryan Westren (Cornish All Blacks), 12. Steve Perry (Cornish All
Blacks), 11. Lewis Vinnicombe (Redruth), 10. Mark Scrivenor (Cornish All
Blacks), 9. Mark Richards (Redruth), 1. Darren Jacques (Redruth), 2. James
Salter (Mounts Bay), 3. Danny Clackworthy (Mounts Bay), 4. Ben Hilton (Mounts
Bay), 5. Richard Carroll (Mounts Bay), 6. Josh Lord (Captain, Cornish All
Blacks), 7. Adam Nicholls (Mounts Bay), 8. Sam Hocking (Cornish All Blacks)
Replacements: 16. Ricky Pellow (Mounts Bay), 17. Jamie Semmens
(Mounts Bay), 18. Darren Semmens (Mounts Bay), 19.Paul Andrew (Mounts Bay), 20.
John Griffiths (Mounts Bay), 21. Chris Fuca (Redruth)
Cornwall have taken their passionate and loyal fans on a real rollercoaster ride in recent seasons, delighting and frustrating them in almost equal measure.
Performances like the one against Devon two seasons ago, last year against Surrey, and nine days ago when thrashing Oxfordshire have put smiles on the faces of Trelawny's Army.
However, the 2006 display against Hertfordshire, the humiliating defeat at Somerset last year, and now this latest shocker, again to Hertfordshire, have left them pulling their hair out in despair.
When a whole squad of National League players lines up against one containing only four plying their trade at that level, the result should be a foregone conclusion. Yet, once again, as they did at Highfields two seasons ago, Cornwall showed a baffling propensity to press the self-destruct button.
Some of the rugby they produced on Saturday was sublime: Mark Richards' beautiful reverse pass to send Mark Scrivener in for the first try after only 95 seconds; a dazzling second try for winger Matt Jess as he jinked and weaved his way past a whole host of defenders to reach the line; and Ryan Westren's stand-out performance in the centre were just some of the moments to relish.
However, some of their rugby beggared belief. Overthrown line-outs five metres from their own line; setting off on suicidal runs from deep inside their own 22 when a simple clearance kick to touch would have sufficed. At times, it was brainless.
Hertfordshire deserve plenty of praise for once again raising their game and capitalising on Cornwall's blunders to secure a victory by an almost identical score to two years ago, when it finished 31-27, but for Dave "Benji" Thomas, who guided the Duchy to County Championship glory in 1991, it was a reality check after the previous weekend's dream start.
"We made three very, very silly mistakes during the first half near our own line and they scored three tries, and you cannot afford to give those points away at this level, and we need to look at tightening up in those areas," he said.
"We knew it wouldn't be a stroll in the park, after what happened to Cornwall here two years ago, and we were determined to play an all-out attacking game like last week, but give Hertfordshire full credit. They did their homework on us and stopped us early on and kept us playing in areas we didn't want to play in, and we didn't get as much ball as last week."
Despite the defeat, Cornwall's hopes of finishing top of the group, winning promotion and going to Twickenham are still, pretty much, in their own hands.
Victory over an unbeaten Eastern Counties at Camborne on Saturday should see them achieve their goal, by virtue of a far superior points difference, provided that Hertfordshire do not run up a cricket score at home to Oxfordshire.
Cornwall could not have got off to a better start on a very hot and humid day in Hertford, with Scrivener converting his second-minute try for a 7-0 lead, but then matters started to become a struggle as the hosts caused problems in the scrums and line-outs.
Hertfordshire responded in the 12th minute when flanker Ian Hardcastle broke off the back of a 25-metre line-out, bursting through a couple of tackles before sending scrum-half Ryan De La Harpe over for a try. Fly-half Richard Gregg squandered the conversion, but that proved to be his only miss of the afternoon.
Cornwall moved 12-7 ahead when a clever miss-pass by Westren sent All Blacks flyer Jess tearing around the last defender to touch down in the corner, but they were then hit by a two-try blast from home skipper and Henley Hawks No.8 Dave Archer.
He firstly capitalised on an overthrow at a close-range line-out to dive over, and then dotted down off the back of a five-metre scrum.
Gregg converted both to make it 19-12 at the interval, and then added a 40-metre penalty soon after the break as Cornwall failed to capitalise on their extra man after De La Harpe had been sin-binned in first-half injury time for throwing a punch.
The All Blacks' monopoly on Cornwall's points-scoring continued in the 51st minute when Richards spotted Westren's beautifully-timed run, and he fed his Polson team-mate Jess for his brilliant solo effort, with Scrivener adding a fine conversion.
Gregg gave Hertfordshire some breathing space with two more penalties to make it 28-19, but when Westren went over under the posts after a neat pass by replacement fly-half Marek Churcher in the 76th minute, and full-back Paul Thirlby converted to make it 28-26, Cornwall's hopes were rekindled.
Gregg, though, slotted another penalty, and his side then produced some desperate defence during eight long minutes of injury time to hang on for another amazing victory over far more illustrious opponents.
Trelawny's Army ran a coach to the match. Here are some pictures taken, on the coach and at the match, by Phil Trevarton.
He was the man who famously guided Cornwall to County Championship glory at Twickenham in 1991. Now, some 17 years later, Dave 'Benji' Thomas has taken on a new assignment with the Black & Golds, one he hopes will bring similar reward.
Having been coaxed back into the coaching frame earlier this year, Thomas' latest brief is similar to that of days gone by, namely to get the Cornish rugby folk heading back to the nation's capital later this month.
Unlike last time, however, the experienced coach has also been entrusted with trying to lead Cornwall back to the top table of county rugby following a couple of seasons languishing in the duldrums.
On Saturday, the new era began in fine style as Cornwall ran riot in their opening County Shield fixture of the season, dispatching visiting Oxfordshire 66-8 at Redruth's Recreation Ground.
As Thomas remarked afterwards "it was the dream start" and he was not wrong. Unlike recent campaigns, Cornwall were back firing on all cylinders with a performance which was packed full of pride and passion.
In the end the Cornishmen -- made up solely of representatives from Mounts Bay, Redruth and the Cornish All Blacks -- ran in 11 tries. It could, however, have easily been more, such was the dominance they held throughout the whole game.
The first of those scores came after just three minutes, Redruth centre Simon Peters intercepting a pass deep inside his own half before racing to the line for Mark Scrivener to add the necessary extras.
The visitors briefly countered with a penalty from fly-half James Cathcart, but that was just one of two scoring openings they would get all afternoon as Cornwall wasted little time in re-establishing their grip on proceedings.
With the home pack -- led superbly by skipper Josh Lord -- ruling the roost, Cornwall were given the perfect platform from which to launch numerous attacking options. Indeed, with ten minutes on the clock, Ben Hilton's line-out take on the left helped to set up a series of drives involving Darren Jacques amd John Griffiths, before the ball was fed out to the back division where winger Lewis Vinnicombe -- darting in off the right flank -- cut a lovely line to slice open up the Oxfordshire rearguard for a second time.
Scrivener extended Cornwall's lead to 15-3 moments later with a penalty, before Redruth pair Mark Richards and Vinnicombe scored two tries in four minutes, the latter converted by Scrivener, to leave Oxfordshire with a mountain to climb.
To their credit, the visitors dug deep for a period and, just before the break, their efforts were rewarded when they caught the home side napping in defence. Winger Nick Sevier crossing for what was to prove their only remaining points of the game.
However, there was still time for Cornwall to add a fifth try in first-half injury time when Lord and Scrivener combined to good effect to create the opening for Redruth flanker Chris Fuca to ghost in under the posts. Scrivener's successful conversion brought proceedings to a close with the home side firmly in control at 34-8.
Any thoughts that Cornwall would be happy to shut up shop for the second period were extinguished within six minutes of the restart when Vinnicombe picked up a lovely line once again to race over for his hat-trick score.
Mounts Bay winger Jamie Semmens could have heaped further misery on the visitors shortly after, but the full-back was unable to hold on to Ryan Westren's inviting pass just metres from the line.
In the grand scheme of things, it did not really matter. However, Cornwall were far from finished and when their pack proved too hot to handle just past the hour mark, referee Nigel Higginson finally lost patience with Oxfordshire's numerous attempts to kill a driving maul and awarded the home side a penalty try which, somehow, Semmens was unable to convert.
With the game safely in the bag, Cornwall used the final quarter of the game to showcase their skills. Lord -- who together with Cornish All Blacks club-mate Sam Hocking were the stand-out performers for the Duchy -- weaved his way over for try number eight, quickly followed by Semmens, who applied the finish to a slick handling move which had been worked from one side of the field to the other.
Both scores went unconverted, as did Marek Churcher's touchdown four minutes from time. On this occasion, the lack of a recognised goalkicker, following the replacement of Scrivener due to cramp, was not too much of a concern. It will, however, need to be addressed for later in the competition.
Semmens did finally get one between the sticks when he converted Jason Bolt's injury-time score. Started by a great turnover by Adam Nicholls just inside his own 22, Cornwall worked the ball down field through at least eight different pairs of hands to Bolt who, in an unaccustomed role of left winger, made the most of the space out wide to charge over.
For Thomas, it was the ideal outcome on his return to the county scene. "Who would have believed it would have been 60-odd points?" he remarked at the final whistle.
"It was a dream start and one that we aimed for. It was one that the players aspired to. They have worked really hard this week in training and in their organisation.
"I impressed on them this week all about the pride and passion in playing for Cornwall and that showed out on the field as all 22 of them gave 110 per cent and I thought our performance at times was out of the top drawer."
With Hertfordshire next up at Hertford this Saturday, Thomas knows tougher tests lie in store for his young side. However, this opening-day victory -- he believes -- has set the tone nicely for a successful push for Twickenham. "This is the first block of stone if you like," he added. "We have two more games and next week we know will be much harder. We will, though, go away with a bit of a spring in our step and know we can build off this.
"It was a solid foundation for us and, one of the pleasing things for me was, the backs and forwards integrated very well. We saw some lovely tries by the backs, then we saw Jason Bolt -- the replacement loosehead -- running 30, 40 yards down the left touchline to score a try, so I think that really epitomised the way we tried to play today."
Another year and it's yet another promotion for unstoppable Mounts Bay.
The Cornishmen celebrated their seventh rise in eight seasons this weekend after a 28-16 victory over second-placed Cinderford at the Mennaye Field, and will now begin planning for a new season in National Division Two.
As the players celebrated afterwards with champagne on the pitch, delighted forwards coach Adrian Bick admitted the magnitude of his side's achievement had yet to truly hit home. But he looked forward to more exciting new challenges during the 2008-09 season.
He said: "This is what it's all about, isn't it -- penultimate game of the season against the runners-up going for promotion -- this is what you train for all those long, hard nights. You can just see it on the guys' faces out there, they are blown away by it.
"I think the step up to Division Two is an even bigger one than from South West One to Division Three, but the guys on the field have done it, and they've put everything in place with the win today.
"But we can't take anything away from Cinderford, who are a great team, and I can see them going up as well from the play-offs."
Indeed, the champions were made to work harder for their crown than the final score suggests.
Cinderford put Bay under immense pressure in the opening minutes, a situation which was compounded by the home side's malfunctioning line-out gifting the visitors possession and the initiative deep in Bay territory.
Although they stood firm, it took Mounts Bay a full ten minutes to break into the opposition half, but when they did they forced a penalty for offside 27 metres from goal. However, Lee Jarvis's kick drifted wide to the right.
Both sides traded blows for another ten minutes before Bay's line-out woes finally cost them. Second-rower Ben Hilton stretched to reach Jamie Salter's throw-in but could only help the ball into Cinderford hands, allowing scrum-half Tom Dickens the chance to run over the line on the left.
Although winger Danny Trigg missed the conversion attempt, he added a penalty from just inside the Bay half in the 26th minute to extend his side's lead. Jarvis, however, responded with an identical kick in the opposite direction five minutes later after a Bay penalty was moved ten metres forward inside the Cinderford half for dissent.
Bay seized momentum, and in the 34th minute scrum-half Ricky Pellow chased his own grubber kick down the right and put the receiver into touch to set up a catch-and-drive chance, but the throw-in failed to meet its target and Cinderford cleared the danger.
They didn't kick it far enough, however, as Bay came surging back, and after receiving the ball in space on the left, Jon Marlin burst down the touchline to squeeze over the line by the flag to level the scores -- Jarvis' conversion kick narrowly going wide.
However, the former Welsh international showed the class and the poise that Bay will surely miss next season after he departs for Cardiff when he put his side into the lead right on the half-time whistle with a sensational 35-yard drop goal from left flank after six minutes of injury time.
It was a canny move by the experienced fly-half which turned the mood firmly in his side's favour. Jarvis explained: "It was eight all and we were putting on a lot of pressure and not getting anything from it. I knew it was the last play of the game, and if we'd moved it we might have got turned over, so I decided to have a go and luckily it came off."
However, within three minutes of the restart, Trigg brought Cinderford level with a penalty on the Bay 22, awarded for failing to roll away. But Bay came straight back down the left with full-back Tim Mosey feeding Marlin by the touchline before the winger unselfishly offloaded to Adam Nicholls, who crashed over for the try. Jarvis then scored the tricky conversion to give Bay a seven-point lead.
And when Nicholls smashed through the Cinderford line again eight minutes later -- with Jarvis converting -- the home side felt some comfort.
This feeling increased when Jarvis punished the visitors with another measured penalty kick just after the hour mark.
Replacement Mike Wallis pulled back an unconverted try for Cinderford, but with just a minute of normal time remaining, it was only a consolation. Another Jarvis drop goal attempt, this time from well inside his own half, just fell short in the fifth minute of injury time in what would have been a memorable farewell to the Mennaye Field for the talismanic fly-half in his final home game for the club.
New Cornwall coaching co-ordinator Dave "Benji" Thomas was full of praise for his young side as they regained the Tamar Cup from Devon with a 10-7 success at Polson Bridge yesterday.
Thomas, who famously led the Black & Golds to County Championship glory in 1991, has returned to the county set-up to help spearhead the Duchy's bid to get back into the Championship proper.
Assuming control once more, Thomas watched on as Cornwall battled back from 7-0 to claim their slender victory over the Green & Whites, who themselves are the reigning County Kings.
With youth very much to the fore in both line-ups, it was Devon who started the match the brighter. Led by Plymouth Albion No.8 Chris Lowrie, they had the first opportunity of the game when a series of rucks just inside the Cornwall half brought about a penalty.
Sadly fly-half Dan Hawkes was unable to punish Cornwall's early indiscretion as his fifth-minute penalty floated wide of the uprights.
Devon, however, did not have to wait long to register their first points. Flanker Brett Luxton punched his way into the heart of the Cornwall defence and when the ball was recycled wide to the left, Sidmouth centre Harry Chesterton superbly offloaded the ball to Newton Abbot winger Nick Holt to cross in the left corner.
This time Hawkes had no trouble finding his range, plundering a superb touchline conversion between the sticks to make it 7-0.
Although both sides showed plenty of endeavour for much of the first period, a combination of sloppy handling and some over fussy officiating, meant the game never really took off.
Cornwall, though, were slowly finding their feet and with their pack dominating in the set-piece, particularly the scrums, they hauled themselves back into contention right on the stroke of half-time.
A spell of sustained pressure saw the home side camped deep inside the Devon 22 and from a well-worked maul, Launceston No.8 Sam Hocking somehow burrowed his way through the mass of bodies to score a try, which was converted by Camborne full-back David Mankee.
Replacements aplenty littered the early part of the second half and although Mankee saw a 57th-minute penalty not find its target, he made no mistake six minutes later when Devon were penalised for straying offside in front of their own posts.
With Cornwall holding the narrow lead, Devon looked for an immediate response. And, they almost got it when Launceston centre Jake Murphy saw his intended clearance charged down by Plymouth Albion's Steve Johns.
The latter latched onto the loose ball and was seemingly heading for the line until a last-gasp tackle from Wadebridge Camels scrum-half Shaun Hawkey somehow held him up on the line. Devon officials and Johns himself later felt he had touched the ball down before the intervention of Hawkey.
Whatever Devon may have felt then, or after the match, it did not matter as it was Cornwall who finished the match the stronger. Twice in the closing minutes the hosts went close to extending their lead, but they were thwarted by some dogged defence from Devon.
"It was a very pleasing start," said a delighted Thomas at the final whistle. "Coming in today, I think the biggest thing from me was the passion showed by the boys today. They played with a lot of heart, a lot of passion and a lot of commitment. It was apparent from the kick-off until the final whistle. You cannot coach that, but you can ask for that from players and that's what they did.
"Also I felt our defence for a side who only met up earlier in the week was awesome. It was very strong, especially around the fringes, and that is a real solid base for us to work from."
Now Thomas will switch his attentions to the County Shield programme which starts in earnest on May 3 at home to Oxfordshire.
He added: "I said to the players on Wednesday that I had a blank sheet of paper and that it was up to them to write their names on the paper for the first game. Certainly some of them have done that in my eyes.
"Obviously we'll look to see what other players will be available later in the season and then we'll look to gel those in with the players on show today. Hopefully then we will have a successful season."
Meanwhile, Devon team manager Roy Henderson had few complaints about the final outcome and bemoaned a "disappointing" display from his side.
"There were one or two pleasing aspects to the game," he said. "I thought Harry Chesterton did well in the centre. He set up the first try and made a few good hits, but overall we're a little disappointed in our all-round display.
"I know we could perhaps claim a disputed try in the second half, but overall I though Cornwall deserved it on the day."
Cornwall: D. Mankee (L. Webb 75), J. Parma (E. Carne 75), J. Murphy, J. Semmens, O. Faulkner, M. Churcher (capt), S. Hawkey; C. Hale (N. Endean 80), T. Hurdwell (M. Ballard 75), R. Tresidder, T. Parker, R. Humphries, C. Fuca (S. Wood h/t, J. Hoskings 55), T. Rawlings (S. Wood 64), S. Hocking (M. Rawlings 53)
Heavy rain overnight, throughout the morning and during the match turned this EDF Energy National Trophy 4th round tie into a veritable mud-bath at Redruth on Sunday afternoon, with credit to the ground staff for getting the game on as the pitch lasted well for the 80 minutes.
In these conditions it was impossible to play any constructive rugby. In the end it was the weight and power of the Welsh pack which proved decisive during the second half, as the exiles played down the slope into Hell Fire corner.
Playing up the slope with the wind at their backs the Welsh established territorial advantage in the Reds' half, yet it was the home side who had the first serious attack when winger Tim McBride hacked the ball downfield, threatening the line, only for the cover to get back before referee Mr Spreadbury gave a knock-on. Soon after Gareth Griffiths launched a cross-kick which only just eluded winger Sam Parsons up in the Piggy Lane corner.
Welsh fly-half Matthew Jones used the wind to good effect, launching prodigious kicks into the Redruth 22. Eventually the visitors obtained a first penalty attempt, which Jones missed on 9 minutes.
Redruth had their fair share of possession, though all too often there was an infringement to halt their progress. A big forward drive near the exiles posts on 28 minutes saw the Reds earn a penalty, which Griffiths kicked to open the score. Jones kicked the first of his penalties a few minutes later to tie the scores.
The Reds were soon back down in the Welsh half. There was a massive punch up between the sides down near the grandstand near the Welsh 22 which lasted for a few minutes and which saw PJ Gidlow for the Reds and prop Kristan Gay for the Welsh sent to the bin. The upshot was a penalty to the Reds, which Griffiths kicked for a 6-3 lead. Once again the lead proved to be short lived as the Reds were guilty of coming in at the side, allowing Jones to tie the scores just before half-time.
The consensus at half-time was that Redruth needed an early score to have a chance. As the half commenced it was clear that the Welsh had upped the pace and they were soon boring down on the Redruth line. A try looked certain until Reds' skipper Craig Bonds intercepted a pass in his 22. He ran out of defence, kicking ahead. It appeared to all in the grandstand that the Welsh player held on to the ball on the ground. "Not so," said Mr Spreadbury, indicating play on with a broad grin on his face as the crowd let him know otherwise. Meantime, and of great concern, Reds' fly-half Gareth Griffiths had to be helped from the field to be replaced by Grant Thirlby.
Redruth had a good period of pressure near the Welsh line. However, they gave away a penalty and the chance was gone.
The heavens opened with a monsoon falling on the Rec. Slowly the heavier Welsh pack began to exert pressure up front and it was no surprise when loose-head prop Charlie Beech crashed over near the posts on 60 minutes to give the National League 1 side the lead. The treacherous conditions saw Jones slip on his backside during his conversion attempt from the 22, the ball hardly rising from the ground.
Redruth were guilty of some indifferent kicking, allowing the Welsh to run back at them with purpose. As the visitors pressed once more in the Piggy Lane corner they earned a penalty, which Jones kicked after 70 minutes to extend their lead. Redruth sensed that the tie was slipping away, and this was confirmed as full back Paul Sampson scored the Welsh second try following a speculative hack downfield into the Piggy Lane corner.
Beaten but certainly not downbeat, Reds' head coach Nigel Hambly, although disappointed at losing, was immensely proud of his players' performance on the day. They fronted up and gave 100% effort, which was all he could ask for. The whole squad had been outstanding, showing great spirit, which he hoped they would carry forward into next Saturday's important league match at home to Cambridge.
Redruth 6 pts: Penalties Griffiths (2)
Yellow Card PJ Gidlow
London Welsh 19 pts: Tries Beech, Sampson; Penalties Jones (3)
Yellow Card Gay
Redruth: C. Bonds (capt), T. McBride (N. Simmons 72), R. Meredith (S. Peters 53), PJ Gidlow, S. Parsons, G. Griffiths (G. Thirlby 43), M. Richards; D. Jacques (N. Douch 70), G. Cooper, P. Joyce (C. Williams 70), D. Cook (N. Corin 70), L. Collins. N. Pascoe, C. Fuca (S. Wood 53), M. Bright.
London Welsh: P. Sampson, G. Evans, J. Storey (T. Marks 42), R.
Jewell, P. Mackay, M. Jones, R. Evans (A. Chiltern 40); C. Beech, A. Kwasnicki
(S. Vuli 49), K. Gay, K. Burke, H. Quigley (M. Corker 76), P. Cox, S. Etheredge
(P. Jones 36), J. Mills (capt, B. Thomas 76)
Replacement not used G.
Nicholls
Referee Mr. A. J. Spreadbury (RFU)
Northampton Saints deservedly took the spoils at Camborne this afternoon, knocking out the EDF Energy National Trophy holders 15-3 in the driving Cornish rain and Camborne mud. Despite the appalling weather a fine crowd of over 4,500 turned up to cheer their favourites on. Although disappointed with the final result they will be full of praise for the effort and commitment of the Pirates' players.
All the scoring came during the first half when the Saints played with the elements at their backs. From the kick-off Northampton, playing towards the scoreboard end, gained territorial advantage in the Pirates' half. The Pirates were forced to spend long periods defending during the opening quarter as the Saints looked to take advantage of the elements. Play was often scrappy with both sides making errors due to the slippery conditions. Saints had an early opportunity with a penalty kicked by former All Black Carlos Spencer into the clubhouse corner, though they lost the lineout.
The pressure eventually told when the Saints earned a penalty on 7 minutes, which was kicked from 40 meters by full back Stephen Myler.
From the re-start the Pirates gained territory to launch an attack on the blindside. Winger Rhodri McAtee was stopped dead in his tracks by his opposite number Chris Ashton, the ball was cleared downfield, enabling the Saints to setup a powerful maul from a Pirates' lineout, which drove the Pirates back a good 10-15 meters before Saints No 8 Mark Hopley broke strongly to charge towards the line. Diving early, he was able to slide over the line for his side's opening try on 14 minutes. Myler was unable to add the extras.
The Saints continued to dictate matters with Spencer kicking his forwards into position.
The Pirates continued to live on scraps of possession. On 21 minutes the Pirates kicked a penalty to the Park gate corner through Steenson. Heino Senekal won the lineout to set up the driving maul, taking the Pirates into the Saints' 22. Unfortunately, the ball was knocked on and the opportunity lost.
The ball was soon back downfield with the Saints attacking. Another storming drive by the Saints' pack saw the ball moved out to inside centre James Downey, via Ashton's superb ball handling, who scored under the posts, allowing Myler a simple conversion for a 15-0 lead after 26 minutes.
Chances for the home side continued to be few and far between, so it was no surprise that Steenson opted for a kick at goal after 31 minutes as the Saints were penalised for playing the man off the ball. The successful penalty cut the deficit and raised the spirits of both the crowd and the Pirates' players. Leading up to half-time the Pirates took the game to Northampton.
The home side were unfortunate to lose skipper Tim Cowley just before half-time.
Trailing 3-15 at the break and with the elements behind them during the second half the crowd felt that the Pirates were still in with a chance.
Both sides changed their strip during the break, with the Pirates playing in their third choice hooped shirts for the second half. The Pirates needed an early score in the second half. It almost came through McAtee as he looked to be waltzing his way through towards the clubhouse corner until he was caught by the Saints' cover.
Steenson had a long-range penalty attempt on 50 minutes from inside his own half but his attempt was wide and short.
The rain increased and the pitch cut up even more, making any constructive rugby almost impossible. Both sides got bogged down into a forward slog, which suited the Saints as it ran the clock down. The Pirates found that their kicks into the Northampton 22 were often carried dead by the wind, forcing them back.
Myler had a penalty attempt from the Pirates 22 blown back by the strong wind.
Steenson used the garryowen to try to create an opportunity for his side in the Saints' 22, Ashton spilling one to give the Pirates an opportunity. Despite exerting more pressure, the Pirates turned the ball over, allowing Saints' skipper Bruce Reihana to power up to the 22 to relieve the pressure.
The Pirates had a series of penalties down in the clubhouse corner. They pressed and pressed and, despite repeated infringements by the Saints, referee Mr. Doyle kept his cards in his pocket until far too late. The Pirates eventually drove over the line but Mr. Doyle couldn't see if the ball had been grounded. With it the Pirates' chance was gone and with it their hold on the National Trophy for this season.
Young lock Scott Hobson earned the Pirates' man-of-the-match award to cap a fine week for him personally, having been called up to the England Under 20s squad for this season's 6 Nations and the forthcoming U.20s World Cup.
Cornish Pirates 3 pts: Penalty Steenson
Northampton Saints 15 pts: Tries Hopley, Downey; penalty,
conversion, Myler
Yellow Card Stewart
Cornish Pirates: Winnan, McAtee, Lilo, Winn, Tuhoy, Steenson, Fairhurst; Cook, Elloway (Dawiduik 65), Seal, Senekal, Hobson, Cracknell (Betty 63-76), Motusaga, Cowley (capt, Evans 38)
Northampton Saints: Myler, Ashton (Diggin 79), Clarke, Downey, Reihana (capt), Spencer, Howard (Robinson 67); Smith (Tonga'uiha 59), Hartley (Gray 79), Murray (Stewart 31), Rae (Hoy 79), Lord, Tupai, Lewitt, Hopley (Easter 67)
Referee: Mr. J.P. Doyle (RFU)
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."
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.
CORNWALL produced some sizzling running rugby to record their first championship victory in two years and kill off any fears of relegation from the County Shield. The Black and Golds were completely unrecognisable from the side thrashed 60-14 by Somerset only a fortnight ago and destroyed their opponents in the first half in the sunshine at Camborne. They eventually ran out winners by eight tries to three, with Mounts Bay fly-half Lee Jarvis helping himself to an incredible 30-point haul.
Cornwall survived an early onslaught from their visitors, who needed to win to avoid the drop themselves, and only some fine defence kept them out.
But after Jarvis and Surrey winger Les Todd had exchanged penalties inside the first 10 minutes, it was pretty much one-way traffic up to the interval, with the hosts racking up five tries with a devastating period of play. The first came from turnover ball in midfield in the 13th minute, with Cornish All Blacks' loose-head prop Jason Bolt looking more like a back as he brilliantly linked with Polson team-mate and full-back Ryan Westren to score in the corner. The immaculate Jarvis converted, and then added a penalty to make it 13-3, after Surrey centre Jan Van Ryan had been yellow-carded for a professional foul. His absence was to prove very costly for Surrey as Cornwall grabbed three more touchdowns while he was off the field.
Mounts Bay centre Pale Nonu's superb grubber kick to the corner was dotted down by Jarvis; Marc Sweeney made the most of a kind bounce from Jarvis's deft chip over the defence to put in Mounts Bay winger Ollie Faulkner unopposed; and then a great move involving scrum-half Brett Wakfer, No.8 Louis Stevens and Westren provided a try in the scoreboard corner for St Ives flanker Ian Boase.
The onslaught did not stop there either, with a quick tap penalty by Jarvis under the Surrey posts giving the impressive Nonu the chance to put over Camborne winger Rob Ley. Jarvis converted three of them to leave him with a 19-point first-half haul as Cornwall led 39-3 at the break.
Surrey, with a good sprinkling of players in their ranks from National Division Two champions Esher - though admittedly mostly second-team - were no doubt given a stern lecture at the interval as they started the second half as they had the first. But this time their efforts were rewarded with a try by captain and Esher loose-head prop Duncan Cormack, with referee Nick Williams comically getting down on his hands and knees to obtain the best view to give the score. Todd missed the conversion.
However, their comeback was shortlived, as more intense Cornwall pressure resulted in a deserved try for Nonu, after Sweeney had been tackled just short of the line, and Jarvis added the extras for a 46-8 advantage.
Despite the huge deficit, Surrey refused to lie down, and managed another touchdown through their forwards, this time from Esher flanker Mike Blakemore, which Todd converted.
The tries continued to flow in the dying moments of the game, with Jarvis collecting his second after an interception on Surrey's 22, which he improved himself, while Surrey full-back Dave Charles ran through some poor tackling at the other end, and Todd converted.
The final score came in injury time, and it fittingly went to Cornwall skipper Ben Hilton, with Jarvis yet again adding the extras to reach the 60-point mark.
Cornwall: R Westren (Cornish All Blacks), R Ley (Camborne), M
Sweeney (Cornish All Blacks), P Nonu (Mounts Bay), O Faulkner (Mounts Bay), L
Jarvis (Mounts Bay), B Wakfer (Camborne), J Bolt (Cornish All Blacks), D
Semmens (Mounts Bay), T Stevens (St Ives), J Wilce (Wadebridge), B Hilton
(Mounts Bay, capt), I Boase (St Ives), T Rawlings (Pertemps Bees), L Stevens
(St Ives).
Replacements: B Keary (Mounts Bay) rep for Wakfer 57, I Morgan
(Penryn) rep for Faulkner 73, A Flide (Mounts Bay) rep for Bolt 57, B Jenkin
(Plymouth Alb) rep for Wilce 69, M Woolcock (Camborne) rep for Boase 69, T
Outram (Mounts Bay) rep for L Stevens 73, T Hurdwell (Cornish All Blacks/St
Ives) rep for Semmens 73.
Surrey: D Charles (Esher), L Todd, S MacKinney, J Van Ryan (Old
Walcotians), C Street (Rosslyn Park), B Kitchen (London Irish), B White (O
Wimbledonians), D Cormack (Esher, capt), S Goldsmith (Esher), T Cox (Purley), E
Manu (Esher), M Butterworth (Esher), M Blakemore (Esher), J Barnett, O Hankey
(Esher).
Replacements: S Kearns (Rosslyn Park) rep for Goldsmith 80+2, T
McKellier (Barnes) rep for Cormack 54, T Whitehead (Weybridge Vandals) rep for
Cox 58, A McGuickian (Rosslyn Park) for Manu 66, M Grant (Old Whitgiftians) rep
for Barnett 58, H McHardy.
Referee: Nick Williams (RFU).
Scorers:
Cornwall: tries, Bolt, Jarvis (2), Faulkner,
Boase, Ley, Nonu, Hilton; cons, Jarvis (7); pens, Jarvis (2).
Surrey: try, Cormack, Blakemore, Charles; con, Todd (2); pen, Todd.
Yellow cards: Surrey - Van Ryan 24.
CORNWALL coach Joff Rowe was delighted with the remarkable turnaround his players have shown, with their 60-22 thrashing of Surrey yesterday coming only two weeks after a humiliating 60-14 defeat at Somerset.
Surrey have been relegated from the County Shield after suffering heavy defeats in each of their three games, but that should take nothing away from a Cornwall display that, at times, was a delight to watch.
"We had an opportunity to put a side together for three weeks", said Rowe. "We have learnt an awful lot from our style of play and the changes in the law, and also the tempo of the game, and today, for 60 minutes, we have played a standard of rugby that Trelawny's Army and the supporters in general will have appreciated.
"For that, I commend the lads, who have stuck at it and worked hard."
Some of the rugby in the first half at Camborne was dazzling, with both backs and forwards linking well as Surrey were put to the sword.
"It is something we set out to try and do", admitted Rowe. "Everyone says I like rugby where you stick the ball up your jumper, but we have exploited areas where they have failed to defend, and when we have seen opportunities we have taken them, and with Lee Jarvis on form with his boot, it has been a tremendous effort."
Jarvis had a superb all-round game, scoring two tries and slotting seven conversions and two penalties in a magnificent 30-point haul, as he mastered the strong Camborne wind to perfection.
"I am not a regular at Camborne, but the wind today was very difficult, but for his performance today and his commitment over the last three weeks I'd like to thank Lee, but also every one of the 25 players we have involved", said Rowe.
Mounts Bay inside centre Pale Nonu, who was drafted in by Cornwall for the last two games, also produced another inspired performance.
"He has a great working partnership with Lee, and he is a very committed lad. He plays for the shirt, whether it be for Mounts Bay or Cornwall, and for that I am really, really happy, and that he has been able to come in and make an impact", added Rowe.
Cornish county rugby had a bit of a smile back on its face last night after an excellent comeback at Chinnor earned them a precious draw. After last weekend's 60-14 thrashing at Somerset, it looked like a case of 'here we go again' as the Duchy trailed 22-0 after only 27 minutes. But, aided by a very strong wind at their backs in the second half, the Duchy came storming back to level the scores and avoid defeat for the first time in two seasons of championship matches.
Trelawny's Army once more turned out in excellent numbers at a very wet Chinnor - a ground where there is no cover - to support the county team in its hour of need. And they will need to be in full voice again next Saturday, when Cornwall face a County Shield relegation decider at Camborne against Surrey, who suffered their second successive thrashing with a 53-14 reverse at home to Somerset on Saturday.
Cornwall coach Joff Rowe made five changes to his starting line-up, but the odds were still heavily stacked against his side, which contained only two National League players compared to 11 representing Oxfordshire. The Duchy once again made a good start, as was the case the previous week, but found themselves trailing after only five minutes, when the ball squirmed out of the side of a scrum on Oxfordshire's 10-metre line and home scrum-half Anthony Cope broke blind and fed winger Eric Brown, who scorched 50 metres down the left flank to score in the corner. Fly-half James Cathcart missed the touchline conversion.
Oxfordshire then made full use of the gale at their backs to score two more tries, but both came from dreadful Cornwall mistakes. First, Oxfordshire full-back Ben Hewitt delivered a huge 70-metre touch-finding kick that took play up to Cornwall's five-metre line, but the visiting forwards failed to learn the lesson from the Somerset game. Mount's Bay hooker Darren Semmens threw the ball over the heads of his own jumpers to Oxfordshire prop Rowan Fuller, and when he was stopped just short of the line, the ball was moved left for Brown to score his second try, and Cathcart kicked a superb conversion before adding a penalty.
Then, with Cornwall deep in Oxfordshire territory, Cathcart banged another clearance kick almost the length of the field, but Brixham full-back Jake Lawrence's wayward return effort fell into the grateful arms of Jaike Carter, and his pass sent in Hewitt, with Cathcart converting for a 22-0 lead.
The Cornwall players showed plenty of passion and pride in the shirt and camped on the Oxfordshire line in the run-up to the interval, and they were given hope when the ball was moved swiftly right from a scrum on the Oxfordshire 22, and fly-half Lee Jarvis put Camborne winger Rob Ley over in the corner.
Only fine home defence prevented Cornwall scoring again before the break, but the visitors came out all guns blazing in the second half. More concerted pressure and good work by the outstanding duo of Mount's Bay centre Pale Nonu and St Ives number eight Louis Stevens saw Bay winger Olly Faulkner go over in the corner, with Jarvis converting.
Then, soon after Oxfordshire hooker Henry Mace had been sin-binned for deliberately killing the ball, a turnover in midfield provided the chance for Nonu to put Cornish All Blacks' centre Ryan Westren in behind the posts for his second try in two games, with Jarvis adding the simple conversion.
A 66th-minute penalty by the former Welsh international made it 22-22, and he then went close with a couple of long-range drop goal attempts as Cornwall sought the score to grab what had seemed an unlikely victory. But their cause was not helped by the strong wind dropping in the final 15 minutes, and they had to do some frantic defending of their own in the dying moments, with only a superb last-ditch tackle by Nonu denying Brown a hat-trick try in the corner.
Oxfordshire: B Hewitt (Chinnor), J Carter (Chinnor), A Henley
(Oxford Harlequins), J Hewitt (Chinnor), E Brown (Chinnor), J Cathcart
(Reading), A Cope (Oxford Harl), Fuller (Henley), H Mace (Clifton), J Iosefo
(Chinnor), Root (Clifton), Burrows (Chinnor, capt), J De Bruin (Chinnor), Young
(Oxford Harl), G Hayter (Newbury).
Replacements: Chadbone (Oxford Harl) for
De Bruin 50-57 & for Iosefo 74, Eckert (Oxford Harl) for J Hewitt 72, P
Soper (Oxford Harl) for De Bruin 74, Duder (Chinnor) for Cope 72, H Jackman
(Chinnor) for Root 58, R Williams (Chinnor) for Henley 72, D Lynch-Smith
(Chinnor) for Brown 79.
Cornwall: J Lawrence (Brixham), R Ley (Camborne), R Westren
(Cornish All Blacks), P Nonu (Mount's Bay), O Faulkner (Mount's Bay), L Jarvis
(Mount's Bay), B Wakfer (Camborne), A Flide (Mount's Bay), D Semmens (Mount's
Bay), T Stevens (St Ives), B Hilton (Mount's Bay, capt), J Wilce (Wadebridge),
I Boase (St Ives), T Rawlings (Pertemps Bees), L Stevens (St Ives).
Replacements: S Peters (Redruth) for Lawrence 60, B Keary (Mount's Bay) for
Wakfer 75. Not used: D Clackworthy (Mount's Bay), B Jenkin (Plymouth Albion), T
Outram (Mount's Bay), T Hurdwell (St. Ives), M Woolcock (Camborne).
Oxfordshire scorers: Tries, Brown (2), B Hewitt; cons, Cathcart (2); pen, Cathcart.
Cornwall scorers: Tries, Ley, Faulkner, Westren; cons; Jarvis (2); pen, Jarvis.
Yellow cards: Oxfordshire: Mace 47, Jackman 66.
Referee: R Parker-Sedgemoor (RFU).
Cornwall coach Joff Rowe was pleased with his players after they produced an excellent fightback from 22-0 down to draw 22-22 against Oxfordshire at Chinnor yesterday. The point leaves Cornwall facing a County Shield relegation decider against bottom-of-the-table Surrey at Camborne on Saturday, but Rowe is looking forward to it.
"Today is the first time in two years Cornwall haven't lost and I take great pride in being part of that unit," said Rowe. "We could have done with the win today, which would have put us in a comfortable position, but let's bring the Surrey game on. We will take the same approach, I am sure it will be the same group of people, and we have got to show something more on our own turf. We have learned from last week and this week, and next week we have got to be more the finished article in order to maintain our status in this competition."
The Duchy produced a much improved display from their 60-14 thrashing at Somerset last weekend, and could have come away with a win against an Oxfordshire side fresh from a hefty home win over Surrey.
"We started well in difficult conditions and against a very competent side, and our continuity and ball retention was great, but again we made mistakes and they capitalised on those and scored some good tries," said Rowe. "But I thought, when we scored the try just before half-time, we showed strength and power in our game not only to go up the middle, but to go wide.
"Then we came out in the second half and scored, and then maintained possession, and at the very end we had opportunities to win."
He added: "The players have come out today, and for me personally, the performance is a huge victory in itself, but we are disappointed at the result.
"I don't think we were much better than them, but our commitment was excellent and we showed great fight, and that is something we have instilled into the players in the last eight to nine weeks."
There were plenty of fine performances all over the pitch for Cornwall, but Mount's Bay centre Pale Nonu and the back row of Ian Boase, Tom Rawlings and Louis Stevens were particularly impressive.
Rowe said: "Hats off to Nonu, who came in to assist us when we were short of a player, while the back row was outstanding. The amount of work, effort and commitment they put in was a major contribution to our result today."
Cornwall captain Ben Hilton was pleased with the result, but disappointed it was not a victory. "It was a better performance. It was a big step up for us, but the work is not done yet,'"he said. "We gave a good account of ourselves in the second half and I am glad the supporters stuck by us."
If Cornwall fans thought it was bad enough getting relegated from the top flight of county rugby last season, then matters got a whole lot worse on Saturday. Joff Rowe and his team were hoping to win promotion from the County Shield at the first attempt and restore the Duchy to where their supporters believe they rightfully belong. Instead, all Trelawny's Army got for their journey to Bridgwater was humiliation as Cornwall crashed to possibly their biggest ever defeat. On the basis of this performance, the Duchy seem more likely to suffer the ignominy of another relegation, than claim the promotion Somerset seem a good bet to land.
Many Cornwall supporters were very unhappy with what they saw at Bath Road, but while the margin of victory was unexpected, defeat was perhaps not, when you look at the two sides that took to the field. Somerset were able to call on nine National League players, and had a further three on the bench, while Cornwall had only four in their whole squad of 22. There were only three players from the county's top three clubs - Cornish All Blacks (two players), Redruth (one), and Pirates (nil) - for whatever reason, and while Saturday was bitterly disappointing, one has to feel for Rowe, who can only work with what is available to him.
No matter how much the fans would love to bring back the good old days of Cornish county rugby, that seems a very long way off unless there is a dramatic change in the relationship between the clubs and the county. After going through a pretty traumatic afternoon, Rowe said: "We weren't good enough. They outgunned us in open play, in rucks and mauls and, in terms of physicality, we weren't up to their level.
"I take full responsibility. Somerset were sharper, they were quicker in the back three, and they looked hungry. We have got no-one else to blame apart from ourselves.
"We need to have a bit of a wake-up call, but we will stick together and come back next week." He added: "I would love to be able to look at other opportunities within the county to see if I can bolster the side, but I don't think that is an option for me.
"What Cornwall, the senior management and everyone else needs to realise is that Cornish rugby is great at the top, but it isn't so great at the next level, and we are competing at the top when we are playing in the Shield."
Despite Cornwall's obvious shortcomings, Somerset were excellent after they survived an initial 10-minute onslaught from the visitors, which crucially failed to produce any points. After that, the hosts took control, with their back row of former Pirates' loan signing Chris Morgan, Weston's Mike Denbee and Newbury's Matt Styles outstanding, as was Clifton full-back Rob Voil, and it was pretty much one-way traffic.
Morgan scored the first try from a catch-and-drive penalty move, and three more followed before the interval. Two stemmed from line-out throws by Cornwall hooker Darren Semmens deep inside Somerset territory that cleared his own jumpers, leading to moves which were both finished off by Voil, while another came from Duchy centre Ryan Westren's under-hit chip over the defence falling gleefully into the hands of winger James Wheeler, who raced 50 metres to score.
Impressive fly-half Sam Osbourne, who finished with a 20-point haul, converted three to add to his early penalty, but Cornwall got their first points on the board in first-half injury time when a great surge to the line by scrum-half Brett Wakfer created the space for Westren to cross beside the posts and Jarvis - who had earlier missed two penalties - converted for a 29-7 interval deficit.
Any hopes of a Cornish comeback were killed off four minutes into the second half when Styles crossed for Somerset, with Osbourne converting, but Cornwall did keep the hosts out for the next 15 minutes, and even managed a try of their own when Rob Ley sent Jarvis in under the posts, with the conversion making it 36-14.
However, the less said about the final quarter, from a Cornwall point of view, the better, as tired legs and some lame tackling saw Somerset run in three tries in nine minutes through centre James Waterman and winger Paul Sprague (2), with Osbourne converting all of them and adding a penalty. Next up for Cornwall? A trip to Chinnor on Saturday to face Oxfordshire, who walloped Surrey 43-14 in their opening game.
SOMERSET 60 PTS: Scorers: Tries: Morgan, Voil (2), Wheeler, Styles, Waterman, Sprague (2); Cons: Osbourne (7); Pens: Osbourne (2).
CORNWALL 14 PTS: Scorers: Tries: Westren, Jarvis; Cons: Jarvis 2.
Somerset: R Voil (Clifton), P Sprague (Weston-s-M), J Waterman
(Minehead Babas), D Litt (Hornets), J Wheeler (Walcot), S Osbourne (Hornets), M
Ranson (Bridgwater & A), A Raines (Clifton), G Cooper (Newbury), C Meddick
(Dings), D Hodge (Bridgwater & A), O Hodge (Exeter), C Morgan (Newbury), M
Denbee (Weston-s-M), M Styles (Newbury, capt).
Replacements: S Brown
(Redruth) for Ranson 69 mins, C Derrick (Cinderford) for Raines 29, G Sparks
(Weston-s-M) for Styles 64 ; S Pape (Cornish All Blacks) for D Hodge 62, A
Russell (Weston-s-M) for O Hodge 62, J Saunders (Walcot) for Litt ht, J Gatford
(Taunton) for Cooper 72.
Cornwall: I Morgan (Penryn), R Ley (Camborne), M Sweeney, R
Westren (both Cornish All Blacks), O Faulkner, L Jarvis (both Mount's Bay), B
Wakfer (Camborne), T Stevens (St Ives), D Semmens, D Clackworthy (both Mount's
Bay), A Harris (Newbury), B Hilton (Mount's Bay, capt), L Stevens, I Boase
(both St Ives), T Outram (Mount's Bay).
Replacements: A Flide (Mount's Bay)
for Clackworthy 56, T Hurdwell (St Ives) for Semmens 64, J Wilce (Wadebridge)
for Harris 62, G Corin (St Ives) for Hilton 64, M Woolcock (Camborne) for
Outram 72, B Keary (Mount's Bay) for Wakfer 62, S Peters (Redruth) for Faulkner
56.
Referee: Nigel Higginson (RFU).
CORNWALL coach Joff Rowe hailed the county's training weekend in northern France as a "brilliant success" in the build-up to this season's County Shield campaign.
A squad of 25 players flew to Quimper in Brittany last Friday and spent three days building up a good team spirit and preparing for the opening match of the Shield against Somerset at Bridgwater on Saturday week. They also managed to fit in a match against Quimper (Fédérale 3), which Cornwall won 18-5, with Mount's Bay hooker Darren Semmens scoring two tries and Penryn fly half Ian Morgan kicking a conversion and two penalties. Rowe said: "We had a lot of time together as a squad, and we won the game,which turned out to be quite a competitive one, which was really good for us.
"I was able to watch all the players play and make some decisions on selection for the Shield. "The Under-20s, like Darren Semmens, Bryn Jenkin and Karl Martin, have come through and certainly put themselves up to be recognised and are very, very near to competing for a place in the County Shield side."
Rowe and his players got a bit of a shock in the match as, at certain levels of French rugby, they have slightly different rules regarding the scrum.
"We believe Quimper were about South West One level, and at that level the scrum is allowed to hit and hold, but once you have won the ball you are not allowed to push, and that was a little bit difficult," he explained.
"You are also not allowed to hand off for health and safety reasons, and there were a couple of things, particularly with the language barrier we had, that didn't allow us to get into the game.
"I wanted to ensure all players would play, so even though I picked a strong starting line-up, I brought on eight replacements and we got better as our confidence grew and with time together, and we ran in two tries and kicked two penalties."
Rowe will now spend the next few days finalising his plans for the opening Shield match, finding out which National League players will be available to him, and getting his head around the new laws - including being able to collapse a maul - that will be trialled in this season's county campaign.
He is not hopeful of having any Redruth players in his squad, but the Cornish All Blacks have offered four or five players, having already secured promotion to National Division One, and he is also optimistic of including one or two fringe players from the Cornish Pirates.
Rowe said: "At the moment I am still not in a position to be able to say what my starting line-up will be against Somerset, but we will not be phoning around on the Saturday morning of the game trying to get a side, as was the case last year. "We have 25 people from the tour who could quite comfortably represent Cornwall, and if that is the best side we have, then I have had them together for six weeks and would be comfortable putting them into a Championship."
Meanwhile, Camborne full back Joe Parma has ruled himself out of the Shield campaign with a hamstring strain.
Quimper 5 pts: Try- Kersall
Cornwall 18 pts: Tries- Semmens (2), Pens (2), Con - Morgan
Cornwall: J. Parma (Camborne), O. Faulkner (Mount's Bay), R. Ley
(Camborne), G Thirlby (St Ives), N Corin (St Ives), I. Morgan (Penryn), B.
Keary (Mount's Bay); T Stevens (St Ives), D Semmens, D. Clackworthy (both
Mount's Bay), B. Jenkin (Plymouth Alb), B. Hilton (Mount's Bay, capt), L
Stevens (St Ives), I. Boase (St.Ives), T. Outram (Mount's Bay).
Replacements (all used): T. Hurdwell (St Ives/Launceston), J. Wilce
(Wadebridge Camels), S, Turnbull (St Ives), K. Martin (St Ives), J. Lawrence
(Brixham), B.Collings (Launceston), G Corin (St Ives), M. Woolcock (Camborne).
It was a great day for the Cornish at Twickenham yesterday! The Falmouth Marine Band were much in evidence before each of the Cornish games, marching round the concourse and making a hell of a din! There was also a Cornish pipe band, who were much more musical and a great favourite with the crowd: there were impromptu jigs and reels going on under the West stand before the Mounts Bay game.
The actual rugby didn't start too well, as Pirates looked out-of-sorts in the first half -- they lost several of their own lineouts and made too many mistakes. We even wondered whether the occasion had got to them. You couldn't fault their defence, though, nor Exeter's come to that. In a half dominated by the defences Exeter played what attacking rugby there was and Pirates were perhaps lucky to be level at 3 - 3 at the break.
In the second half it was much better, although at first Exeter looked the better side and Pirates suddenly found themselves 6 - 16 down: at this stage you wouldn't have bet on a Pirates' win. However, the Pirates have shown themselves to be indomintable in this competition this season, so we should have known better. After the hard-fought away wins at Leeds Tykes and Doncaster Knights, not to mention the titanic struggle with local arch-rivals Plymouth Albion, the Pirates refused to give up on the prize at the last hurdle.
Eventually the Pirates' forwards started to get on top and the black-and-reds clawed their way back and finished the stronger. Cattle had his usual effective game, Di Bernardo's kicking was (almost) immaculate, and the try scorer was -- of course -- Villi Ma'asi.
The Mounts Bay - Dunstablians game was in some ways the best of the day -- high-scoring (46 - 36!) with both sides not afraid to play running rugby. (The pitch was in shadow by the 5 p.m. kick-off time, which probably helped!)
Dunstablians scored a soft try under the posts immediately from the kick off -- 7 - 0 after 30 seconds! (Mount's Bay let in another soft one later in the game and the Dunstablians created some more.) There was something of a physical contrast between the two sides, especially in the forwards: the Dunstablians were huge but somewhat fat. (I learned from one of their fans that some of them are employed as bouncers!) The Bay forwards were also big but looked much more athletic, and the whole team looked to be in superb condition.
Despite the early setback, the Bay seemed to exude confidence: I guess when you've been promoted six times in six years you just get accustomed to winning! By the end the Bay were well in control.
See match reports below.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Not for the first time this season Alberto Di Bernardo took centre stage for the Cornish Pirates.
Handed the perfect stage from which to display his undoubted worth, the Argentinian ace helped inspire the Duchy's finest to a memorable 19-16 victory over Westcountry rivals Exeter Chiefs in yesterday's EDF Energy National Trophy final at a sun-baked Twickenham.
Just as he had done in previous Trophy encounters against Leeds Tykes and Plymouth Albion, Di Bernardo left it late before delivering the perfect knockout blow to the Chiefs. The Rosario-born back, who will be heading for the Guinness Premiership with Leeds next season, plundered 14 points to ensure the Trophy was heading back to the Duchy for the first time ever.
For the Chiefs it was yet more heartache at the home of English rugby. Having come unstuck against both Rotherham and Orrell in previous finals, hopes were high that finally Pete Drewett's side could make it third time lucky. At 16-6 up in the second half, it appeared the in-form Devon club had finally broken their Twickenham hoodoo. The Pirates, however, had other ideas and in a storming conclusion they reaped their rewards as the Chiefs slowly began to wilt in the blistering heat.
Ahead of kick-off, the Pirates had been boosted by the return to action of key quintet Heino Senekal, Tim Cowley, Duncan Bell, Duncan Roke and Rhodri McAtee, all of whom had missed much of the build-up to the final itself. Their return certainly gave Jim McKay's side a much stronger feel to it, whilst the Chiefs recalled Tony Walker, Gary Willis and Junior Fatialofa to their line-up which beat Newbury in the league the week previous.
With both sides at full-strength and each club having claimed a win apiece against each other in National One, the stage was set for this winner takes all showdown. However, it was the Pirates - spurred on by a hearty contingent of followers from the Duchy, including the legendary Falmouth Marine Band - who came out flying from the kick-off. Just three minutes were on the clock when referee Dale Newitt penalised Exeter flanker Walker for going offside. The Kiwi's indiscretion offered Di Bernardo his first sight at goal, some 35 metres out, and the Pirates star did not disappoint as he guided his right-foot effort between the posts for an early lead.
Immediately, though, the Chiefs responded and having won a succession of penalties close to the Pirates' line, referee Newitt allowed sufficient advantage to Exeter, from which fly-half Tony Yapp was able to fire over a drop-goal and restore parity with just 10 minutes on the clock.
With little to choose between either side, the slug fest between the two Westcountry rivals continued apace. The battle up front was certainly intense - as was the heat from above - whilst behind defences ruled the roost with neither team willing to give an inch to their opposite number. On 18 minutes Di Bernardo almost regained the lead for the Pirates when quick turnover ball following a Yapp clearance offered him a chance for one of his famous drop-goals. Sadly, on this occasion, the magician's radar was off course and his effort sailed wide of the right post.
It was a similar story just past the half-hour mark when he saw a tough penalty chance from wide on the left flank fly past the sticks and into the arms of a waiting Chief.
At the other end, Exeter threatened on occasions, with the Fatialofa brothers - Mark and Junior - posing a real handful in the midfield, while only poor hands from winger Jason Luff prevented him from latching onto a slick handling move which seemed destined for the corner.
Although it was not the best half of rugby either side had produced this season, the two teams departed for their half-time pit-stop knowing they were now just 40 minutes from a famous victory. However, in a storming start to the second period, the Chiefs were clearly intent on getting the job done as quickly as possible. Yapp stroked over a penalty just a minute into the half, before adding the extras to Gary Kingdom's try on 48 minutes. The full-back, a previous winner at Twickenhem with Devon in the County Championship, rounded off a slick move from the Chiefs, which had begun when skipper Richard Baxter snapped up a loose Pirates' line-out on the right. Using the turnover ball, Kevin Barrett, Yapp and the Fatialofas all combined to create the space for Kingdom to run in from 15 metres. Yapp's obliged with the extras to stretch Exeter's advantage to 13-3.
A quick response was needed from the Pirates and it duly arrived when Di Bernardo shot over his second penalty of the afternoon on 52 minutes. But no sooner had the Duchy's finest brought themselves back into contention, they surrendered a penalty of their own when Senekal was penalised for handling on the floor.
At 16-6 up, the Chiefs were seemingly in control of their destiny. However, as the Pirates have shown throughout their successful run to the final, they are a team that refuses to lie down, even when the odds seemed stacked against them. Roared on by those in the stands, the Pirates never-say-die attitude was ignited and slowly McKay's men began to find their rhythm. The warning signs were already there for the Chiefs before Tongan international Vili Ma'asi powered his way over for the Cornish club just past the hour. Di Bernardo slotted the conversion, plus a penalty, as the Chiefs began to wobble.
Now with the ascendancy, the Pirates went for the jugular. Fresh muscle was introduced from the sidelines to help their cause and, with four minutes of normal time remaining, the pressure finally told on the Chiefs. Having tried with two attempts of a pushover try, the Pirates declined a third opportunity and instead opted for a punt at the posts. Up stepped Di Bernardo who, from wide out on the left, banged over the most important kick of his life to put the Cornishmen back in front at 19-16. Even then he was not finished as a second drop-goal chance narrowly missed its mark from 40 metres out. However, the former Italy A international had once again weaved his magic with deadly effect.
Although the Chiefs looked for a way back into the game, keeping the ball alive for a magnitude of phases, the Red and Black defence was in miserly mood and it was left to that man, Di Bernardo, to run the ball out of play and crown a memorable day for the West Cornwall outfit.
Whilst the Pirates celebrated their triumph, the Chiefs were left to reflect on a case of 'what if'. For them there will be little time to wallow in the misery of this Twickenham torment. Today they head for Liverpool and tomorrow's league clash with relegated Waterloo at Blundellsands.
Cornish Pirates 19pts: Try - Ma'asi; Conversion - Di Bernardo; Penalties - Di Bernardo (4)
Exeter Chiefs 16pts: Try - Kingdom; Conversion - Yapp; Penalties - Yapp (3)
Cornish Pirates: A Winnan; R McAtee (L Vinnicombe 50), D Roke (S
Winn 80), D Bell, J Hylton; A Di Bernardo; G Cattle (capt); A Paver, V Ma'asi
(N Makin 76), S Heard (D Seal 50); H Senekal (J Inglis 72), J Beardshaw; S
McKeen, I Motusaga, T Cowley (C Cracknell 72).
Replacement (not used): J
Moore.
Exeter Chiefs: G Kingdom; J Luff, M Fatialofa, J Fatialofa, A
Murdoch; T Yapp, K Barrett; R Liddington, S Blythe, J Horn-Smith; I Brown, J
Hanks (C Slade 72); T Walker, G Willis (A Miller 68), R Baxter (capt).
Replacements (not used): S Jenkins, S Bennett, I Wilson, A Staniforth, W
Kelly.
Referee: D Newitt (RFU).
Fijian winger Mika Mua scored four tries as Mounts Bay wrapped up a memorable league and cup double with a ten-point victory over Dunstablians in a cracking EDF Intermediate Cup final. The win completed a dream day for Cornwall, following the Cornish Pirates' earlier victory over Exeter Chiefs in the EDF National Trophy showdown earlier in the day.
Mua might not have started, if Jamie Semmens had not broken his leg in last weekend's Skinners' Brewery Cornwall Cup final defeat by Redruth, but he grabbed his chance with both hands in a hugely entertaining game that contained 12 tries.
Bay scored seven of them, pulling clear of the Midlanders with an excellent second-half display, but they had to withstand a late onslaught from their opponents and the 2000 Cup winners, who grabbed two touchdowns in the final four minutes.
Bay made the worst possible start when Dunstablians scored their opening try after less than 60 seconds, with hooker Stefaan Myburgh intercepting a pass in midfield and putting winger David Bradshaw in under the posts for fly-half Jon White to convert.
However, Bay's riposte was swift, with Mua crossing for the first of his scores after a slick left-to-right handling move, and Welsh fly-half Lee Jarvis added the extras to draw the sides level.
Dunstablians edged ahead again in the 21st minute, when a big gap opened up in the Bay defence, and captain and director of rugby Laurence White galloped through to score under the woodwork, with his elder brother, Jon, again converting, to make it 14-7.
Jarvis was successful with one out of two penalty attempts in the space of four minutes, and then came the try that was to give Bay a lead they would never surrender, with Mua scoring in the right-hand corner after great work by New Zealand-born centre Shane Laloata, who galloped through three tackles before being stopped just short of the try line. That made it 15-14, and Bay received another great boost on the stroke of half-time, when captain and scrum-half Ricky Pellow darted over off the back of a five-metre scrum to make the interval score 20-14 to the Cornishmen.
After Jon White's 47th-minute penalty had cut the gap to three points, Bay swept Dunstablians away with a stunning display of running rugby and great support play to score four tries in the space of 20 minutes, with a token Dunstablians effort sandwiched in between.
The first came from Laloata in the 50th minute, after he broke through two weak tackles to score beside the posts, and Jarvis slotted the simple conversion. That was soon followed by Mua's hat-trick try, which was probably the best of the lot, after he took a pass from opposite winger Olly Faulkner to finish off a fine flowing move.
Dunstablians briefly threatened again on the hour mark, when winger Kevin Boland hacked on down the line, and full-back Steve Armstrong won the race for the touchdown, with Jon White booting over a fine conversion to pull the score back to 32-24. However, that was only a temporary blip for Bay, with Mua grabbing his fourth try after several phases of play, while centre Palepoi Nonu capitalised on a handling error by the opposition to pick up the loose ball and run in from 40 metres out.
Jarvis kicked both conversions for a personal 11-point haul, but Dunstablians were determined to leave a considerable mark on the final, managing two late scores through centres Richard Butler and Gerhard Swart, with Jon White converting one, to bring an air of respectability to the scoreline. However, it was Mounts Bay's trophy and a fitting conclusion to a fantastic day for Cornish rugby.
Mount's Bay 46pts: Tries- Mua (4), Pellow, Laloata, Nonu, Conversions - Jarvis (4), Penalty-Jarvis
Dunstablians 36 pts: Tries - Bradshaw, L. White, Armstrong, Butler Swart, Conversions J. White (4), Penalty - J. White
Mount's Bay: S. Larkins, M. Mua, S. Laloata (J. Morrison 40-46), P. Nonu, O. Faulkner (J. Morrison 67), L. Jarvis, R. Pellow (capt) (B. Keary 71); A. Flide (C. Hale 75), D. Semmens (J. Salter 71), D. Clackworthy (R. Hosking 70), R. Humphries (J. Griffiths 75), B. Hilton, E. Reid, S. Dyer, T. Outram (A. Nicholls 62).
Dunstablians: S. Armstrong (C. Boland 24-29), D. Bradshaw, G.
Swart, R. Butler, K. Boland, J. White, S. Hall; J. Ellershaw (J. Duckworth 75),
S. Myburgh (B. Murphy 75), J. Alger (S. Brobyskov 58), T. King, B. Odell (S
Richbell 75), M. Kearns, L. White (capt), C. Nissan (E. Landsburg 58)
Replacement not used: S. Jenkinson-Warren
Referee Mr. S. Lander (RFU) .
On the day the old maestro had too much for the new kid on the block as Redruth, playing in their nineteenth final, re-gained the Cornwall Knock-Out Cup with an impressive win over Mount's Bay, who were playing in their very first Senior County Cup Final.
It was Redruth's tenth success in this competition. Bay will be hoping for better things next Sunday when they play Dunstablians in the EDF-Energy Intermediate Cup Final at Twickenham. The whole of Cornwall will wish them well.
The final as a contest was already over by the end of the first quarter as Redruth blew away the Bay in the opening twenty minutes, notching up four tries to lead 26-0. Mount's Bay were overwhelmed by a combination of pace and power as the National League 2 side imposed their style of play on the game to stifle any threat the Bay might have posed. The opening try came after only four minutes, following a move involving forwards and backs that allowed lock Damien Cook to canter in under the posts, Hook's conversion making it 7-0. Four minutes later and the Reds' advantage was doubled as skipper Craig Bonds finished off another powerful break, Hook adding the extras. Try number three soon followed, turnover ball allowing powerful Reds' No 8 Mark Bright to make big inroads into Bay's 22 before off loading to PJ Gidlow, who gave the scoring pass to back row forward Nathan Pascoe, Hook's conversion making it 21-0 after only 14 mins. Five minutes later, from a scrum near Bay's 22, scrum-half Mark Richards fed Hook, who exploited a yawning gap in the Bay's defence to score a simple try. The fly-half was unable to convert his own score.
Bay faced a mountain to come back, not helped when they lost their pacey winger Jamie Semmens after 24 minutes. Bay finally got some territory, earning a penalty which fly-half Lee Jarvis kicked towards the scoreboard corner. From the lineout the ball was eventually spun wide towards the clubhouse corner with full back Steve Larkins almost getting to the line with his inside pass knocked on. Bay were soon back on the attack in that corner and after a series of penalties Bay's pack finally pushed their way to the line for skipper John Griffiths to score a fine try which Jarvis converted on 29 minutes.
Redruth came back to enjoy territorial advantage and looked to extend their lead before half-time, a period of Reds' pressure relieved only by a powerful break out of defence by the impressive Bay centre Pale Nonu which took play back up to the halfway line. Redruth did eventually extend their lead with a penalty kick by Hook from 30 meters out in front of the posts. Bay had a further period of pressure down towards the scoreboard corner before the half-time whistle went, with it 29-7 to Redruth.
Redruth went further ahead on 52 minutes in somewhat controversial circumstances as lock Luke Collins appeared to play the ball from an offside position, which the referee Mr. Bath appeared not to notice. Collins played the ball to Bright on half-way and the New Zealander jinked and stepped through the Bay's defence, leaving full back Larkins clutching at thin air, to score an outstanding try, Hooks conversion stretching the score to 36-7.
Despite the mounting scoreline Bay gave their all, with notable efforts from flanker Everard Reid, scrum-half Blaine Kearey, both locks, skipper Griffiths and Ben Hilton, and the powerful centres Nonu and Shane Laloata.
Both sides brought on replacements as the half wore on, with, notably, Richard Carroll making a return from his long-term injury, coming on for Damien Cook. Redruth scored a sixth try down towards the scoreboard corner when centre Paul Thirlby managed to get in amongst the forwards to claim a try. Hook's fifth conversion proved to be the final score. Bay had their moments towards the end with notably Larkins' interception taking play into the Reds' 22. However, Mua was unable to hold the pass, which would probably have seen him score. Not that it would have made any difference, Redruth's name was already on the Cup and Mark Bright was named Skinners Brewery Man of the Match.
Mount's Bay 7 pts: Try Griffiths, Con Jarvis
Redruth 43 pts: Tries, Cook, Bonds, Pascoe, Hook. Bright, Thirlby, Cons (5) Pen Hook
Mount's Bay: S. Larkins, J. Semmens (M. Mua 24), S. Laloata, P.
Nonu, O. Faulkner (J. Morrison 56), L. Jarvis, B. Kearey; A. Filde, D. Semmens,
D. Clackworthy (C. Hale 69), J. Griffiths (capt). B. Hilton, E. Reid, S. Dyer,
T. Outram (A. Nicholls 59).
Replacements not used- J. Salter, R. Humphries
Redruth: C. Bonds (capt, S. Peters 69), J. Caruana, P. Thirlby, PJ Gidlow, T. McBride, M. Hook, M. Richards (S. Brown 69); D. Jacques, B. Priddey (S. Harrison 57), A. Morcom (P. Joyce 46), D. Cook (R. Carroll 74), L. Collins, N. Pascoe, J. Mann (C. Fuca 74), M. Bright.
Referee - Mr. M. Bath (Somerset R.R.S.)
Cornwall 1 side Liskeard & Looe won the Clubs' Cup Final that preceded the Mount's Bay v Redruth clash with a hard-fought win over Cornwall 2 side Roseland at Camborne. It was the East Cornwall's club third success in the competition, following their wins in 1980 and 2004.
Marcus Hill kicked the first points for Liskeard & Looe with a penalty on 16 minutes. The Cornwall 1 side began to exert greater pressure and were rewarded with a try scored by winger Ian Hicks, who scored in the scoreboard corner of the ground. The score was to remain unchanged till half-time at 8-0.
Hicks extended his side's lead with a second penalty soon after half-time. Roseland, sensing the game was slipping away, stepped up a gear and were rewarded with a penalty kicked by fly-half Will Thomas to reduce the deficit.
However, it was the Lions who scored a second try to extend their lead when scrum-half Lewis Elliot scored, with Hill adding the extras to stretch away to 18-3. Roseland put in a brave effort, with lock Damien Couch held up over the line. Liskeard & Looe had the final say when replacement Oxham went over for their third try to seal the win.
Roseland: J. Bullen, S. Glanville, S. Eamer, R. Pinney, G. Edwards, W. Thomas, T. Day; M. Martin, W. Taffender, D. Martin, W. Palmer, D. Couch, R. Cotterill, C. Brown, N. Chapman. Replacements (all used) P. Green, A. Day, R. Thomas, I. Pellow, R. Withers, M. Ludlow.
Liskeard & Looe: J. Noel-Johnson, I. Hicks, M. Hill, L. Hannah, S. Grant, A. Sheer, L. Elliott; M. Manders, T. Nicholas, D. Curgenven, D. Chambers, Y. Hutchings, J. Collins, A. Mears, C. Sobey. Replacements (all used) R. Bettison, A. Hill, P. Mutton, P. Murton, K. Badham, G. Oxham, P. Cares.
Referee - Mr. C. Hailey ( C.R.R.S.)
New Cornwall coach Joff Rowe refused to be too downbeat despite seeing his side slip to a 26-3 defeat to Devon in yesterday's Tamar Cup clash at Ivybridge.
Rowe has been handed the task of trying to get the Duchy back into the County Championship at the first attempt following their relegation at the end of last season. Yesterday, he was given his first real taste of the action as his youthful Black & Golds' side attempted to wrest back the Tamar Cup. Devon, though, were in no mood to relinquish their grip on the trophy and ran out comfortable winners, scoring tries through Dave Kimberley, Dan Stead, Shane Kingsland and Jimmy Beardsmore. Plymouth Albion's Dan Hawkes bagged two conversions, while club-mate Arran Cruickshanks added the extras to Beardsmore's late score.
In reply, Cornwall's solitary points came courtesy of a second- half penalty from Ian Morgan.
Although undone, Rowe insisted afterwards that there were positives to take from his side's showing.
"I'm really quite pleased in what we have achieved today," he said. "What we have shown today is that we have a lot of youth and a lot of talent in Cornwall, which we can work and develop over the next couple of years.
"At times today we have shown a little bit of inexperience and naivety, but we gave it our all. Before the game all I asked for, and so did Julian [Wilce] the captain, was that we show some commitment and some pride for the jersey and the occasion - and I think we got that.
"Whether we were better than Devon on the day, we proved by the result that we weren't. That said, there is certainly something to work on and we will look to move on."
Devon: J Fabian (M Wathes 56); D Ritchie, B Armitage, R Allen (W Gingell 63), N Holt; D Hawkes (A Cruickshanks 68), M Newman (G Hooper 63); I Langbridge (J Tithias 63), D Stead, S Kingsland; B Chapman, E King; J Fleming (N Riley 63), G Wellington (K Marriott 56), D Kimberley (P Mortimere 63)
Cornwall: I Morgan; A Wellers, G Thirlby, R Ley, L Trescothick (D Mankee 78); G Lovell, S Turnbull K Martin 51); T Stevens, M Davey (N Clark 53), T Hurdwell (N Endean 78); G Corin, J Wilce (B Jenkins 53); N Corin (D Roberts 53), B Collings, M Woolcock.
It's probably only now that victorious Cornish Pirates supporters are finally coming back down Camborne Hill. Having danced their way up it Saturday evening following their side's 17-9 EDF Energy National Trophy semi-final victory over Plymouth Albion, the Pirates faithful have already started plotting their course for new and unchartered waters. The destination for the soon-to-be-assembled flotilla from the Duchy will be Twickenham, the home of English rugby, where Westcountry rivals Exeter Chiefs now lie in wait.
The Pirates sealed their first-ever visit to the world famous coliseum following a hard-fought Tamarside derby which hung in the balance right until the dying moments. In the end, however, it was the killer right boot of fly-half Alberto Di Bernardo which finally put Albion to the sword. The Argentinian ace struck two majestic drop-goals - one of which was from inside his own half - to finally end the stubborn resistance of an Albion side, who themselves were left to rue a series of missed opportunities.
South African centre Regardt Van Eyk topped the charge sheet for the visitors at the final whistle. He crucially failed with three second-half penalties, while team-mates James Owen and Ed Barnes were also found guilty of spurning further attacking opportunities.
Unlike back in December when they were able to swallow up all that the Pirates could throw at them before stinging them with some deadly counter-attacking, this time around Albion were unable to deliver a similar knockout blow. Clearly lessons had been learnt by the Pirates since that setback which, to date, remains their one downfall on home soil this season. Whereas previously the Cornishmen struggled to break down the formidable Albion defensive wall, on Saturday they varied their options with an attacking plan that involved some serious thrust upfront, combined with a sharp attacking edge behind.
The change of tactic was clearly evident in a bright opening from the home side, who were forced into a late change after No.8 Tim Cowley was ruled out with a back injury. Matt Evans stepped in to fill the void at the back of the scrum, while Chris Cracknell was promoted to the bench.
Albion too had to re-jig their line-up, an overnight bout of sickness meant hooker Richard Oxley was unable to feature, so James Owen was promoted to start and 47-year-old Graham Dawe took his place amongst the replacements.
Despite the changes, the game started with a real bang - quite literally in the case of home centre Duncan Roke - who felt the full force of a high tackle from Albion's Keni Fisilau. The Tongan's head-high hit earnt him a reprimand from referee Martin Fox, who on six minutes punished Albion prop Scott Zimmerman for dropping a scrum. Up stepped Pirates' fly-half James Moore to break the deadlock with the first of his two successful penalties.
Roke's painful introduction to the game was to get no better, as the experienced back was forced off with just 11 minutes on the clock after he picked up another heavy blow to his shoulder. With Roke sidelined, Welshman Steve Winn was sent on to partner Duncan Bell in the home midfield. But it was the latter who strayed offside on 18 minutes, gifting Van Eyk the chance to restore parity.
Bell, however, quickly atoned for his earlier error. His excellent pursuit of Moore's hanging restart enabled the Pirates to regather the ball; he linked with Winn who, despite being halted just short of the line, was able to offload to the Pirates' pack, from which hooker Vili Ma'asi burrowed his way over. Moore added the conversion to put the Pirates 8-3 ahead.
Albion's response, just like it had been earlier, was rapid and soon brought them more reward, Van Eyk firing over a second penalty on 22 minutes after the home side had been penalised for pulling down a maul.
As the half progressed it was the Pirates who offered the greater threat in attack. But, just as they found back in December, getting through Albion's rearguard is no easy feat. Chances came and went for the home side, whilst Fisilau could again consider himself very fortunate not to be dispatched to the sidelines for a second ugly tackle, this time on Rhodri McAtee as he looked to cut in from the left flank.
Either side of the break Moore had the chance to extend the Pirates' grip on proceedings. First he saw a penalty in stoppage time sail wide of the posts, then a drop-goal attempt fail to find its mark.
The let-off seemed to ignite Albion, who for a 15-minute period after that lay siege on the home line. Penalties aplenty flowed for the visitors, but sadly Van Eyk was unable to capitalise fully. Three successive penalties, the latter of which also brought about a yellow card for Bell, all failed to find their mark, before he finally fired his side in front for the first time on 61 minutes.
Albion's advantage, however, was to prove shortlived as the Pirates - now boosted by the arrival of Di Bernardo following an injury to replacement Rhodri Wells - regained the initiative with a 40-metre penalty from Moore.
Whereas Di Bernardo wasted little time in settling into his role at No.10, the decision-making of Albion counterpart Barnes was either predictable or, in some cases, non-existent. By the time he was eventually benched two minutes from time, Di Bernardo had already edged the Pirates ever closer to the final with the first of his two drop-goals. His second effort, however, was simply outstanding. With both sides pressing hard for possession, Moore whipped the ball back to the Argentine star who, a few metres inside his own half, plundered a sumptuous kick which would have graced any ground in the world.
For Pirates supporters his last-gasp heroics were as good as anything Jonny Wilkinson served up for England during their World Cup winning campaign. The question is now: "Can he deliver in the final itself?"
Cornish Pirates 17pts: Try - Ma'asi; Penalties - Moore (2); Drop-Goals - Di Bernardo (2).
Plymouth Albion 9pts: Penalties - Van Eyk (3).
Cornish Pirates: A Winnan; R McAtee, D Roke (S Winn 12), D Bell,
J Hylton; J Moore, G Cattle (capt, R Wells 45), A Di Bernardo 68); A Paver, V
Maasi (N Makin 73), S Heard (D Seal 73); H Senekal, J Beardshaw; S McKeen, I
Motusaga, M Evans.
Replacements (not used): C Cracknell, J Inglis.
Yellow Card: Bell
Plymouth Albion: N Saumi; W Neethling (T Arscott 78), R Van Eyk,
K Fisilau, N Sestaret; E Barnes (A Cruickshanks 78), E Lewsey; T Mathias, J
Owen, S Zimmerman; B Gulliver, T Hayes; F Genoud, D Thomas (capt), C Lowrie.
Replacements (not used): M Newman, G Evans, G Dawe, B Stroud, M Lewis.
Referee: M Fox (RFU).
Mount's Bay did their bit towards setting up a Cornish day out at Twickenham by beating the Wirralsiders, Caldy, to work their passage to the EDF Intermediate Cup final.
It's a while since Trelawny's Army has marched up to London - you have to go back to the glory days of the late 80s and early 90s when Cornwall dominated the old County Championship - but a sizeable detachment will be heading there on April 15 for an exciting double header.
Mounts Bay will play Bedfordshire side Old Dunstablians in their final on the same day that the Cornish Pirates face Exeter in the EDF National Trophy on the same ground.
"Will the last person to leave Penzance turn out the lights," said Mount's Bay team boss Bernard Durrant, who has been with the Bay since the early days when they were formed as a sister club to the old Penzance-Newlyn RFC.
"A lot of people from Cornwall will want to see us and the Pirates playing at Twickenham on the same day as that will be a special occasion for Cornish rugby folk."
Durrant and his backroom boys did their homework on North One champions Caldy, poring over match recordings and working on tactics and strategies to beat them, and the preparation work certainly paid off. Truro coach Phil Angove, who has been working with Mount's Bay's forwards all season, and Pirates' prop Alan Paver analysed the Caldy strengths and weaknesses up front and issued instructions on how to make the best of them.
"I can't praise them enough for the work they did, as winning the battle up front was always going to be crucial," said Durrant. "We looked at Caldy's scrum, and how to stop it, and we also looked at some of the moves that they like to use.
"We knew they liked to drive in around Loa Tupou, the big No.8, and set up the maul. Whenever we saw him we cut him down by the ankles to stop it.
"A turning point in the match was a scrum around the 25-minute mark when Caldy were awarded a scrum five metres out and clearly fancied pushing us over for a try.
"We had worked on that sort of situation and didn't just drive them back: we destroyed them. You could see their forwards thinking then, what are we up against here?
"I don't like to single anyone out particularly, the forwards and Pale Nonu and Shane Laloata in the centres all had immense games. Everyone was immense - from one through to 15 they all played above and beyond themselves.
"Caldy are a good side and we needed to put in our best performance of the season to beat them. We'll all look forward to the day out at Twickenham, but there's another final before then, against Redruth in the Cornwall Cup on Easter Saturday, and we will be concentrating on that for now."
It was penalties only for the first 22 minutes, with Mount's Bay going 6-0 up thanks to a brace from Lee Jarvis.
The first try was a solo effort by Laloata, who motored over under the posts to leave Jarvis a routine conversion.
Caldy flanker Gareth Bansor pulled a try back for the visitors, which Simon Mason converted.
Jarvis stroked over a third penalty to put the bay 16-7 up at the break.
Mason got Caldy back within six points by dropping a goal soon after the interval, but any hopes of a comeback were soon shattered. Ollie Faulkener crossed in the corner on 50 minutes, then Jarvis went over on the hour to take the game away from Caldy once and for all.
The last word went to Everard Reid, who collected his own hack ahead and strode in under the posts for Jarvis to convert.
Mount's Bay 33pts: Tries - Laloata, Faulkner, Jarvis, Reid; Conversions - Jarvis (2); Penalties - Jarvis (3).
Caldy 10pts: Try - Bansor; Conversion - Mason; Drop-Goal - Mason.
Mounts Bay: S Larkins; O Faulkner, S Laloata, P Nonu, J Semmens (M Mua 79); L Jarvis, R Pellow (B Kearey 79); A Flide, D Semmens, D Clackworthy; R