The Cornish Pirates, who are on the Isles of Scilly this week participating in team building and engaging the community, also took the opportunity during their sea crossing from Penzance on Wednesday to announce that Chris Morgan will captain the team this season with Canadian international Matt Evans confirmed as vice-skipper, reports Pirates’ Media Officer Phil Westren.

Photo – l-r Gavin Cattle, Chris Morgan, Ian Davies, Matt Evans & Alan Paver

Based at St. Mary’s following a near perfect sailing aboard the passenger vessel “Scillonian III”, the squad ventured across to Tresco on Wednesday afternoon and St. Martin’s on Thursday morning, before their scheduled return to the mainland on Friday pm.

Thanks are extended to all who have so warmly welcomed the players and coaches on the islands, with appreciation also to those supporting the visit, including the Isles Of Scilly Steamship Company, the Adam Mallon Sports Fund, Tresco Estate, Nick George of the Mermaid Inn, the New Inn at Tresco, the Sevenstones Inn on St. Martin’s, plus the school at St. Mary’s where the Pirates are camping.
Cris Morgan has led the Cornish Pirates a number of times in the past, including during last season when club captain Gavin Cattle was injured. His appointment will be a popular one, likewise Matt’s.

Having first played rugby for Burnham-on-Sea at the age of eight, Chris later went to Millfield School and then to Bristol when at the same time he started a chemistry degree at Cardiff University.

He had played for England U18s (Clubs), in a side captained by ‘Pirate’ Paul Devlin, and a year later played for England Schools 18 Group alongside players the calibre of Olly Barkley and James Simpson-Daniel, as well as the late Nick Duncombe.

Just part way through his first year of ‘Uni’, Chris was offered a full-time contract with the ‘Shoguns’ through the then Bristol boss Dean Ryan. He decided to give up his studies and made his Premiership debut against Wasps in 2001/02, which was a tremendous experience playing alongside players such as Julian White, Gareth Archer and Augustin Pichot, to name but a few of the then Bristol stars.

In 2005/06, Chris, who had played against us when Bristol were in National One, had a loan spell with the Cornish Pirates, making his debut away to Bedford. He impressed then, and did similarly when he played for Newbury Blues for two years.

Chris was really excited about joining the Cornish Pirates, and in his first full season played a total of 33 games (29 in the league) for the club. Also, after our last game he was presented with ‘The President’s Cup’ by Robin Turner, the award going to the player who, in the opinion of the President, had been the most outstanding contributor on the field during the season.

At the start of the 2009-10 campaign Chris was in tremendous form before injuring his knee at the end of September. He thankfully recovered by Christmas, however, and was back in action when the Pirates walloped Plymouth Albion 46-7 at Camborne.

A winner of the ‘Edwin Bryant Trophy’ at the end of 2010-11, Chris was also awarded the ‘John Stirling Cup for Commitment’ the following year. It was well deserved, the word ‘commitment’ suitably worthy, and he also took his total games tally to 123.

Injury, unfortunately, restricted Chris to making just five appearances in 2012/13, so it was of no surprise that he was hungry for regular action again in 2013/14. Thankfully he stayed more or less fully fit and enjoyed an outstanding season in making a further 27 appearances for the club. Receiving due recognition at the end of season awards he also scooped up four trophies, winning the ‘Edwin Bryant Trophy’ and the ‘Travelling Supporters Player of the Year’ awards, besides being the adjudged ‘Player of the Year’ and the ‘Players’ Player of the Year’.

When it was confirmed that the injury suffered by Wes Davies at Nottingham in October was worse than at first thought, and that he was likely to be unavailable for some time, the Cornish Pirates reacted quickly to replenish their squad by signing Matt.

A Canadian international full-back, Matt has been a star performer for the ‘Canucks’ since making his debut in 2008 and he had just played in the Rugby World Cup when it was announced that he would be joining the Cornish Pirates after firstly competing for Canada in the Pan American Games rugby 7s competition held in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he and his team incidentally won gold.

Matt, who was brought up in Wiltshire – his mum is Welsh but his dad is proudly English and is a former captain of Salisbury and Dorset & Wiltshire – moved to Vancouver Island when he was aged 11, and he could have qualified for England, Wales or Canada, where he ultimately qualified on residency grounds and gained his first cap against Ireland in Limerick in November, 2008. It was during a time when he attended Hartpury College, where his mentor was former Wales assistant coach Allan Lewis, who predicted a bright future for him.

His second game was at the Millennium Stadium against Wales, when members of his family, a number of whom live in Cardiff, naturally had divided loyalties. Of no surprise, even Matt himself had ambitions to play for Wales when he was a boy, but that changed with his move to Canada and he has been immensely proud to represent the Canucks.

In 2009, playing at full-back and wing, his tally of four made him top try-scorer in the Churchill Cup, and in the 2010 competition he excelled once more. Playing at fly-half, in the final against England Saxons he scored the individual try of the game.

Mentioning Matt’s try-scoring ability, ahead of his arrival into Cornwall it was remembered that he had scored against the Pirates in the past. A first try was registered when playing for Newport Gwent Dragons in their 27-11 points pre-season friendly win at the Mennaye Field in August, 2010, and he then scored a brace when the Pirates lost a British & Irish Cup encounter 34-32 away to Newport in January, 2011. To have lost the game in Wales at the very end was bitterly disappointing, but it had been a encounter when Matt again confirmed that he was a polished and talented performer.

In his first three seasons with the Pirates Matt played in 53 games and scored 30 tries.

Cornish rugby has lost one of it’s most famous sons with Harold Stevens, who famously captained Cornwall in defeat to Warwickshire in the 1958 County Championship Final played at Coventry’s Coundon Road Ground, sadly passing away this week following a long illness.

He was considered by many to be one of the finest Cornish three-quarters ever to take the field.

His rugby career started with St. Ives and he was part of the fine “Hakes” side of the early fifties.

Being a teacher at Trewirgie School in Redruth it was inevitable that the Reds would come calling for his services.

An elusive runner, a superb kicker, tactician and fierce tackler, he played mostly at centre after joining Redruth from St. Ives in 1953, he played 350 games for the Reds and gained 60 Cornwall caps before returning to play for St. Ives in 1960.

He captained Redruth during the 1954-55 and 1955-56 seasons.

During the 1957-58 season not only did Stevens captain Cornwall to the County Final, which included a semi-final win over Lancashire at Redruth, he also played for the Possibles in an England Trial and was considered unlucky not to have been capped for England.

The Barbarians picked him for their Easter tour to Wales in 1959.

He also played for Cornwall & Devon against the All Blacks in 1953, the Wallabies in 1958 and the Springboks in 1960 in three different positions, wing, centre and full-back.

After the 1958 County Final he wrote a letter of thanks to the Cornwall rugby supporters for their support at Coventry which was published in the West Briton.

Trelawnys Army Supporters Club extends it’s sincerest condolences to family and friends. The funeral will take place in St.Ives at 2.30pm on Tuesday 15th July at Fore Street Chapel. Parking is at St.Ives RFC and a shuttle bus to the church has been arranged.

By Bill Hooper TASC Press Officer at Twickenham Stadium

Lancashire again dashed Cornish hopes of Twickenham glory in a Bill Beaumont Cup Final where the game ebbed and flowed before a final surge from the cup holders secured a twenty-third county crown for the red rose in the Championship’s 125th year.

PHOTO – CORNWALL TEAM AT TWICKENHAM

In the player’s tunnel after the game Cornwall coach Graham Dawe was understandably disappointed that his side ended up second best on the day. He said. “I was pleased with the way we went about the game and get ourselves a two score lead, but we couldn’t hold onto it. We had done our homework on them but they played a simple and effective game very well.

“We looked to the bench quite early to try and give players a break conditions out there were very tough, last week at Hertford we didn’t use the bench but this week you want to give the players a run and see what they can offer this is very much a squad based team. We wanted to control the third quarter and then finish the game with our strongest formation as we anticipated a big finish from Lancashire.

“Lancashire’s game of coming around the corner and making yardage with their powerful players is hard to defend and very much energy draining but full-credit to our boys who stuck at it well.

PHOTO – LANCASHIRE TEAM AT TWICKENHAM

“After a defeat you are always disappointed and sometimes it works different ways. It will be interesting to see how the boys react they have come here twice in succession and lost on both occasions so we will see how many will look to come back on board next season following another tough league campaign.

“They are a good team and a great bunch of lads I expect they will get together and make the decision that they really want to give it another crack next season.”

Whereas twelve months ago Cornwall were forced to play catch up rugby for most of the game, this time Cornwall thanks to a superb first half performance saw a 26-10 lead established early during the second half crumble as Lancashire staged a remarkable comeback to score twenty-six unanswered points.

Cornwall spurned the chance of early points as full-back Kieron Lewitt pushed a penalty attempt wide on 4 minutes.

Lancashire’s skipper Chris Johnson – a thorn in Cornwall’s side last season and to be just as troublesome this time round – put his side on the scoreboard moments later as Cornwall conceded a penalty in their own twenty-two.

Lewitt made amends for his initial miss with Cornwall’s first points as the Cornish forwards earned a penalty from a scrum in front of the Lancashire posts.

Having again nudged his side ahead Johnson then added the extras to Lancashire’s opening try which came from a line out in the North East corner, lock Louis McGowan took the ball and then re-fed his hooker Mark Rylance who crashed over the line.

Cornwall’s scrum-half Greg Goodfellow was the usual spark getting Cornwall on the front foot and a trade-mark break from the flying Scot with support from fly-half Lewis Webb saw Cornwall earn a penalty with Lewitt reducing the deficit.

In mid-field centres Nielson Webber and Ryan Westren were industrious with Westren especially getting over the gain-line on occasions.

PHOTO – NOTMAN PULLED BACK !! PHOTO – DAN BARBARY

Goodfellow was at it again when he took a quick tap before his pass found winger Lewis Vinnicombe, the Truro flyer beat two players and then chipped the ball into Lancashire in-goal and won the race to the touchdown for a remarkable score which had the Cornish support on their feet. The officials were happy with the score and Lewitt added a good conversion from the touchline to put Cornwall 13-10 up.

PHOTO – VINNICOMBE GROUNDS THE BALL – PHOTO DAN BARBARY

Cornwall were well on top in the set-piece and when Lancashire’s veteran lock Paul Arnold was yellow carded for slapping Tom Rawlings across the face, Lewitt took full advantage adding another penalty score to Cornwall’s tally.

Tom Notman showed his pace and was close to a try before prop Jamal Ford-Robinson powered through some poor Lancashire defence to score Cornwall’s second try with Lewitt again on the money with the conversion and a 23-10 with 36 minutes played.

PHOTO – JAMAL FORD-ROBINSON CELEBRATES HIS TRY – PHOTO – DAN BARBARY

Webb put in a tremendous tackle to stop Johnson just prior to half-time.

Cornwall were obliged to make changes as the heat and intensity took it’s toil on the players with influential lock Damien Cook having to leave the field following a blow to the head.

Cornwall were the first to add points in the second half when Lewitt kicked a further penalty to put Cornwall more than two scores ahead at 26-10 and it seemed that Cornwall had built the foundations they needed to kick-on towards a fourth county crown, however Lancashire had other ideas and they dug deep into their resolve to claw their way little by little back into the game, Lancashire had heeded the lesson from last season when the Cornish pack almost snatched the game from them until a late score secured the win.

The Lancashire forwards kept the ball and began pounding the Cornish pack, Cornwall were forced into making energy sapping tackles to keep Lancashire at bay, Tony Whittle put in a big tackle to deny Lancashire on the Cornish line but the pressure was relentless with flanker Evian Stewart eventually grounding the ball over the line. Johnson’s conversion cut Cornwall’s lead to just nine points and they sniffed blood.

Lewitt missed with a crucial penalty opportunity which could have stemmed the Lancashire revival and then just two minutes later Johnson finished off a move from a catch and drive to bring Lancashire back to within four points.

Lancashire sensed the Cornish side was tiring retook the lead when No.8 Matt Lamprey crossed for Lancashire’s fourth try with Johnson adding the conversion for 29-26.

That score was a killer blow to Cornwall and the final nail in the coffin was knocked in when replacement hooker Tom Burtonwood scored try number five with just seven minutes remaining with Johnson again adding the extras to complete the scoring and securing Lancashire’s fifth title in six years and Cornwall’s fourth defeat to Lancashire in a county final.

Speaking after the game a visibly disappointed Cornwall captain Ben Hilton found it very hard to conceal his emotions. He said. “We are devastated to lose a game from a position that we had worked hard to build, Lancashire as we know are a good side we managed the end of the first half well and then Kieron kicked a penalty to nudge us sixteen points up but then we couldn’t get our hands on the ball and we had to soak up a tremendous amount of pressure to constantly defend like that in those conditions means that you will eventually make that crucial mistake and that is exactly what Lancashire hoped for.

“I want to apologise to all the supporters here and back home because I know how much Cornwall winning here at Twickenham means to them all and we the players feel that responsibility, we don’t come up here to pick up the silver medal. It was a great advert for county rugby and I hope the powers that be at Twickenham will sit up and take note that county rugby is not such a low level competition as some would have you believe.”

All I can say to Ben and all the Cornish players you have nothing to reproach yourselves for. We are proud of you all and for fifty minutes we dared believe that this might just be the day. One day it will be again!

CORNWALL 26 pts

Tries – Vinnicombe, Ford-Robinson, Conversions – Lewitt (2), Penalties – Lewitt (4)

LANCASHIRE 36 pts

Tries – Rylance, Stewart, Johnson, Lamprey, Burtonwood, Conversions – Johnson (4), Penalty – Johnson

Yellow Cards – Arnold (34), Fairbrother (77)

CORNWALL: Kieron Lewitt (Cornish All Blacks), Lewis Vinnicombe (Truro), Ryan Westren, Nielson Webber (both Cornish All Blacks), Tom Notman (Redruth), Lewis Webb (Cornish All Blacks), Greg Goodfellow (Redruth); Darren Jacques (Truro), Jamie Salter (Cornish All Blacks), Craig Williams (Reduth), Ben Hilton (Cornish All Blacks, Capt), Damien Cook, Chris Fuca (both Redruth), Tom Rawlings, Barrie-John Chapman (both Cornish All Blacks).

Replacements (all used): Richard Brown (Redruth), Jamal Ford-Robinson (Cambridge), Bryn Jenkins (Cornish All Blacks), Tony Whittle (Falmouth), Steve Johns (Birmingham & Solihull), Sam Parsons (Redruth), Matt Shepherd (St. Austell).

LANCASHIRE: Sean Taylor (Preston Grasshoppers), Warren Spragg, Chris Briers (both Fylde), Matt Riley (Sedgley Park), Oli Brennand), Chris Johnson (Captain), Ryan De La Harpe; Adam Lewis, Mark Rylance (all Fylde), Ben Black, Louis McGowan (both Sedgley Park), Gareth Gore (Fylde), Gareth Rawlings (Longton), Evan Stewart (Fylde), Matt Lamprey (Sedgley Park).

Replacements (all used): Simon Griffiths (Fylde), Peter Altham (Preston Grasshoppers), David Fairbrother (Fleetwood), Paul Arnold, Tom Burtonwood (both Fylde), Phil Baines (Preston Grasshoppers), Steve Collins (Sedgley Park).

Referee: Andrew Rawson (RFU)

Assistant Referees: Veryan Boscawen & Ian Pengelly

Crowd approx: 15,000

Cornwall-man-of-the-match: Greg Goodfellow, at the heart of Cornwall’s best moments while on the field a constant threat.

By Bill Hooper TASC Press Officer

Cornwall had their final training session at home before embarking on Saturday morning to their base near Twickenham in readiness for Sunday’s Bill Beaumont Cup Final. It’s is this season the 125th year of the venerable County Championship.

Cornwall coach Graham Dawe was in upbeat mood on Thursday night as he prepares once again for a County Championship Final his ninth as either a player or coach and his third with Cornwall following those of 1989 and 91.

PHOTO – GRAHAM DAWE & IAN MORGAN CORNWALL’S COACHES

“We should be ready after tonight we’ve ticked all the boxes so hopefully we should be in good order going into Sunday. The boys have trained well this week with good intensity, we had good numbers though Craig Williams didn’t train which was a bit of a worry, but I would expect him to be OK for Sunday, he’s been one of our big performers over the whole of the campaign, but we have got options with Jamal Ford-Robinson and Rupert Freestone.

Dawe has the utmost respect for Sunday’s opponents. “Lancashire are always a tidy side with good players, I’ve had some good tussles with them over the years. They have a good base of National League 1 players and I know their coach Mark Nelson well, a very passionate coach who always gets the best out of his team.

“Having played in last year’s final will help the players as they will know what to expect, I remember the experience of having played against Durham in 1989 helped us greatly when we beat Yorkshire in 1991, if I can instil some clarity and composure in their performance then that will help them through the occasion.”

Playing in his first game ever at Twickenham on Sunday will be Cornwall’s fly-half Lewis Webb. Having missed last season’s campaign when away travelling Webb is keen to run out on the Twickenham turf. “I am really looking forward to Sunday I was gutted to miss it last year hopefully this year we can take that extra step and win it.

PHOTO – CORNISH ALL BLACKS FLY-HALF LEWIS WEBB WAS FORMERLY WITH PENRYN

“Graham and Ian coming in has made a big impact this year adding a bit of professionalism to us as a squad, Graham is very good with the forwards and is good with his tactical play and has a hard edge, whereas Ian takes a slightly different approach, he doesn’t mince his words and has a real passion for the side.”

Cornwall’s hooker Jamie Salter is also raring to go on Sunday. “It’s the second time I’ve been to Twickenham with Cornwall having played in the County Shield Final against Northumberland in 2007, but this time it’s the main event. I was disappointed to miss out last season but I am really looking forward to Sunday. We set out with the goal of not just to get to Twickenham but to bring home the cup.

PHOTO – JAMIE SALTER & TOM RAWLINGS CONGRATULATE LEWIS VINNICOMBE

After the County Final Jamie will be off with the England Counties squad to Georgia. “I am really proud to have been selected it’s nice to get the recognition but it also reflects on how well Cornwall have done this season with four of our squad making the team. My focus first and foremost is with Cornwall then after Sunday I’ll think about the tour to Georgia which will be a massive challenge.

Cornwall’s winger Lewis Vinnicombe another to make the selection for England Counties, his first call up since playing in France in 2006, has happy memories of last year’s final having scored one of Cornwall’s three tries. “I am looking forward to returning to Twickenham to play on that big pitch in front of a huge crowd is pretty exciting and hopefully the game will go our way this year. Last year I was pleased with my try but that’s my job to finish off moves and cross that whitewash.

“The Counties call up came as a pleasant surprise and I am chuffed to get the nod, I played against France in 2006 and we won that day so hopefully we can repeat the performance out in Georgia, they are renowned to being a big solid side with very much a forward orientated game so it should be interesting.”

The Cornwall team to play Lancashire, sees the return of winger Lewis Vinnicombe, whilst Darren Jacques keeps his starting place at loose-head prop. Jamal Ford-Robinson returns to the squad after his run out last Saturday for England Counties Under 20’s against the Georgians.
Lancashire again captained by England Counties fly-half Chris Johnson have no less than nine players from Bill Beaumont’s club Fylde in their starting line up with a further three on the bench.

CORNWALL: Kieron Lewitt (Cornish All Blacks), Lewis Vinnicombe (Truro), Ryan Westren, Nielson Webber (both Cornish All Blacks), Tom Notman (Redruth), Lewis Webb (Cornish All Blacks), Greg Goodfellow (Redruth); Darren Jacques (Truro), Jamie Salter (Cornish All Blacks), Craig Williams (Reduth), Ben Hilton (Cornish All Blacks, Capt), Damien Cook, Chris Fuca (both Redruth), Tom Rawlings, Barrie-John Chapman (both Cornish All Blacks)

Replacements: Richard Brown (Redruth), Jamal Ford-Robinson (Cambridge), Bryn Jenkins (Cornish All Blacks), Tony Whittle (Falmouth), Steve Johns (Birmingham & Solihull), Sam Parsons (Redruth), Matt Shepherd (St. Austell).

Travelling reserves: Rupert Freestone (Clifton), Joel Matavesi (Camborne)

LANCASHIRE: Sean Taylor (Preston Grasshoppers), Warren Spragg, Chris Briers (both Fylde), Matt Riley (Sedgley Park), Oli Brennand), Chris Johnson (Captain), Ryan De La Harpe; Adam Lewis, Mark Rylance (all Fylde), Ben Black, Louis McGowan (both Sedgley Park), Gareth Gore (Fylde), Gareth Rawlings (Longton), Evan Stewart (Fylde), Matt Lamprey (Sedgley Park).

Replacements: Simon Griffiths (Fylde), Peter Altham (Preston Grasshoppers), David Fairbrother (Fleetwood), Paul Arnold, Tom Burtonwood (both Fylde), Phil Baines (Preston Grasshoppers), Steve Collins (Sedgley Park)

By Bill Hooper TASC Press Officer

Cornwall go into Sunday’s Bill Beaumont Cup Final knowing they will need to create a little bit of history if they are to lift the trophy.

The Black and Golds will be looking to be crowned for only the fourth time as County Champions following their successes in 1908, 1991 and 1999.

For Lancashire, playing in a sixth consecutive final and seeking a twenty-third County Crown, they will travel south in the knowledge that in three previous meetings with Cornwall in the final, 1969, 1992 and last season, they have triumphed on each occasion.

Last year’s defeat 35-26 on a hot day at Twickenham saw Cornwall having to play catch up rugby for most of the game despite taking an early lead via a Paul Thirlby penalty. Errors were to prove costly as Lancashire capitalised with their swift backs to score tries through Ben Royle (2), Dominic Moon and Ben Rath. Each time Cornwall pulled a score back Lancashire scored again to keep their noses ahead.

Cornwall’s tries came from Nielson Webber a penalty try and Lewis Vinnicombe with Thirlby adding a conversion and three penalties.

In the second –half the momentum was with Cornwall as the pack took control but it was sadly too tall an order having to play catch up rugby on such a hot day.

It was Lancashire fly-half Chris Johnson who controlled the game with his touch kicking and three conversions, two penalties and a drop-goal.
Now another chance to add to Cornwall’s one major win over the red rose in 1958 when Cornwall won a thrilling semi-final at Redruth 14-8.

The game was nip and tuck until a penalty from Harold Stevens and a try scored by Ken Abrahams gave Cornwall a six-point margin. Lancashire threw the kitchen sink at Cornwall in a bid to turn the tide, but they foundered on the Cornish defence and Cornwall went through to the final against Warwickshire which they lost at Coventry 16-8.

For Cornwall RFU President Kenny Plummer a member of the side that lost to Lancashire in 1969 he hopes Cornwall can turn the tables at long last. He said. “A superb advert for Cornish rugby, the boys played with heart and passion in front of a mainly Cornish crowd in Hertfordshire. Now we travel to Twickenham next weekend where I want revenge. Revenge for the game I played and lost in, and revenge for our defeat last season, both against Lancashire. Boys go and play your hearts out in one of the best stadiums in the world for rugby, many dream of, but few ever, have the opportunity to play there.”

PHOTO – HEAD COACH GRAHAM DAWE MAKES A POINT IN TRAINING

Cornwall’s head coach Graham Dawe knows too well that the pressure will just continue to grow in the build up to Sunday’s game. He said. “This match was always going to be a real battle, and today the Cornish lads certainly earned their battle colours!! Good defence, a strong forward pack, exciting backs all contributed to the victory. Hertfordshire are a very strong team and we knew we must not only win, but dominate certain areas of play. We have some tired bodies now, but when you see the front row play the full 80 minutes, that’s what it means for them to play in this shirt. Now we work hard this week and prepare for the ultimate test Lancashire. We will train before selecting the match day squad which will be a real headache for us due to the quality and commitment of the squad who have played, and are on the fringes.”

PHOTO – SKIPPER BEN HILTON WITH PROP JESS TOMPSETT

Whilst Cornwall’s skipper Ben Hilton said. “We went to Hertfordshire with a game plan and stuck to it even though the weather changed so much prior and during the game. The guys knew what we had to do it was not as high scoring or with as many tries as are previous games, but getting the win was the important factor and takes us our second successive Twickenham appearance. He further commented; – What can I say about the support, magnificent as always and thank you everyone who made the effort to attend today’s match. The crowd was just over 550 and I think 500 of them were wearing or cheering the black and gold, absolutely awesome. Now we need to get the rallying call going out all across the Duchy for next weekend. All roads lead to Twickenham where we face the team that beat us last year Lancashire. It would be great if we could see that stadium turn black and gold.”

PHOTO – CORNWALL LOOKING SHARP

Speaking at the first training session held on Tuesday evening at Camborne RFC, assistant coach Ian Morgan having had time to further reflect on the Hertfordshire game summed up his feelings. He said. “We went up there to do a job and got it done. We knew we had to stop them playing and take the chances that came our way.

“I think we could have had further tries through our mauls but the referee had other ideas, at the end of the day we are pleased with the performance a win on the road is always great it may not have been pretty but hey ho we’d have take 3-0!!

Defence was key to Cornwall’s success on the day. “That’s what we worked on last week, we knew that was the key to winning the game. Our forwards gave us the platform to set up our driving mauls which killed Hertfordshire.

PHOTO DAVE & MORGAN ON THE BALL

Turning his thoughts towards Sunday and Lancashire Morgan said. “We are not too bothered about last season’s result, the past is the pass, there will be no talk this week about revenge or anything like that, we will concentrate on this as our next game and formulate our game plan that we believe will win us the game this is game number four if we get our game plan right on the day then we will cause them problems.

“Lancashire have had some close calls in their games on the road to Twickenham they scrapped through against both Yorkshire and Cheshire they have had a couple of close calls and will have to look at why that is.

“We have got some real selection issues this week with everyone available and raring to go, but I wouldn’t expect too many changes going into Sunday.”

Cornwall will train Thursday this week at Camborne RFC.

Team news from both camps when announced.

Congratulations to Cornish Pirates’ player/coach Alan Paver who has been appointed as Forwards Coach for the England Counties XV’s two-match tour to Georgia reports Cornish Pirates Media Officer Phil Westren.

The England side can expect two very tough fixtures against the Emerging Georgia team, with both games scheduled to take place at Georgia’s High Performance Centre in Tblisi. The first is to be played next Wednesday 4th June and the second on Sunday 8th June.

Of interest, as if to underline the developing strength of rugby in Georgia, at Cambridge on Saturday an England Counties under 20s side suffered a 23-22 defeat at the hands of Georgia under 20s.

Speaking with reference to his invite to help coach the England Counties XV, Alan, who has played for both Devon and Cornwall in the past, said:

“My fortune is on the back of someone else’s misfortune, as the current forwards coach had to drop out. Obviously I had to check that the club was happy for me to respond positively, but I needn’t have worried as there was immediate support and congratulations from Ian and colleagues.”

Photo – Alan Paver England Counties forwards coach this June.

Alan doesn’t profess to know too much about rugby in Georgia, other than it is clear that they are a developing strength. He added:

“People are taking them seriously and a number of their forwards are appearing in the French leagues. As for travelling to Georgia it is a tough place to go, but the England team will travel with a positive attitude and be competitive in both matches.

“For the players selected in the England Counties XV it is a fantastic opportunity.”

Plymouth Albion’s Head Coach, James Shanahan, will be in charge of the England Counties side, and the team will be led by Cornwall’s skipper and lock Ben Hilton.

Photo – Ben Hilton set to captain England Counties in Georgia

Joining Hilton in the 26-man squad are three other players who have represented Cornwall during this month. Prop Jamal Ford-Robinson (Cambridge) and wing Lewis Vinnicombe (Truro) have been previously capped by England Counties, as has Hilton, and joining them and looking forward to a first ‘cap’ is hooker Jamie Salter (Cornish All Blacks). All four players are also likely to appear for Cornwall against Lancashire on Sunday in the County Championship Final to be played at Twickenham.

Photo – Lewis Vinnicombe who returns to the England Counties squad for the first time since 2006

Photos – Simon Bryant Iktis photo & John Beach

Cornwall booked a final place in this season’s Bill Beaumont Cup Final next Sunday at the home of English rugby with a hard-fought win over Hertfordshire at Hoe Lane.

Bruised and battered bodies will need to heal this week but the prospect of another trip to Twickenham and a chance to put right the defeat last season at the hands of Lancashire should prove the boost the players need.

In difficult playing conditions the Cornish pack was once again the cornerstone of the famous win as the Black and Golds sucked the life out of the Hertfordshire eight.

Despite falling behind to an early penalty kicked by Hertfordshire fly-half Lawrence Rayner, Cornwall stormed back at their hosts with a trade-mark driving maul which saw No.8 BJ Chapman claim what was to prove the game’s only try.

Kieron Lewitt kicked a good conversion for a 7-3 lead, a lead Cornwall were never to relinquish.

Cornwall’s defence was sorely tested throughout the game; however the Cornish lads stuck to their defensive game plans to restrict Hertfordshire to just another Rayner penalty before half-time for the slimmest advantage of just a point 7-6 at the turn.

Hertfordshire lost their prop William Briggs sin-binned allowing Lewitt to increase Cornwall’s lead but that was soon cancelled out as Cornwall were also reduced to fourteen men when skipper Ben Hilton committed an indiscretion in the red zone allowing Rayner to pull three points back.

Lewitt stretched Cornwall’s lead once again with a second penalty on 57 minutes putting the Duchy 13-9 up.

The Cornish All Black’s full-back had further chances to put Cornwall further ahead on the scoreboard but his efforts failed to add to the score.

Hertfordshire looked to find a way back but the Cornish defence held firm, whilst the Cornish pack almost scored a second try to make the game safe but were deemed held up by the referee over the line.

Frusrations erupted near the final whistle with Hertfordshire No.8 Matt Chambers and Cornwall’s replacement lock Bryn Jenkins both sent to the bin for fighting.

When Cornwall got a final penalty St. Austell’s Matt Shepherd booted the ball into touch and the celebrations began!

The celebrations will be short-lived as the Cornwall squad will begin to prepare for next Sunday’s final at Twickenham which will kick-off at 12-15 pm. The Cornish side will look to get revenge for the defeat last season by Lancashire 35-26.

HERTFORDSHIRE 9pts
Penalties – Rayner (3)
Yellow Cards – Briggs (49), Chambers (80)

CORNWALL 13 pts
Try – Chapman, Conversion – Lewitt, Penalties – Lewitt (2)
Yellow Cards – Hilton (51), Jenkins (80)

Hertfordshire: H Robinson (Darlington MP), S Smart (Hertford), C Lombaard (Old Albanian), S Ellis (Luton), S Hankin (Bishop’s Stortford), L Rayner, S Liebenberg; W Briggs (all Old Albanian), W Roberts (Bishop’s Stortford), S Staff, L Bickle (Capt, both Old Albanian), B Odell, T MacDougall (both Hertford), O Cooper-Millar, M Chambers (both Old Albanian).

Replacements (all used): W Cope (Spalding), O Walliker (Swindon), H Green (Tring), J Corcoran (Hertford), A Mahoney (Bishop’s Stortford), J Sharp (Ampthill & District), D Holmes (Old Albanian).

Cornwall: K Lewitt (Cornish All Blacks), S Parsons (Redruth), R Westren, N Webber (Both Cornish All Blacks), T Notman (Redruth), L Webb (Cornish All Blacks), G Goodfellow (Redruth); D Jacques (Truro), J Salter (Cornish All Blacks), C Williams (Reduth), B Hilton (Cornish All Blacks Capt), D Cook, C Fuca (Both Redruth), T Rawlings, BJ Chapman (Both Cornish All Blacks).

Replacements (used): B Jenkins (Cornish All Blacks), S Johns (Birmingham & Solihull), M Shepherd (St. Austell), J Matavesi (Camborne)

Replacements (not used): R Brown, J Tompsett (Both Redruth), T Whittle (Falmouth).

Referee: James Clarke (RFU)

Crowd: 580

MATCH PHOTOS BY DAN BARBARY DAN REDS CAMERA MAN

Cornwall travel to Hoe Lane, home of Hertford RFC for Saturday’s winner takes all encounter with Hertfordshire, at stake a place in the final of the Bill Beaumont Cup on Sunday 1st June against in all probability holders Lancashire who defeated Cornwall in the 2013 final.

Both sides come into the match with identical records having both secured try-scoring bonus points in their previous two encounters.

Hoe Lane has proved an unhappy hunting ground for Cornwall in recent seasons however Cornwall coach Ian Morgan knows how to win on the ground as he kicked Cornwall’s winning points there in 2010 when Cornwall won 32-30 under the captaincy of Mark Richards.

Ryan Westren, Darren Jacques, Damien Cook, Ben Hilton, Tom Rawlings, Lewis Webb and Tom Notman are all survivors from that match day 22, no lacking of experience there then!

PHOTO DAMIEN COOK POWERS THROUGH HERTS LAST SEASON

Cornwall coach Ian Morgan said; – “The match against Gloucestershire was never going to be easy with people’s expectations high after last week’s win over North Midlands. Everyone involved with the squad knew this was going to be a tough mountain to climb; Gloucestershire teams are renowned for their power and were out to avenge their defeat of last week against Hertfordshire. The sun was lovely for the spectators but was really telling on the players and so we used our rolling substitutions and lots of hydration during the game. Everyone involved played with heart and pride to ensure a climax to the pool stage next week at Hertford RFC”.

Ian went on to say;- “The game on Saturday will be as difficult as any we have faced this season with Hertfordshire out to avenge the result of last season. They have a strong pack, fast backs, and on their home patch will be a real test for us. We will be working with our guys in training this week and travelling up on Friday night, we will travel with confidence in our abilities to get the job done.”

Changes there will have to be with prop Jamal Ford-Robinson selected to play for England Counties U.20’s against Georgia U.20’s on his club home pitch at Volac Park Cambridge, whilst backs Lewis Vinnicombe is unavailable this Saturday and Lewis Paterson has been forced to rule himself out of the rest of Cornwall’s campaign for personal reasons. Rupert Freestone is still unavailable after picking up an injury in the North Midlands game whilst Ben Priddey hasn’t recovered from the injury he sustained against Gloucestershire.

PHOTO RHODRI MCATEE BACK IN THE SIDE TO FACE HERTS

On the plus side winger/utility back Rhodri McAtee is available this week following his trip to the Amsterdam 7’s tournament and he replaces Vinnicombe on the wing. Darren Jacques steps up from the bench to start at loose-head prop.

The bench sees the return of Richard Brown (Redruth) as hooker cover with Jess Tompsett (Redruth) coming into the starting 22 as prop replacement for the first time in a Championship game. Sam Parsons completes a trio of new faces in the match-day 22 from Redruth as centre cover in place of Paterson, whilst Cornish All Blacks’ fly-half Jake Murphy completes the half-back cover with St. Austell’s Matt Shepherd who along with lock Bryn Jenkins (Cornish All Blacks) and back row Tony Whittle (Falmouth) are on the bench for the third game running.

PHOTO TRELAWNY’S ARMY WILL TRAVEL EN-MASSE TO HERTFORD SUPPORTED BY MANY CORNISH EXILES

Youngsters Joel Matavesi, who was on the bench at Camborne last week, is a travelling reserve along with Cornwall U.20 prop Tyler Gendall from St. Ives.

Cornwall Captain Ben Hilton was happy with his side’s performance against Gloucestershire. He said; – “This game proved that we have an excellent squad and team ethos, with players wanting to pull on the jersey and win!!! There were some tired bruised and battered bodies at the end of the game these guys fought hard for the shirt today. But having those young people form a tunnel as we ran onto the pitch was awesome, then their finals being played in front of such a crowd must have been a great rugby experience for them all”.

He further commented “This was a massive game and the crowd gave Gloucestershire a real Cornish rugby welcome, vocal but fair. The people who come to support us are second to none; you just have to see the attendance figures elsewhere to know we are the best supported county in the competition so a big thank you and it would be great to see so many of you at Hertford RFC next Saturday”.

Cornwall’s Number 8 Barrie-John Chapman knows that the game on Saturday is going to be a massive test for both sides. “They (Herts) know we are not going to travel all that way and gift them the game. We want this and it’s going to come down to who wants it the most on the day, I know we will go there and give 110% and hopefully we can come away with the win.”

It promises to be a titanic clash with the winners earning the place in a Twickenham final. Cornwall by virture of being the away side will be underdogs at Hertford but that will be a position that will favour them. They have the heart and determination to succeed as they long as they keep their discipline and take the points on offer then I feel that they can win their place at another Twickenham showpiece final.
UP CORNWALL!

CORNWALL: 15. Kieron Lewitt (Cornish All Blacks), 14. Rhodri McAtee (Redruth), 13. Ryan Westren, 12 Nielson Webber (Both Cornish All Blacks), 11. Tom Notman (Redruth), 10. Lewis Webb (Cornish All Blacks), 9. Greg Goodfellow (Redruth); 1.Darren Jacques (Truro), 2.Jamie Salter (Cornish All Blacks), 3. Craig Williams (Reduth), 4. Ben Hilton (Cornish All Blacks, Capt), 5.Damien Cook, 6.Chris Fuca (Both Redruth), 7.Tom Rawlings, 8.Barrie Chapman (Both Cornish All Blacks).

Replacements: 16.Richard Brown (Redruth), 17. Jess Tompsett (Redruth), 18. Bryn Jenkins (Cornish All Blacks), 19. Tony Whittle (Falmouth), 22. Sam Parsons (Redruth), 23. Jake Murphy (Cornish All Blacks) 24. Matt Shepherd (St. Austell).

Reserves to travel: Tyler Gendall (St. Ives), Joel Matavesi (Camborne)

This was a day that we all wish never happened but will remember for many a year. Two groups of young (and not so young) men came together to remember a friend, teammate and comrade. A crowd of some 500 joined them to celebrate the life of a man who was taken too young.

The evening began with a poignant last post and minutes silence with both teams lined up across the pitch.

The match was kicked off and a very entertaining game of three twenty minute periods ensued, with the ball being thrown about in barbarian style but with no quarter being given. The match ended in the Former Colts side edging out the Army Air Corps by 34 – 24. There then followed one of the most bizarre 20 minutes of rugby that has been seen at Redruth. All of the shirts were thrown into a pile and the players each selected a shirt in turn which ended up in Redruth seemingly having about 25 players to the army’s 20 with just about everybody playing out of position. Despite this the Army side (with some unlikely recruits) won 17 – 5. With honours even at 1 – 1 both side were warmly clapped off the field by the enthusiastic crowd.

In the clubhouse Dave Tresidder gave an excellent speech recalling the time James spent with the colts and Craig Bonds presented to Tracey Walters the actual shirt James wore as a colt. Redruth shirts were also presented to the Army and to Farnborough Rugby Club where James played his rugby recently. In return the club received from the Air Corps a magnificent large framed photo of a Lynx Helicopter by night.

An auction then took place with proceeds going to the Turner Syndrome Support Society, a charity close to James’ heart. The biding was as competitive as the rugby and over £10,000 was raised. Great effort.

Well done to all who supported and helped to organise the match and helped to celebrate the life of an admirable young man, gone but certainly not forgotten.

Corporal James ‘Bungle’ Walters – 3 Regiment Army Air Corps

11/01/1978 – 26/04/2014

PHOTOS – DAN BARBARY – DAN REDS CAMERAMAN

It was good to hear that Luke Cowan-Dickie had been called up to the England training squad in preparation for the game against the Barbarians on the 1st June and the following tour to New Zealand and the three tests along with Matt Kvesic from Gloucester who has Cornish connections.

Latest name to be added to the training party is former Cornish Pirates and Harlequins hooker Dave Ward. Well done lads.

Wouldn’t be great if Cornwall and these lads were at Twickenham on the same day!

Good to see the Cornish Pirates having a pre-season friendly against the Cornwall Cup winners Camborne, as well as games against Redruth, Aberavon and Rosslyn Park in their build up to the new Championship season during August.