| Page last updated 19 August 2008 |
NEWS |
Bude play London Cornish for the Arthur Hunt Cup on SATURDAY 23rd AUGUST at Bude's Bencoolen Meadow ground.
Check with the Home club for kick-off time.
The Cornish All Blacks got their pre-season off to a winning start in horrendous conditions at Polson Bridge with a 50-5 win over Exmouth.
The tries were scored by Ben Turner, Marc Dibble (2), Mike Rawlings, Sam Hocking (2), Glenn Cooper and Ben Collings. Adam Staniforth made three conversions and Jon Fabian two. Exmouth replied at the end with a try by Martin Westaway.
Commenting on the victory, All Blacks' Joint Head Coach Jon Hill said:
"It was a very pleasing first run. There were lots of changes at half time and so we never really got a flow in the second half, but the first half was outstanding. In these conditions it was almost flawless. The standards that we set there were something that we have to keep building on. It was a very, very pleasing first run out with some outstanding performers, not least Mike Rawlings and Ben Collings in the back row. Adam Staniforth looked very accomplished at 10. We have a lot of work to do this week to prepare for Exeter Chiefs, but the signs were very good."
Jon's Man of the Match was Ben Collings.
Jamie Semmens on the break. Picture by Alex Folkes/Fishnik.com.
The Cornish All Blacks have signed the hugely experienced utility back Mal Roberts for the coming season. Mal will be sponsored by Paul Harrison and Fernbank Advertising.
Commenting on his signing, Mal Roberts said:
"Jon (Hill) spoke to me at the tail end of last season and said that he was interested in trying to get me down to Launceston. It was in the pipeline that I might join Reading but I've been working hard on trying to get a posting back down South. I found out that there was going to be a posting available in Plymouth with the Commandos and I was lucky to get it before the season started so obviously the plan came together and I'm here.
"I'll bring a lot of experience after many years with Newbury in Div 1, experience of skippering the Army for six or seven years and playing with the Combined Services, Barbarians, and England Counties. I've got a lot of experience but it's a question of settling in early, using some of my experience and helping Launceston get back to Division 1."
"Last season in Div One I scored 13 tries, which is a pretty good tally really, so as well as the experience I bring a little bit of flair. I know there are a few players down here with that flair but hopefully I'll slot in and add that additional little bit that we need for promotion.
"Although I specialise at full back I'll slot in anywhere that'll get this club promoted, that's the key. We need to get our best players on the park. If that means I spend 40 or 50 minutes on the bench then so be it."
Cornish All Blacks Joint Head Coach Jon Hill added:
"When somebody with Mal's quality comes along we jump at the chance. He ticks all the right boxes in terms of our recruitment. He's vastly experienced and will bring a lot to this club. I know he is going to buy in to what we are doing and I know he'll add a great deal to this squad. We've signed him as a utility back and he can play at centre, full back and ten, so on that basis we're getting three in one. He's that good value. There's been lots of talk about him coming here in the past and finally we've got our man so we're absolutely delighted.
"Mal knows what the club is about. He'll be in the squad for Exmouth this Saturday and he has three games to give himself a chance for a starting spot away against Southend on September 6th.
"Tom Bedford and Ben Moon have both gone back to Exeter for the immediate future. Steve Perry is still carrying a niggling injury from playing for Cornwall in the County Championship. Scott Ireland doesn't arrive here until October and in this division, in terms of our goals of promotion and the championship, the season can be won or lost in September. We've got to make sure that we are absolutely bang on from the word go."
Mal Roberts with All Blacks Joint Head Coach Jon Hill and Paul Harrison of sponsors Fernbank Advertising
The Cornish All Blacks are to play all their away league matches this season in a new pink strip! The strip is designed to support the Cancer Research charity.
The picture shows Josh Lord, Tim Collier, Miss Cornwall 2007 Vicky Onlo, Mike Myerscough, and Danny Porte at the launch of the new pink away shirt.
Photo by Alex Folkes/Fishnik.com
Dear Members,
At the time of writing this letter to you, I am starting to wonder if it is going to stop raining this summer, but even this wet spell cannot dampen the elation given to us by the success of the Cornwall Rugby Team. So what, if we didn’t win at Twickenham, at least this year we had something to cheer about -- we won our group and we’re back in the County Championship next year.
Behind the scenes of any club there are unsung workers who work on your behalf to keep this club alive. Without their enthusiasm this organisation would cease to be. Each officer is more than a name and address on the last page of Black & Gold, they are the heart, lungs, brains, arms and legs of TASC, and our message of support for Cornish Rugby travels the world via our web-site.
What have we achieved this year?
But it isn’t the case for the Committee to sit back and polish our laurels and wait for next season, no we have the AGM to prepare for in October and the 2009 Dinner & Dance, and if that isn’t enough we intend to host two extra events. It is the intention of the Committee to re-introduce the Truro bowling night and in April 2009 we will host a buffet to celebrate the squad that won the 1999 County Championship. All for your enjoyment and participation, so please join us when the time comes, we do need your support.
I mentioned the web-site earlier, and it really does carry a very positive message to those who discover it around the world and here is proof. I was contacted by our webmaster John Prowse back in May to say that an American was going to be visit Cornwall and would be interested in contacting someone from TASC, so I duly obliged.
I received a phone call from a Jessie Harrasta and I collected him from St. Austell Station two weeks later and invited him for an evening meal. I was immediately impressed by him as he produced a number of bottles of real ale to lubricate the tonsils over what was to become a long but friendly interview about Cornish culture. He is an anthropologist studying European cultures, namely us the Cornish. Before coming to Cornwall he had identified Trelawny’s Army as a part of Cornish contemporary culture and the popularity of rugby as the dominant sport in Cornwall. He hopes that he will be able to return to Cornwall for a yearlong study in the future, so we may well get him on a coach to an away game next year.
Final footnote: Remember to vote for your chosen players for the Supporters' Player of the year for both the Cornwall and Under 20 Teams when the voting slips arrive.
Phil Trevarton, TASC Chairman