Cornwall Ladies & Girls

XGirl Cup: The Insurmountable Fortress Camborne

January 24, 2022 by Bill Hooper

XGirl Cup report by Ross Tucknott

At the third round of the XGirl Cup, draft headlines such as “New Highest Attendance For Cornish Girls Rugby” or “Redruth Join The Girls Rugby Party” found themselves crumpled and thrown in the metaphorical waste paper bin. The home team had simply decided to write a whole new script as the Camborne U15s leapt up the table after going undefeated across the afternoon’s fixtures.

Not that those other headlines didn’t happen. Almost 200 girls turned up to play XRugby at the Rec, with the U13s hitting another first by being the first age group fielding 8 separate teams in the competition. Redruth joined in with the Cornish girls rugby programme for the first time too, having incubated a brand new and proficient U13s squad over the first half of the season and rightly felt their players were ready to take the step into competitive games. Plus the high attendance isn’t likely to stand for long either, with Wadebridge set to join in in the very near future too.

However, the main story of the day was definitely the performance of the Camborne U15s on home turf, ripping up the form book with an impressive brand of bruising defence and strong breakdown pressure.

Their opening 14-7 win against table-toppers Newquay & Perranporth – the first loss for the north coasters in any format all season – was not as close as the scoreline would suggest, with the losing bonus point only conceded in the last play of the game. Three more tries were enough to see off a creditable effort from Truro before inflicting an uncharacteristic 28-0 loss upon Launceston/St Austell/Penzance. The final match of their afternoon saw the home side fight their way to an impressive 17-5 win against second place Bude, hurtling Camborne up 3 places in the league table.

Meanwhile on the U13s pitches, Camborne were also the only side to match Redruth’s fine debut performances. Redruth’s fine recruitment efforts gave them the numbers to split into two squads, and all three of the teams from Cornish rugby’s heartland won three out of their four matches. Bude & Camborne were the only teams to spoil the debuts, with Camborne’s own clean sweep denied in turn by Perranporth. Liskeard finished the strongest, improving every round and putting a whopping seven tries past Redruth but yet still falling just short!

Finally, with injuries and Covid affecting key personnel for all the U18s squads, and with them all having missed out on 15-a-side rugby for longer than the younger age groups, the XRugby 10s programme was put on hold in favour of a standard rugby fixture, with Truro overcoming their combined opponents 42-24.

County Trials:

Updated county nomination and permission forms for the forthcoming trails are available on the CRFU website for the U18s trials (starting Feb 6^th) and the U15s trials too (starting Feb 20^th). Coaches and team managers have already received and circulated them, but anyone wishing to trial can also grab a copy from here too!

Full Results

U18s

Truro 42-24 Launceston & Belerions

U15s

Newquay & Perranporth 17 – 12 Bude

St Austell/Launceston/Penzance 31 – 21 Truro

Camborne 14 – 7 Newquay & Perranporth

Bude 19 – 7 St Austell/Launceston/Penzance

Truro 7 – 19 Camborne

Newquay & Perranporth 28 – 14 St Austell/Launceston/Penzance

Truro 7 – 26 Bude

Camborne 28 – 0 St Austell/Launceston/Penzance

Newquay & Perranporth 56 – 28 Truro

Bude 5 – 17 Camborne

U13s

Perranporth 28 – 41 Bude

Redruth A 24 – 47 Camborne

Truro/St Austell 12 – 24 Redruth B

Liskeard 15 – 53 Launceston

Perranporth 52 – 35 Camborne

Redruth A 27 – 12 Bude

Liskeard 10 – 36 Redruth B

Truro/St Austell 19 – 50 Launceston

Perranporth 21 – 28 Redruth A

Bude 21 – 38 Camborne

Truro/St Austell 33 – 22 Liskeard

Redruth B 29 – 7 Launceston

Perranporth 43 – 7 Truro/St Austell

Bude 31 – 10 Redruth B

Redruth A 54 – 37 Liskeard

Camborne 52 – 14 Launceston

Gill Burns Cup Division 3 Fixtures 2022

January 16, 2022 by Bill Hooper

Gill Burns Cup Division 3 Fixtures 2022

Cornwall Women’s fixtures for this season’s Gill Burns Cup have been released, we have two home games and a trip to Middlesex.

Sunday May 8th, CORNWALL WOMEN 30 – 15 DORSET & WILTS WOMEN @ Launceston RC

Sunday May 15th, MIDDLESEX WOMEN 5 – 10 CORNWALL WOMEN @ Grasshoppers RFC

Sunday May 22nd, CORNWALL WOMEN 28 – 27 SOMERSET WOMEN @ Hayle RFC

FINAL

Saturday June 4th CORNWALL WOMEN 36 – 17 NOTTS, LINCS, DERBY WOMEN @ Richmond Athletic Ground

Josie Plant selected for England Women’s Under 18 squad

January 14, 2022 by Bill Hooper

Congratulations to Josie Plant who has been selected for this season’s England Women Under 18 squad.

Josie, who hails from Perranporth where she began her rugby journey, is currently with Exeter Chiefs having also been with Camborne and Penryn during her rugby development.

We wish her every success for the forthcoming International program.

Chloe Dawe – RIP

December 12, 2021 by Bill Hooper

It is with great sadness that we learned this weekend of the passing of popular young player Chloe Dawe, following a short illness with cancer at the age of just 23.

Chloe began playing rugby at the age of 6 with Launceston minis progressing through the age groups, also representing Cornwall at age group level, before playing for the senior Cornwall Ladies team.

CRFU President John Sumnall, and all involved with Cornwall RFU, wish to express their sincerest and heartfelt condolences to Chloe’s family, friends and teammates, and that our thoughts and prayers are very much with them at this sad time.

XGirl Cup: Newquay/Perranporth Storm to Glory

November 29, 2021 by Bill Hooper

Stage 2 @ Launceston RFC, Report by Ross Tucknott

The sun was out and the winds of Storm Arwen had petered out, but a different force of nature descended from the north Cornish coast to wreak more havoc on Sunday’s second stage of the CRFU’s XRugby competition for girls, as Newquay and Perranporth officially combined in both the U15s and U13s to continue their unbeaten runs in the competition.

Newquay & Perranporth U15s – alongside a pair of talented St Austell players – secured maximum points on the day, with only Truro & Liskeard in the last game coming away with anything to show for their own efforts. They weren’t the only force from the north coast to make waves either: Bude continued their own impressive start to the competition by splitting into two squads and each only losing to the table-toppers. Truro & Liskeard took league points from every game they played, and their opening draw ensured that Launceston – also ably assisted by St Austell – secured their first points of the campaign, as well as from a hard fought bonus point against Bude B.

Not to be outdone by their older clubmates, the Newquay & Perranporth U13s also joined with a St Austell player and grabbed an impressive clean sweep. Launceston came closest to upsetting the visitors, losing by only a single point, as well as participating in a blistering 38-38 draw with Truro & Liskeard and only falling short of matching Camborne by a single try as well. Camborne, Bude and Truro & Liskeard all pocketed wins and but every team’s defence was noticeably improved from Stage 1, promising to create even more tight and exciting games as the season progresses.

Last but far from least, the Launceston U18s continued their own 100% record in the competition with emphatic wins over their opponents. With only a handful of Belerions players able to attend, those that made it joined up with Truro Bengals to inflict a handy defeat upon the Truro Siberians, but the Siberians in turn managed to restrict Launceston to a narrower scoreline than their clubmates.

So at the halfway stage of the league competition, the U18s and U15s tables now stand as follows:

Full Results:

U18s

Launceston 24 – 14 Truro Siberians

Truro Siberians 21 – 47 Truro Bengals & Belerions

Launceston 31 – 12 Truro Bengals & Belerions

U15s

Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell 34 – 12 Bude A

Launceston & St Austell 12 – 12 Truro & Liskeard

Bude B 21 – 54 Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell

Bude A 45 – 7 Launceston & St Austell

Truro & Liskeard 35 – 38 Bude B

Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell 68 – 7 Launceston & St Austell

Truro & Liskeard 24 – 63 Bude A

Bude B 43 – 31 Launceston & St Austell

Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell 55 – 38 Truro & Liskeard

Bude A P-P Bude B (scored as a draw)

U13s

Bude 24 – 42 Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell

Launceston 38 – 38 Liskeard

Camborne 10 – 31 Bude

Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell 22 – 21 Launceston

Liskeard & Truro 28 – 26 Camborne

Bude 54 – 24 Launceston

Liskeard & Truro 0 – 56 Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell

Camborne 42 – 35 Launceston

Bude 33 – 35 Liskeard & Truro

Newquay/Perranporth & St Austell 56 – 12 Camborne

Roles to be filled for both Under 18 & Under 15 County Girls teams

November 16, 2021 by Bill Hooper

Team Managers, First Aiders & Coaches… Your Duchy Needs You!It’s been (too long) a while since the girls got to put on the Black and Gold, but not for much longer.

Trials are coming in February, the U18s matches start at the end of March and the U15s get their turn in May.

We’re looking for new team managers for both U18s and U15s to help organise the campaigns and support the girls, plus first aiders to help at training and on match-days. This year’s matches can’t occur without YOU!We also want to add to the coaching team, with an important change from previous years. We’re looking to add specialist coaches to work alongside the head coaches of both age groups, some of whom need not attend at the festivals, just training sessions.

So whether you’re defence-minded or you think attack is the best form of it, forward-thinking or backs-oriented, or just like teaching players how to kick the ball away (!) then there may be a place for you on the team. We’re also looking for fresh faces too: county campaigns aren’t just a development opportunity for the girls!So please get in touch: send Ross an email at womensandgirls@crfu.co.uk to show your interest

DBS checks will be required.

Launceston light up XGirl Cup launch

October 26, 2021 by Bill Hooper

XGirl Cup Stage 1 @ St Austell R.F.C.

Sunday 24/10/21

The opening round of Cornwall RFU’s XRugby tournament for girls saw 14 teams, 29 matches and a staggering 1922 points scored at a sunny St Austell.

With a flexible format allowing games between 5-10 players on each team, clubs have a greater ability to either compete alone, form lasting partnerships with others, or simply team up on an ad hoc basis and still score points for their clubs weighted by their number of players.

The U18s competition was dominated by Launceston, who comfortably won all three of their matches with try bonus points through dogged defence and an inexplicable defiance of gravity as they scored more points playing up the hill on Pitch 3 than they did down it! Truro Bengals drew with the Belerions – a combination of players from St Austell, Camborne, Penzance and Perranporth – and both beat Truro Siberians to take joint second place in the league table.

The U15s saw similarly imperious performances from both Bude and a joint Newquay-Perranporth team. The home team was the best of the rest, with the Angels also the only side to stop Newquay-Perranporth from gaining four tries. Camborne and a joint Truro-Penzance team showed great promise, and after a slow start against the top three sides Launceston rallied as well to come a whisker away from nicking a bonus point in their final game.

Meanwhile the U13s were racking up some incredible scores in their matches, despite the RFU-mandated friendly status of their competition. Indeed, attack as the best form of defence seemed a universal truth down on Pitch 2 with every single team bagging four tries or more in every game! Bude & Launceston won 4 out of 5 games, with only Newquay & Perranporth upsetting that run as they won 3 out of 3. Camborne, Truro, Liskeard and the joint St Austell & Penzance team all showed immense promise and attacking flair.

So with one league stage from five complete the league tables look like this:

Points% is simply the amount of points secured from those available, both based on a club’s share of players in each game, and this year is the chief metric so that clubs don’t dominate the table simply because they have more players. League points are then the secondary factor, again based on a share of players in each game.

Thanks to St Austell RFC for delivering such a successful start to the competition, with a huge amount of support in setting up and delivering the event. Thank you referees, thank you pitch admins, thank you coaches, thank you first aiders, thank you clubhouse staff and thank you parents!

Scores:

U18s

Launceston 45 Truro Siberians 5

Belerions 21 Truro Bengals 21

Launceston 40 Belerions 21

Truro Siberians 21 Truro Bengals 40

Launceston 64 Truro Bengals 14

Belerions 28 Truro Siberians 19

U15s

Camborne 7 Bude 38

Launceston 0 Newquay/Perranporth 63

Penzance/Truro 19 St Austell 45

Camborne 0 Newquay/Perranporth 56

Bude 46 Penzance/Truro 7

Launceston 7 St Austell 45

Camborne 26 Penzance/Truro 42

Bude 59 Launceston 0

Newquay/Perranporth 21 St Austell/Bude 12

Camborne 39 Launceston 15

Bude 54 St Austell/Camborne 12

Newquay/Perranporth/Camborne 40 Penzance/Truro/Camborne 17

U13s

Camborne 47 Liskeard 61

Newquay/Perranporth 42 St Austell 27

Truro 31 Bude/Launceston 33

Camborne 47 St Austell/Penzance 43

Liskeard 42 Truro 47

Newquay/Perranporth 49 Bude/Launceston 35

Camborne 49 Truro 35

Liskeard 42 Newquay/Perranporth 70

St Austell/Penzance 28 Bude/Launceston 40

Liskeard 40 Bude/Launceston 42

Camborne 28 Bude/Launceston 35

Merryn Doidge called up to England Roses 6 Nations squad

March 26, 2021 by Bill Hooper

Exeter Chief’s full-back/wing Merryn Doidge has been selected for the England Roses squad for the upcoming Women’s 6 Nations.

Merryn, who began her playing career with Liskeard-Looe before progressing to Newquay Queen Bees, has played for Cornwall U.18s as well as England at both U.18 and U.20 level.

Everyone in Cornwall wishes Merryn the very best.

Cornwall Girls U.18s & U.15s County Application Process- Postponed Until Further Notice

December 8, 2020 by Bill Hooper

With the long-awaited return of contact rugby a reality, we can now confirm that the girls representative rugby programme this season is open for business!

Any player looking to pull on the black and gold this season needs to download and complete the forms at the links below, and email to the Girls Representative Rugby Co-ordinator Melissa Rowe at dinksrowe72@yahoo.com prior to the Monday before their trial date (see dates below).

This year’s U18s Head Coach is Jon-Paul Shrosbree (Penzance & Newlyn) and the U15s Head Coach is Ross Tucknott (Perranporth). With the U18s and U15s programmes occurring on separate timelines they will also be supporting each other as assistant coaches alongside Chris Osborn (Truro). By having less county coaches selected and with county age groups playing on alternating weekends, there will be more players and coaches than usual available to continue club rugby throughout the campaign season, giving county and non-county players plenty more playing opportunities.

Whilst the precise fixtures details are yet to be finalised with the other counties, the weekends for each age group are known so get clearing room in your calendars!

Eligibility

To be able to play for Cornwall a player must be registered with the RFU, have previously participated in contact rugby, either live in Cornwall or play for a Cornish Club. School players may participate in the trial, but will be expected to join a club should they be successful in order to be RFU registered.

Under 15 players are aged 13-14 years old on 1^st September 2020 in the school Year 9 or 10.

Under 18 players are aged 15,16 or 17 years old on the 1^st September 2020 in school Year 11,12 or at college.

All players nominated for the trials who attend must have a fully completed consent & nomination forms before they can participate.

In particular, please make sure the coach contact details are correct: participation in the trials is dependant upon sign-off from the club/school coach to ensure players are safe enough to compete, and all coaches will be contacted regarding their players. We recommend not to submit an application before consulting with your coach that they are happy to support your application.

Front 5 players: despite the temporary removal of scrums and mauls from the community game, we will still be selecting props, hookers and second rows as per usual. So when filling out playing position on the form please put your usual/favoured position(s). Cornwall Rugby is a journey to be shared by One And All!

CRFU Girls Letter & Nomination Form and Consent Form can be accessed via this link

Ross Tucknott

Chairman Women & Girls Rugby

Key Dates: U18s

18^th January, 2pm – Application Deadline

24^th January 12-2pm, Truro College – Selection

7^th February 12-2pm, Truro College – Development Session

28^th February, tbc – Match 1

14^th March, tbc – Match 2

11^th April, tbc – Match 3

Key Dates: U15s

25^th January, 2pm – Application Deadline

31^st January 12-2pm, Truro College – Selection

21^st February 12-2pm, Truro College – Development Session

21^st March, tbc – Match 1

18^th April, tbc – Match 2

2^nd May, tbc – Match 3

CRFU looking to appoint coaches for Cornwall Girls U.18s & U.15s

September 1, 2020 by Bill Hooper

Openings: Cornwall Girls U18s and U15s coaches for 2020/21

Whatever twists and turns the coming season has in store for us, we’re looking to make sure that the opportunity to pull on the black and gold for this year’s players is still available, even if it’s for one or two friendlies rather than the big festival format that we’ve become accustomed to.

To that end we need coaching applicants for both the U18s and U15s head coach, forwards coach and backs coach roles. As well as working to select and coach the county girls team, successful applicants will also help deliver coaching at the county girls Development Days as well.

Anyone who fancies getting involved with these very rewarding and enjoyable roles need simply send a rugby CV and cover letter to Ross Tucknott, e-mail:womensandgirls@crfu.co.uk by the 15th September.