CORNWALL RFU UNDER 20 COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
2026 The Jason Leonard Cup.
Cornwall Rugby Football Union (CRFU) Under 20 County Championship campaign 2026 gets underway with their first fixture in the Jason Leonard Cup. The team hosts local rivals Devon for their first pool game
of the competition on Sunday 22 nd February 2026. The game will beplayed at Redruth RFC with a 1430 kick off time.

CRFU President Andy Reed said “It is great to get this year’s competition off with a tie against Devon. The winners will also be presented with the Brunel Cup, which is played for annually between theses 2 great rivals. We thank all our sponsors for their support and assistance with this group of players in this important game representing Cornwall. It is fantastic to see so many different clubs represented, and we thank them for their support to enable these fixtures to be played”.
Cornwall had named Jack Jenkin (Helston) as the captain for the season, alongside him a new player this season, Oscar Marr from Penzance and Newlyn, who was the vice-captain. However, an injury to Jack in the warmup game v Cornwall Clubs means Jack is no longer available. Oscar Will take over as captain and vice-captain will be Luke Young from Redruth.
Coach Rich Kevern said – “This will be a good test for this new set of young players. We start a fresh with a whole group of new players entering the competition for the first time. Playing Devon is never
easy, playing Devon in the very first game of the season will be an even bigger challenge for these guys”.

Cornwall’s coaching set up this season, is well established Rich Kevern as the head coach, and ex U20 player and Brad Howe as the forward’s coach. Always keen to encourage young coaches into the game we see ex senior county player David Mankee assisting the backs again with Rich, and joining the team is Jack Hazelton another county player assisting Brad with the forwards. LJ Collick remains as the team
manager.
Cornwall Captain Oscar Marr said, – “It was an honour to be asked to be vice-captain of the side for this season, however due to the unfortunate injury to Jack I will now be taking on the role of Captain for this game.

I know the guys are up for a tough campaign as always and have trained well in preparation for this game. This is my first season with the 20’s and I know that it is a tough competition, and we will have to perform at our best in every game. We have had great numbers at training, and I know some guys will
be disappointed not to be in the team, but this is a squad for the season so keep pushing us for those places, nobody’s shirt is fixed. For those who will run out with me on the 22nd, we have a
big task ahead of us but I’m confident in our ability”.
Cornwall ‘s second pool game will be Somerset away on Sunday 19th April at Burnham on Sea RFC with a 1430 kick off time.
The CRFU Chair Steve Murley said, -”The vagaries of U20 rugby mean we can lose up to 50% of our squad every year through age qualification. Any player who is named in match day squad during the season at level 4 i.e. Camborne or Redruth first team, makes them ineligible for consideration for the competition. That means this season alone we have lost about 10 potential players. So, we start to build again with a mixture of players transitioning from the U18’s, new players identified and nominated from clubs around the county. There are a number of these players who will be around for the next 2 seasons, and we are always on the lookout at new tale who can come into the squad and join them over the coming
seasons. For those joining the U20s, it is part of their rugby education adapting to different teammates, coaches and patterns of play. Our U20s have a great record of rising to these challenges
and it is always a pleasure to see them progress and develop as a team”.
Entry on the day will be via the purchase of a match programme at a cost of £5, with Under 16’s having free entry.

There will be marketing and sponsorship opportunities with the Under 20’s team and matches, any individuals or companies that may be interested are asked to contact Tanya Thomas of the CRFU in the firstinstance.
Email – commercial-development@crfu.co.uk
Bill Hooper
Cornwall RFU Assistant Hon Sec
16/02/2026





































