Cornwall team to play the second leg against Kent this Saturday at Charlton Park RFC, kick-off 2 pm. Entry is FREE.
Cornwall Women’s team for semi-final
Following their retaining of the Tamar Cup and qualification for the semi-finals of this season’s Gill Burns Division 2, Cornwall Women can count on the return on the majority of their Ivybridge players following their Twickenham success last Sunday.
There is however one notable absentee, Amy Bunt picked up a dislocated knee during the Twickenham match and is out.
Megan Arnold continues as captain with Amy Warman as vice-captain.
The squad also features Michaella Roberts who is set to make her first appearance for the black and gold this season from the bench.
The match against North Midlands Women kicks off at 1 pm at Stourbridge RFC. Cornish support is always welcome.
In the other semi-final Durham Women host Devon Women at Stockton RFC.
Cornwall Women secure semi-final spot
GILL BURNS CUP DIVISION 2
DEVON WOMEN 17 – 26 CORNWALL WOMEN
Cornwall Women had to dig deep under a relentless sun in North Tawton to secure top spot in their pool and qualify for the semi-finals of this season’s competition, reports Bill Hooper.
They also defended the Women’s Tamar Cup to make it a double delight for the black and golds.
Cornwall Women certainly had the upper-hand when it came to the scrum, on numerous occasions they shoved the Devon Women back at a rate of knots.
It was Devon who got the early try when their wing Annie Jones squeezed in at the corner for an unconverted try.
Cornwall Women launched numerous attacks from the base of the scrum notably through No.8 Amy Hutchings, but frustratingly, they fell-foul, as did Devon on numerous occasions to the referee’s whistle.
Cornwall did manage to tie the scores when Abby Smith managed to stretch for the line having been tackled just short.
Cornwall thought they had gone ahead when Libbie Cole put in a determined charge to make the line, but once again on the intervention of the Assistant Referee the try was disallowed.
Both Hutchings and Smith again went close to a score, eventually Cole had something to celebrate when she crossed to score Cornwall’s second try, which was converted by Tori Crutchley.
Just before half-time Devon conjured up an unconverted try when centre Boe Minns went over in the corner to leave Cornwall with a narrow 12-10 lead.
After the break Cornwall looked to raise the tempo, Kim Upcott put in some of her trademark drives and came close to scoring, Amy Warman kept the tempo up with her quick taps keeping Cornwall on the front foot. Yellow cards saw Devon lose a couple of players, whilst Cornwall were again denied when Abby Masquelier thought she had scored only to be called back for a forward pass in the build up.
The breakthrough finally came when Georgia Hall slipped a pass to Smith who finished in style, Hall’s conversion gave Cornwall some breathing space, but not for long. Back came Devon as Jones scored her second try with Aoife Underhill adding the extras to make for a tight finish.
Cornwall playing in the right area o0f the field pressed the Devon line with Hutchings and Rosie Ninnis close, before the ball went wide for Masquelier to score the vital try with Hall on the money with the extras.
Devon threw everything at Cornwall during the closing moments but when they were driven into touch the referee blew for time and the Cornish celebrations commenced.
Speaking after the game Cornwall head coach Jo Holden was understandably delighted. “I am really pleased with that performance today given the hot conditions, they gave their all and were determined not to let go of the Tamar Cup. To make the semi-finals again is a great achievement but we now want to go further and make that Twickenham final next weekend.”
Cornwall will be on the road for their semi-final next Sunday when they travel to play North Midlands Women.
Cornwall Women (Launceston unless stated): Rachel Hicks, Suz Franks, Abigail Smith, Tori Crutchley (Truro), Abby Masquelier (Penryn), Faith Rowe (Truro), Amy Warman; Libbie Cole, Jenna Arnold, Kim Upcott, Megan Arnold (Capt), Caitlin Milliken (Camborne), Rhiannon Thomas, Rosie Ninnis (Penryn) Alex Hutchings.
Replacements: Jessica Swales (Truro), Jessica Varker (Helston), Zeta Penrose (Truro), Maddie Webber (Camborne), Heather Holmes (Penryn), Michelle Bauer (Camborne), Georgia Hall (Penryn), Sophia Bishop (Camborne).
Cornwall Women scores: Tries Smith 12, 66, Cole 36, Masquelier 75, Cons, Crutchley 13, Hall 67, 76
Referee: Eleanor Clarke (Bristol RRS)
Cornwall take giant step towards Twickenham return
BILL BEAUMONT CUP
CORNWALL 73 – 14 KENT
By Bill Hooper at Recreation Ground, Camborne
Cornwall took a giant step towards another county final with this comprehensive win against reigning champions Kent.
Nobody in the Cornwall camp will take anything for granted as there is still another 80 minutes to navigate next Saturday at Charlton Park in the return leg.
Sunshine and a large crowd bedecked in their black and gold colours greeted the Cornwall team led out by skipper Sam Matavesi on his home ground.
Despite a bright start by Kent, Cornwall were as clinical as the score suggests. It all began with a 50:22 by Josh Matavesi putting Cornwall on the front foot and from the ensuing catch and drive the ball went wide for Matavesi to finish what he’d started.
Kyle Moyle booted over the first of his nine conversions and Cornwall were on their way.
Next it was the turn of the forwards, good work from the mightily impressive Moyle and Shaun Buzza set up Kye Beasley for his try.
Moyle again was the provider when his strong run and final pass put the evergreen Matt Shepherd away to dot down in the corner.
The Cornish back row got through a huge amount of work with notably Herbie Stupple catching the eye with a man-of-the-match performance.
Tries came at regular intervals during the rest of the half with Tom Cowan-Dickie, Alex Ducker and Shepherd, again, putting Cornwall 45-0 up at the break.
Trelawny’s Army were already singing their heroes praises during half-time anticipating further scores in the second half, they were not disappointed.
Cornwall turned to the bench early in the second half, it didn’t diminish their performance. Two early tries from CJ Boyce kept the momentum going as they went for the jugular.
Kent, to their credit never gave up and were rewarded with a good try scored by skipper Sam Begbie, bettered by Jon Griffiths.
Into the final quarter Cornwall kept pushing with skipper Sam Matavesi wriggling over from close range.
Shepherd put in a try-saving tackle to keep Kent at bay, before Will Hennessy and Ducker scored either side of Lucas Hutton grabbing Kent’s second try to complete the scoring.
Speaking after the match Cornwall’s head coach Graham Dawe was satisfied with his side’s overall performance. He said. “I am pleased with the score-line, it’s more than we dared hope for. It wasn’t all perfect, we gave away more penalties than I would have liked at the breakdown and tackle area.
Asked what aspects of the match pleased him, “Well I thought our scrum performed well as did our driving maul. Our mid-field created some great opportunities for our back three, we didn’t always make the most of those chances on the day.
Asked about the return fixture. “It’s a strange one really, we have to go into the game thinking it’s nil-nil and treat it like any other game, we have to prepare to face potentially a stronger side and work on the areas we were penalised this week.”
Cornwall (Camborne, unless stated): Kyle Moyle, Matt Shepherd (St. Austell), Max Bodilly (London Welsh), Josh Matavesi, Alex Ducker, Dean Wills (Redruth), CJ Boyce; Kye Beasley, Tom Cowan-Dickie (Redruth), Ben Watson, Mawgan Osborne, Edd Pascoe (both Redruth), Shaun Buzza, Sam Matavesi (Capt), Herbie Stupple.
Replacements: Archie Rolls, Pat Waton (Barnes), Sam Rodman, Ben Hancock (Launceston), Jordan Nicholls, Will Hennessy, Harry Larkins, Ben Priddey.
Referee: Holly Wood (RFU)
Cornwall scores: Tries: J Matavesi 5, Beasley 11, Shepherd 15, 38 Cowan Dickie 22, Ducker 33, 78, Boyce 43, 46, S Matavesi 62, Hennessy 72, Cons, Moyle 6,12,23,39,44,47,63,73,79.
Tribute man-of-the-match: Herbie Stupple (Cornwall)
Crowd: 2,568
Cornwall Under 17’s final match at Dorset & Wilts
Cornwall Under 17’s complete their fixtures for this season on Sunday with a trip to Chippenham RFC to play Dorset & Wilts Under 17’s. Kick-off is now 3 pm.
Cornwall will be looking to finish on a high following their 28-22 win against Devon last Sunday. Good luck to the lads.
Cornwall Women forced into changes for Tamar Cup
Cornwall Women go into this Sunday’s Tamar Cup match against regining Gill Burns Division 2 Champions Devon Women having to make some changes to last Sunday’s squad.
The principal reason is the unavailability of players from Ivybridge who are involved in a RFU Cup Final at Twickenham against Old Albanian II. This will also have an impact on the Devon squad.
From the team that defeated Berkshire Women, skipper Amy Bunt, Hannah Mills, Elizabeth Langton and Jessie Humber are unavailable.
Rhiannon Thomas steps up from the bench to replace Langton inn the backrow.
In the backs, Rachel Hicks moves from the wing to full back to replace Bunt, Abby Masquelier (Penryn) and Suz Franks come in on the wings to replace Mills and Hicks.
The bench sees Maddie Webber (Camborne), Heather Holmes (Penryn), Michelle Bauer (Camborne) all come in from the selected squad for the Championship.
Launceston’s Megan Arnold takes over as captain with Amy Warman again vice-captain.
Kick-off at North Tawton is 2 pm on Sunday.
For those unable to get to the game on Sunday full match coverage is available on BBC Radio Cornwall from 2 pm.
Cornwall team to play Kent in Bill Beaumont Cup
Cornwall selectors have picked a strong side to play reigning county champions Kent in the first leg of their southern play-off.
As expected Camborne provide the bulk of the side with no less than nine players in the starting XV.
There are four Redruth players and one each from St. Austell and London Welsh.
Tom Cowan-Dickie has recovered from his knock at Exeter Chiefs last Saturday.
There are a further six Camborne players on the bench, with Pat Walton and Ben Hancock the only non Cherry & Whites.
Kick-off is 2 pm at the Recreation Ground Camborne.
Ground Tickets available on the day at £10, Under 16s free entry.
Pre-match entertainment from Camborne Town Band.
Kent team is listed below.
Cornwall Under 17’s win in Devon
Congratulations to our Cornwall Under 17’s on a great win against their Devon counterparts last Sunday at North Tawton RFC by 28-22.
The lads round off their campaign with a trip to Chippenham to play Dorset & Wilts this Sunday.
Cornwall just pipped in Sandy Park thriller
EXETER CHIEFS XV, 36 – 33 CORNWALL
By Bill Hooper
Cornwall put up a great performance against a youthful Chiefs XV before narrowly losing by just three points.
No doubt that many in the Cornwall side have put their hands up for selection next Saturday when Cornwall play Kent at Camborne in the Bill Beaumont Cup opener.
Chiefs got off to a brilliant start with a try in the first minute scored by Nick Lilley following a great run.
Cornwall came close to a reply when they drove over the line but were deemed held up.
Nic Allison then double Chief’s advantage as he went in out wide for a second unconverted try.
Cornwall’s patient play finally paid off when No.8 Shaun Buzza commenced and finished off a break from the scrum with Sam Bray playing his part. Jo Cummins added the extras.
It got better for the black and gold when Buzza passed to Max Bodilly, the former Chief cut back inside to accelerate to the posts and dot down, Cummins conversion putting Cornwall 14-10 up.
Chief’s Ollie Batson scored a third try to give the home side a 15-14 half-time lead.
Exeter got off to a great start in the second half when skipper Lewis Pearson scored with Ben Coen finally kicking a conversion.
Cornwall’s discipline was top draw as Exeter continued to fall foul of the referee. Buzza was again involved before putting Jack Stratton away for a great try in the corner.
The purple patch continued when Harry Larkins scored off a Sam James pass with Dean Wills adding the extras to put Cornwall ahead 26-22 as the final 10 minutes approached.
Hopes of a famous Cornish win were dashed when Batson and Josh Golden-Clarke bagged late tries, however Cornwall had the final say when Archie Rolls powered over, Wills’ second conversion being the final kick of the match.
Cornwall: Harry Larkins (Camborne), Duncan Tout (Tonbridge J), Max Bodilly (London Welsh), Will Hennesy (Camborne), Jack Statton (Plymouth Albion), Jo Cummins (Redruth), George Hillson (Launceston); Kye Beasley (Camborne), Tom Cowan-Dickie (Redruth), Sam Rodman (Camborne),Mawgan Osborne (Redruth), Mark Vian (St. Austell), Charlie Tummon, Ben Hancock (both Launceston), Shaun Buzza (Camborne).
Replacements: Declan Prowse (Penzance & Newlyn), Pete Harris (St. Austell), Archie Rolls (Camborne), Luke Hattam (Redruth), Hector Bright (St. Austell), Sam Bray, Sam James, Noah Clifford, Dean Wills, Dan Goldsmith (all Redruth), Mitchell Hawken (Launceston)
Cornwall Women run riot at Polson Bridge
GILL BURNS CUP DIVISION 2
CORNWALL WOMEN 86 – 0 BERKSHIRE WOMEN
By Bill Hooper at Polson Bridge
Cornwall Women laid down a marker with a fourteen try demolition of a young, valiant Berkshire team who did not let their heads drop.
Launceston’s Abby Smith, playing on her home pitch was the star of the show, not only did she score five scintillating tries but she also showed her tigerish tackling when called upon.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect of the match for the coaches at least, apart from not conceding any points, was that when the bench players came on there was no dip in intensity nor attacking intent. It was truly a 23 women’s team performance.
It had to be Smith who both opened and closed the try-scoring, her first came after 5 minutes as she cut a great angle to the line from a Tori Crutchley pass, who then added the first of her eight conversions.
The pace and provision of the Cornish Women was evident when skipper Amy Bunt finished off a fine move with Smith and Alex Hutchings involved.
Despite losing Caitlin Milliken to a yellow card, the forwards wanted their say. The ever willing Kim Upcott took a quick tap near the line powering forward before being brought down only for fellow prop Libbie Cole to finish the job.
The Cornwall back row were industrious, with Hutchings, Rosie Ninnis and the impressive Elizabeth Langton getting through the hard work.
The bonus point try was a thing of beauty, a break out from the Cornish twenty-two by Bunt saw her feed Hannah Mills who with 60 meters to go completely bamboozled the Berkshire cover to dot down.
Further tries from Upcott, Faith Rowe and Rachel Hicks saw Cornwall lead 43-0 at half-time.
Mindful of Devon’s win against Berkshire 50-0 the previous week, Cornwall knew thy had to press on during the second half.
A couple of early tries from Smith kept the momentum going. Smith and Mills then put Rowe away for her second try.
Cornwall began to empty the bench with Jessie Humber and Rhiannon Thomas bringing renewed power and Zeta Penrose and Jessica Varker more of the same in the front row.
Jenna Arnold made sure the forwards had a third try to celebrate before Rowe completed her hat-trick of tries and Smith rounded off the scoring with her final couple of tries.
Speaking after the match Abby Smith was quick to pay tribute to her team mates. “I couldn’t have scored those tries without them, they did the hard work to put me in with a chance, we are very much a family and we all work for each other.”
Cornwall’s head coach Jo Holden was delighted with her side’s performance. “I am really pleased, we kept going and put in a full eighty minutes never letting up, they stuck to the game plan and gave everything. I was pleased that the whole squad got game time and that the consistency did not drop off, it will be very hard picking the side for next Sunday with so many great performances today.”
The win puts Cornwall in charge of the group ahead of next Sunday’s Tamar Cup fixture against Devon Women at North Tawton RFC kick-off 2 pm.
Cornwall Women (Launceston unless stated): Amy Bunt (Ivybridge, Capt), Rachel Hicks, Abigail Smith, Tori Crutchley (Truro), Hannah Mills (Ivybridge), Faith Rowe (Truro), Amy Warman; Libbie Cole, Jenna Arnold, Kim Upcott, Megan Arnold, Caitlin Milliken (Camborne), Alex Hutchings, Elizabeth Langton (Ivybridge), Rosie Ninnis (Penryn).
Replacements: Jessica Swales (Truro), Jessica Varker (Helston), Zeta Penrose (Truro), Rhiannon Thomas, Jessie Humber (Ivybridge), Evie Groves (Truro), Georgia Hall (Penryn), Sophia Bishop (Camborne).
Cornwall scores: Tries, Smith (5), Bunt, Cole, Mills, Upcott, Rowe (3), Hicks, J Arnold. Cons, Crutchley (8).
Referee: George Batty (Cornwall RRS)
