Cornishmen and women around the World will be cheering Sam Matavesi on Saturday when Fiji start their World Cup campaign against two-time champions Australia in Sapporo.

There is disappointment for Sam’s brother Josh who has not made the side for this match, but no doubt we shall see Josh in subsequent games.

Well done Sam, we shall sink a pint or two and down a pasty in your honour m ‘ansum.

We are saddened to learn that former county President Mike Trott has passed away at the age of 90.

Mike, a stalwart at both county and also Camborne RFC where he was club President for many years, was county President for one season, but what a season 1990-91 when Cornwall won the County Championship for the first time since 1908.

Everyone at Trelawny’s Army will wish to express their sincerest condolences to all family and friends.

Mike’s funeral will take place on Thursday 26th September, at 11 am, at Camborne Parish Church.

Thank you to Martin Symons from Camborne RFC for the following tribute;

Camborne Rugby Club mourns the passing of stalwart Mike Trott.

Camborne Rugby Club is mourning the passing of stalwart Mike Trott at the age of 90 following an association with the Cherry & Whites spanning some 60 years.

Having first joined the committee in 1959 he became the Cherry & Whites Chairman in 1964 an office which he held with distinction until 1970.

At that point he took over as the Club’s President and remained in post for a remarkable 21 years during which time Camborne became the dominant force in Cornish Rugby until he finally stepped down in 1991.

Since then he has remained an enthusiastic supporter of ‘Town’ attending 1^st XV matches home and away as well as taking an active interest in all aspects of the various sections of his beloved Club.

In 1982 he became one of a select few to be awarded life membership of Camborne Rugby Club for his long service and dedication.

Mike became Cornwall RFU President for the 1990-91 season which culminated in the Senior XV memorably being crowned as County champions at Twickenham for the first time since 1908.

The funeral service will take place at 11.00am on Thursday 26^th September at Camborne Parish Church to be followed by a wake at Camborne RFC’s clubhouse at Crane Park.

Bill Hussey current President of Camborne RFC commented ‘Mike was a very generous, genuine and modest man with a well developed dry sense of humour. He was a man who served his club, his town and his county with great dedication and distinction. A man who many were proud to call, a true friend. Life is about creating memories and Mike Trott left us with many great ones.’’

London Cornish RFC is pleased to confirm the following signatures ahead of the 2019-20 season:

Tony Pellow – Hooker/Prop – Te Awamutu RFC (ex Penryn)

Morgan Jones – Back Row – Penarth RFC

Sam Matanle – Back Row – London Scottish RFC

Cameron Crozier – Back Row – Glasgow Hawks RFC

Kyle Coulter – Lock – Sutton & Epsom RFC

Freddie Jackson – Prop – Hampstead RFC

Niko Mirosevic-Sorgo – Back Row – Old Priorians RFC

Jamie Robert-Tissot- Prop – Exeter Uni RFC

Ed Carne – Centre – Dorking RFC (ex Redruth)

Jack Willey – Wing – Penryn RFC

Andy Munro-Lott – Scrum Half – Falmouth RFC

Tom Whelan – Fly Half – Exmouth RFC

Pete Wood – Wing – Dorking RFC

Moe Alothman – Centre – Eton Manor RFC

Eji Erhirhie – Wing – Surrey Uni RFC

Ben Lines – Centre – Effingham & Leatherhead RFC

Ben Nichols – Fly Half – Rosslyn Park RFC

Lawrence Elliott – Full Back – Chobham RFC

Julian Osborne – Fly Half/Full Back – Tynedale RFC

Royce Tooth – Wing – Cardiff Uni RFC

The following players are no longer with the club

Harry Somers – Lock – Pirates Amateurs RFC

Ian Dowie – Back Row – Manchester RFC

George Shirlaw – Back Row – Hong Kong (6 month posting)

Guy Sullivan – Prop – Met Police

To be clear, no player at LCRFC is paid to play, and nor do they receive any expenses or accommodation. In addition to these numbers, we expect to be able to confirm a further 5-10 further signings in the next few weeks, as we seek to build a squad capable both of sustaining a top half placing in London 1 South, and of challenging for honours at the 2^nd team level too. Describing the summer as ‘the busiest from a player recruitment perspective in my time at the club’, Director of Rugby Dickon Moon adds ‘We have spent a couple of seasons assessing what we need to be successful at Level 6, and this recruitment campaign reflects the start of our efforts to be competing higher up the league than the 8^th place we have achieved in our 2 seasons here to date’.

Trelawny’s Army was saddened to learn that former County player Vernon Parkin had passed away whilst visiting his son in the States.

Parkin was a hard-running and feisty centre who broke through into the county side in the 68-69 season. The Penryn centre featured in all the county championship games including the final against Lancashire held at Redruth in front of some 23,000 spectators.

In all Parkin played for Cornwall on 20 occasions including the famous draw in France against a French Selection and the subsequent return game in Redruth against France B.

He went on to play at Bristol and Northampton.

The Army sends it’s condolences to all Vernon’s family and friends.

The 2020 Tamar Cup between Cornwall (holders) & Devon will be played at St. Austell RFC on the evening of Tuesday 21st April. Kick-off time will be confirmed nearer the date.

Cornishmen Jack Nowell and Luke Cowan-Dickie were named in England’s 31 man squad for the forthcoming  Rugby World Cup in Japan next month.

Cowan-Dickie impressed in England’s warm up again against Wales at Twickenham on Sunday snaffling a Welsh miss-throw quicker than a Pip’s pasty (other pasties are available) to score a try on his maiden start for England, whilst for Nowell it’s a race to get fit ahead of the tournament.

Both players come from Newlyn and came through the ranks at Penzance & Newlyn and Truro College before progressing to Exeter Chiefs.

Speaking at the announcement England’s Head Coach Eddie Jones said. “Today is another step in the progress towards the Rugby World Cup.

“We have taken the decision to go early because of what we learned from previous campaigns. We want the squad to know early and now we can get on and be the best prepared England side there has ever been, ready to win the World Cup.”
 
On the players not selected Jones added: “A lot of good players have missed out, we feel for them, I feel for them personally. But as we know the World Cup is an incredible tournament where opportunities can present themselves and all those players who have missed out have been told they have to be ready.”
 
England have three matches against Wales (17 August), Ireland (24 August) and Italy (6 September) before the tournament starts. Jones said of their importance: “Every game is an opportunity to improve our game fitness, our team cohesion, and our tactical adaptability. Each game for us will have a specific purpose.”
 
England will begin their Rugby World Cup campaign in Japan against Tonga in Sapporo (22 September, KO 11:15am UK time) before playing USA Rugby in Kobe (26 September, KO 11:45am UK time), Argentina in Tokyo (5 October, KO 09:00am UK time) and France in Yokohama (12 October, KO 09:15am UK time).

As every Cornishman will tell you, when England won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 they also had two Cornishmen in the squad, props Phil Vickery and Trevor Woodman!

England’s official Rugby World Cup squad

Forwards
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers, 86 caps) **
Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 12 caps)
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 11 caps)
Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 10 caps)
Jamie George (Saracens, 37 caps) *
Maro Itoje (Saracens, 27 caps)
George Kruis (Saracens, 32 caps) *
Joe Launchbury (Wasps, 59 caps) *
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 72 caps) **
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints, 1 cap)
Joe Marler (Harlequins, 58 caps) *
Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins, 22 caps)
Jack Singleton (Saracens, 1 cap)
Sam Underhill (Bath Rugby, 9 caps)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 42 caps) *
Mako Vunipola (Saracens, 53 caps) *
Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons / Sale Sharks, 13 caps)
 
Backs
Joe Cokanasiga (Bath Rugby, 5 caps)
Elliot Daly (Saracens, 31 caps)
Owen Farrell (Saracens, 70 caps) *
George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 56 caps) *
Piers Francis (Northampton Saints, 5 caps)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester Rugby, 1 cap)
Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby, 41 caps) *
Jonny May (Leicester Tigers, 45 caps) *
Ruaridh McConnochie (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs, 33 caps) *
Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 22 caps) *
Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 33 caps) *
Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 34 caps) *
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 86 caps) **
 
* number of Rugby World Cup tournaments played

With pre-season games already underway, and the full new season just round the corner, fixtures (and results) for Cornish Pirates and other top teams are now available on the TASC site:
https://www.trelawnysarmy.org/cornish-pirates-results-2019-20/
https://www.trelawnysarmy.org/redruth-rugby-results-2019-20/
https://www.trelawnysarmy.org/camborne-rfc-results-2019-20/
https://www.trelawnysarmy.org/launceston-rugby-club-results-2019-20/

We have also updated our banner images, to celebrate Cornwall’s stunning Bill Beaumont Cup Final 2019 success against Cheshire. Thanks to Simon Bryant/Iktis Photo for permission to use here.

CORNWALL RFU UNDER 20 COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2020

Cornwall Rugby Football Union (CRFU) Under 20 County Championship campaign 2019 is well underway with preparations being made for the coming season.

The fixtures have not yet been released, but a list of eligible players is being complied. All clubs within the county will be asked to nominate players they think suitable for representing their club and the county at this age level prior to a team building team event in November.

We plan to play two warm up games against RNAS Culdrose and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service in preparation for the first championship game.

On the coaching side there has been a change with forwards coach Josh Lord deciding to step down due to work and family commitments. The CRFU wish to place on record their thanks to Josh for his hard work over the last couple of seasons with Cornwall Under 20 reaching the final of the Jason Leonard Cup in 2018 being the highlight.

Richie Kevern will continue as the backs coach fresh from his success with the senior team in the Bill Beaumont Cup at Twickenham, and continues to play for Redruth at National Two level.

Joining Richie is a former Cornwall U20 player Tyler Gendall. Tyler, who was Trelawny’s Army Cornwall Under 20 player of the year in 2014,  went on to play for the Cornish Pirates in the Championship before joining Bristol and then Harlequins in the Premiership before returning to the Mennaye and Championship rugby. Tyler has now retired from professional rugby and has joined St. Ives as forwards coach.

Chair of CRFU Representative Rugby Chris Lea said. “I am delighted to keep the services of Richie with all his experience for Cornwall, and Redruth in the National leagues, and am delighted to welcome Tyler in to the coaching team bringing with him a wealth of experience at the highest level of English rugby.”

Any enquires concerning the CRFU U20 should be addressed to the team manager Colin Hatch;-

Email – hatch0348@btinternet.com 

Mob – 07967725368

Bill Hooper,

Cornwall RFU Assistant Hon Sec 

CORNWALL’S BILL BEAUMONT CUP SUCCESS CELEBRATED AT COUNTY HALL

By Bill Hooper

Members of the Cornwall team along with officers from the Cornwall RFU and also representatives from both Trelawny’s Army Supporters Club and the Falmouth Marine Band attended a civic reception held at County Hall in Truro last Friday afternoon.

Chair of Cornwall Council Hilary Frank welcomed everyone to County Hall and praised the Cornwall team and expressed how proud everyone in the Duchy was with their superb win against Cheshire in the final at Twickenham.

In reply CRFU President Peter James, thanked the council for their hospitality and expressed his pride and joy as a Cornishman in the fine qualities of an exceptional team, and the unrivalled support from the Cornish supporters.  

Cornwall team captain Ben Hilton also spoke about the game and the quality of his players and paid tribute to the outstanding support the team received all through the Championship from the fans, especially Trelawny’s Army and the Falmouth Marine Band.

Councillor Frank, who has also been involved with assisting with the preparations for the Rugby World Cup in Japan later this year, arranged for special RWC pin badges from the organising committee to be presented by an attaché from the Japanese Embassy in London.   

The proceedings concluded with the singing of Trelawny, led by the City of Truro Male Choir.  

HAMBLY ANNOUNCES FIRST NEW SIGNINGS FOR THE REDS

By Bill Hooper, at the Recreation Ground

With the dust of the Cornish rugby season barely settled following Cornwall’s dramatic win in Sunday’s Bill Beaumont Cup Final, Director of Rugby Nigel Hambly has moved to add two further members from the Cornwall side to his playing squad.

Both Matt Shepherd and Fraser Honey have put pen to paper and agreed to join Redruth for next season from Plymouth Albion.

In addition, Hambly has also brought former Redruth favourite Chris Fuca back to the club as forwards coach for next season.

Speaking at the Recreation Ground on Tuesday evening Honey was looking forward to the challenge of playing for Redruth.  He said. “I am delighted to have signed for Redruth, it’s a club I have followed for many years. I think I can bring something to the club and also improve my game with the quality of the coaches here; I have a huge amount of respect for Nigel, Chris and Matt.

Honey was really excited about the prospects for the new season as the pieces begin to fall in place. “The support here at Redruth is the best in the league, I’ve played here for Launceston and Bury St Edmunds as well as the various county age groups, so I know many of the lads already here from those days and of course with the wonderful month we have just had with the Cornwall squad, I’ve played with Jack Oulton when I was at Launceston and he was on loan and I think we have proved that we form an exciting half-back partnership.

Matt Shepherd returns to the club in a player/coach role and is equally enthusiastic about the prospects for the new season. He said. “I feel that this is the right move for me now at this stage of my rugby career, I am really looking forward to working with both Fucs and Nigel, I’ve heard a few stories about Nigel he’s a legend here and huge respect for what he did to get Redruth playing in National 1. I think having both of them here will attract a number of players to the club.

Not only will Shepherd bring a wealth of experience to the side but he is also looking forward to helping develop the young talent that came through the club last season. “There are a lot of really good young players at the club, boys like Jack Simmons, Aaron Simmonds, Jack Hodge and I really am looking forward to helping them develop to the next stage of their rugby careers.

Returning to the club having cut his coaching teeth at St. Ives Chris Fuca is thrilled to be back at the club he calls home. “I am delighted to be back, I spoke with Nigel earlier in the year but I wanted to honour my commitments at St. Ives for last season before agreeing anything. I am really looking forward to my role as forwards coach. I shall be purely coaching to start with but I might have a run out if I am fit enough at some stage.

“I think the player signings that we have announced tonight shows real intent from the club that we need to improve on last season’s results, and I think the work going on at the club both and off the park shows that the club want to push on and make a statement this season. Both Fraser and Matt are hugely respected by the other players and they can only help improve the playing standards at the club.

Fuca is keen to get the Redruth edge upfront back. “Maybe last season our scrum wasn’t quite the potent weapon it’s been in previous seasons, so no question that is something I shall be working on. Fitness has a big role to play so there will be a lot of fitness work pre-season and work on our plays going into the new season. We will bring in some expertise for various areas like strength and conditioning and make sure everything is done in properly planned way.

Director of Rugby was pleased with his first signings for the new season. “I am really pleased to having both Matt and Fraser joining the club for next season and to have Chris back here in a new role for him. Fucs is an icon here and I think he has a very bright future in a coaching role, I think he will relish the challenge of coaching at this level.

As for Matt,I am delighted to see him back at Redruth. I had spoken with one or two other potential candidates but it didn’t work out, Marek Churcher suggested I approach Matt and he was immediately very receptive to what I had in mind. Matt’s proven quality and hugely respected as player and I think he has lot to offer in a coaching role here. When I approached Matt about the role he told me he still wanted to play, for me that was the best response to hear from him, he will bring his huge experience to the squad. 

As for Fraser, I’ll be honest I haven’t seen a lot of him playing, but from what I have seen he is very good and reads the game intelligently, kicks the ball well and puts you in good areas on the field, his success rate kicking for goal is high so all in all a quality player with proven ability in National 1.”  

Hambly also confirmed that Chris Allen would take up the Team Manager’s role for next season and said that plans for the second team next season were progressing  as well as the colts set up for next season under Steve Larkins.