🏉 Cornwall Rugby: April 18 round-up
Bazalgette kick seals comeback win for Pirates; Cornwall RLFC put to the sword by rampant Rams; Redruth fall to narrow defeat at hands of students; Saints through to semi-finals after dramatic victory
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⬇️ In today’s newsletter ⬇️
🏴☠️ Bazalgette’s kick secures comeback win for Pirates
〓〓 Cornwall RLFC put to the sword by rampant Rams
🔴 Redruth fall to narrow defeat at hands of students
🤯 Saints through to semi-finals after dramatic victory
🏉 Papa Johns Community Cup results
👀 What’s on this weekend
🏴☠️ Bazalgette’s kick secures comeback win for Pirates
After a week off for Easter, Cornish Pirates continued where they left off with another Championship victory, this time running out slender 14-13 winners at Doncaster Knights on Saturday.
The Pirates, who had won 37-15 at home to the Knights in January, expected a much tougher examination ‘up north’ at Castle Park, and tough it was, before a late conversion kicked by replacement Harry Bazalgette delivered the sought after victory…
🎯 Quick kicks: Home scrum-half Alex Dolly slots a penalty in the second minute before repeating the trick 12 minutes later to put Knights six points up. 6-0 (14’)
🏉 Slender lead: Pirates wing Arthur Relton slips a tackle and cuts back inside to score the game’s opening try, with fly-half Arwel Robson adding a fine conversion to nudge the Pirates in front. 6-7 (23’)
🏉 Hosts hit back: Donny edge ahead again when a chip kick from fly-half Sam Olver is gathered by former Pirates man Maliq Holden who goes over in the corner for a converted try. 13-7 (68’)
🏉 Clincher: With time ticking away, a spell of Pirates pressure near the Doncaster line results in replacement Jarrard Hayler crossing, with fellow finisher Bazalgette holding his nerve to kick the match-winning conversion. 13-14 (72’)
📋 Pirates: Cant, Wedlake, Parata, Smith, Relton, Robson, Dawson; Andrew, Crane, Johnson, Teague, Britton, Everett, Gibson, Stevens. Replacements: Norey, Walker, King, Barker, Hayler, Kessell, Bazalgette, Elderkin.
“We are absolutely delighted. It was a bit nervy and very close at the end, but we are really happy with the result away from home.
“The teams are well matched, and we know each other well. It was two good teams going at it today and both set pieces are strong and it was going to come down to one moment.
“We were a little fortunate there at the end when it came down to a missed kick but we have also lost games like that in the past.
“It was a case of us really toughing the game out and it was a gritty performance, which is the Pirates way, so we are very happy.”
- Cornish Pirates coach Louie Tonkin
📸 View the club’s photo gallery from the match here
This weekend’s win sees Pirates strengthen their grip on fifth spot...
📈 Championship table:
Ealing Trailfinders, 92pts
Jersey Reds, 91pts
Coventry, 78pts
Bedford Blues, 62pts
Cornish Pirates, 52pts
Doncaster Knights, 47pts
Hartpury University, 45pts
Ampthill, 45pts
Nottingham, 41pts
Caldy, 39pts
Richmond, 21pts
London Scottish, 17pts
〓〓 Cornwall RLFC put to the sword by rampant Rams
Dewsbury Rams 78, Cornwall RLFC 10
By Gareth Davies at Flair Stadium
Dewsbury laid their title credentials bare with a 14-try victory over a Cornwall side that never recovered from shipping four tries inside the opening 20 minutes.
Perry Whiteley led the way for Liam Finn’s Rams with a quadruple while Sam Day and Davie Dixon also helped themselves to hat-tricks as the home side kept their 100 per cent start to 2023 very much intact.
For Cornwall, who have shown real signs of improvement in 2023, they will take a small crumb of comfort from their endeavours in never raising the white flag and despite the one-sided scoreline, they finished the game well.
But Dewsbury were ultimately superior in every department and started the rout in just the sixth minute when Coby Nichol came charging out the line leaving a gap for Whiteley to expose. Callum Turner then kicked the first of 11 successful conversions.
Whiteley thought he had scored a second in similar fashion shortly after but referee Matthew Lynn spotted a forward pass and Cornwall had been let off the hook, albeit only temporarily.
Jimmy Beckett burst down the middle to score next before he turned provider and juggled the ball to feed Dixon who strolled home.
Dewsbury were running at better than a point a minute during the early exchanges of the first half and Dixon put the game beyond the Choughs when he went through the middle to register.
Both teams were then involved in a spate of handbags when Dewsbury reacted to Whiteley being bundled into touch by a combination of Kaine Dimech and Decarlo Trerise. Sensibly, though, the official spoke to both captains and didn’t reach for his pocket.
Cornwall didn’t help themselves at times during a one-sided opening stanza and a fifth Dewsbury score came after the Choughs shipped consecutive six again’s and a penalty. The end result was a first try of the afternoon for Day.
Winger Simon Frewin then got in on the act with his maiden four-pointer in Dewsbury colours, outpacing the would-be Cornwall defence from a scrum in midfield. Day then finished off Dewsbury’s first half scoring before Cornwall opened their account.
In a rare foray towards the Dewsbury line, Adam Rusling’s long ball was gathered by Harry Aaronson who did the rest. Rusling’s difficult touchline conversion sailed just wide.
After the interval, Cornwall did start brightly and forced two repeat sets on Dewsbury’s line but the Rams soon found their straps again.
Interchange Elliott Morris somehow managed to squeeze in under the sticks and with Turner knocking over the extra two points, Dewsbury were over the 50-point mark.
Two tries in three minutes from Whiteley and Day respectively saw the home side threaten to really cut loose but they crossed the line just once more before the final exchanges.
Whiteley bagged his treble and then Cornwall enjoyed their best spell of the game in both attack and defence.
Harry Boots was the man to score Cornwall’s only try of the second period when he powered onto a reverse pass to dot down and Rusling converted.
Aaronson almost bagged a second when he just failed to gather Rusling’s chip over but Dewsbury, rather fittingly had the final say.
Whiteley scored his fourth try of the afternoon and the victory was rounded off by another searing Dixon run inside the final minute.
Cornwall: Whitton, Trerise, Nichol, Ashton, Aaronson, Brown, Rusling, Ray, Collins, Bolger, Cullen, Dimech, Lloyd. Interchange: (all used) MItchell, Boots, I Badham, E Badham.
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🔴 Redruth fall to narrow defeat at hands of students
Redruth continued their limp towards the end of the National League 2 West season as they fell to a slender 33-31 loss at home to Loughborough Students.
The west Cornwall side fought back after falling behind on several occasions but were eventually undone by the Leicestershire outfit. The Reds have now won just once in their last eight games…
🏉 One each: Loughborough scrum-half Charlie Briers crashes over early on for a try converted by fly-half Thomas Smith, before Reds wing Owen Wildgoose picks off an interception to run in a try which is well converted by scrum-half Dan Rutter. 7-7 (9’)
🏉 Two points: Visiting full-back Darragh Walsh runs in a great converted try after a multi-phase move before Redruth maul over the line with hooker Richard Brown applying the downward pressure. 12-14 (14’)
🏉 Double trouble: A nightmare couple of minutes sees Briers break through on halfway to run in under the posts, before flanker Silas Pill also scores under the posts shortly after, with Smith adding the extras on both occasions. 12-28 (35’)
🏉 Penalty try: A series of penalties in the students’ 22 ends with a penalty try as the Reds halve their arrears to seven points right before the break. 19-28 (40’)
🏉 Closing the gap: A multi-phase move with forwards and backs combining leads to Rutter scoring an unconverted try to bring Redruth within four. 24-28 (41’)
🏉 Ahead: Big moment as Redruth complete the turnaround with prop Luke Barnes on hand to crash over and put his side in front. 31-28 (62’)
🏉 Defeat: Redruth defend a five-metre line-out but they are penalised and from the next line-out the students maul over with replacement Jasper Cameron scoring the decisive try. 31-33 (67’)
📋 Redruth: Oakes, Wildgoose, Simmons, Thomas, Andrewartha, Kevern, Rutter; Barnes, Brown, C Williams, Tompsett, Pascoe, Fox, King, Stevens. Replacements: B Williams, Oliver, Gendall, Hall, Lynes.
Redruth stay in seventh in the table following Saturday’s defeat…
📈 National League 2 West:
Leicester Lions, 118pts
Dings Crusaders, 99pts
Clifton, 97pts
Luctonians, 89pts
Hinckley, 79pts
Loughborough Students, 78pts
Redruth, 74pts
Exeter University, 67pts
Old Redcliffians, 63pts
Newport (Salop), 48pts
Hornets, 45pts
Bournville, 44pts
Barnstaple, 35pts
Stourbridge, 21pts
🤯 Saints through to semi-finals after dramatic victory
St Austell made it two wins from two in their Regional Two Championship pool campaign with a nailbiting 25-22 victory at home to Regional Two South Central champions Marlborough on Saturday.
An exciting cup tie all came down to one final kick at Tregorrick Park, with Archie Bees stepping up in place of the sin binned Matt Shepherd to slot a 78th-minute penalty to secure victory for Saints.
St Austell can now look forward to a national semi-final in two weeks’ time after final pool opponents Chippenham forfeited their match this weekend, meaning Saints have an unassailable 14 points at the top of Pool 1…
🏉 Off to a flyer: Saints wing Fraser Nottle steps inside the full-back and fends off the despairing tackle of the scrum-half to touch down in the corner, with Shepherd converting from the touchline. 7-0 (5’)
🏉 In control: The visitors are quickly back on terms when winger Akariva Seruvatu shows blistering pace to score to the corner, with scrum-half James Clancy kicking a difficult conversion. 7-7 (13’)
🏉 Back in front: Shepherd chips ahead and wins the race to put the Saints back in front with an unconverted try. 12-7 (22’)
🏉 Good work: Shepherd kicks ahead towards the try line and Nottle chases hard in support to bag his second try of the day. 17-7 (37’)
🏉 Daylight: Marlborough flanker Oliver Spanswick steals the ball to launch an attack that is finished by Clancy in the corner. 17-12 (40’)
🏉 Turnaround: A catch and drive allows visiting fly-half Viliami Hakalo to crash over. The conversion puts the visitors in front for the first time, but Clancy soon strokes over a penalty to increase their lead to five. 17-22 (50’)
🏉 All square: But Saints respond with prop Dan Job crashing over to tie things up and set up a grandstand finale! 22-22 (60’)
🎯 Drama: Marlborough stray offside with two minutes left on the clock to hand Saints the chance to win it from the tee. With Shepherd in the sin bin, replacement Bees steps forward to slot the kick and secure a memorable victory. 25-22 (78’)
📋 St Austell: Bullen, Ewudzi, Parsons, Plummer, Nottle, Shepherd, Boyce; Job, Davey, Nicholson, Vian, Maunder, Jago, Taylor, Marriott. Replacements: Boothby, Bees, Bright.
📈 Regional 2 Championship Pool 1:
St Austell, 14pts
Marlborough, 6pts
Matson, 6pts
Chippenham, 0pts
🏉 Papa Johns Community Cup results
📈 Regional 1 Shield Pool 3
Launceston HWO Royal Wootton Bassett
Bracknell, 10pts
Launceston, 10pts
Lydney, 5pts
Royal Wootton Bassett, 0pts
📈 Regional 2 Championship Pool 1
St Austell 25-22 Marlborough
St Austell, 14pts
Marlborough, 6pts
Matson, 6pts
Chippenham, 0pts
📈 Regional 2 South Plate second round
Salisbury 10-21 Wadebridge Camels
Truro HWO Thornbury
📈 Counties 1 South Plate second round
North Dorset 79-12 Penryn
📈 Counties 1 South Shield second round
Alton 29-10 Bude
Falmouth HWO Swindon College Old Boys
📈 Counties 2 Championship second round
Saltash 26-27 St Ives
📈 Counties 2 South Shield second round
Helston HWO Minehead Barbarians
Westbury 19-17 Bodmin
📈 Counties 3 Championship second round
Old Colstonians 39-17 Perranporth
👀 What’s on this weekend
🏉Championship: Saturday, 2.30pm: Cornish Pirates v Hartpury University.
🏉National League 1: Saturday, 2.30pm: Plymouth Albion v Cambridge.
🏉National League 2 West: Saturday, 3pm: Stourbridge v Redruth.
🏆Papa Johns Community Cup Regional 1 Shield: Saturday: Launceston v Bracknell.
🏆Papa Johns Community Cup Regional 2 South Plate quarter-finals: Saturday: Wadebridge Camels v Truro.
🏆Papa Johns Community Cup Counties 1 South Shield quarter-finals: Saturday: Falmouth v Alton.
🏆Papa Johns Community Cup Counties 2 Championship quarter-finals: Saturday: St Ives v Gordon League.
🏆Papa Johns Community Cup Counties 2 South Shield quarter-finals: Saturday: Helston v Westbury.
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