Well that’s Christmas over for another year and another Boxing Day
encounter bites the dust!…for those of you who did see it I hope that
you agree that it was an entertaining game and one which really showed how
some of our younger players have benefited from their involvement with the
senior squad. A good crowd, a lovely day and a very hospitable Camborne
club afterwards…lets hope the fixture holds out, but who knows??…..
with the possibilities of 16 team leagues in the National Leagues and the
need to play over the Xmas period to fit 30 league games in, it could mean
that we will be playing Launceston either home or away in future……time
will tell on this and I would hope there will be something definite
decided over the coming weeks.

Our next match should have been on Monday 2nd January at Penryn in the
CRFU Knock Out Cup, however the match has been cancelled owing to Penryn
being unable to field a front row. This is very disappointing but at this
stage I do not want to make any further comments other than to say that
our next game, now, is against Esher on Saturday 7th January 2006 with a
kick off time of 2:30pm. It would have been nice to have had some
preparation for this game but there we go…what can I say!

PJ Gidlow’s hearing at Bristol, following his recent citing by
Stourbridge, has been postponed at our request. PJ is in Samoa at present
and is due back on the day of the hearing, however at this stage I am not
sure what time his flight arrives so to be on the safe side I have asked
for an adjournment. The new hearing date is now scheduled for Tuesday 7th
February 2006.

On the injury front, things are progressing nicely with the bulk of the
injured players now back in training. We were hopeful to give Paul
Gadsdon, Mark Richards and possibly John Navin a run out on the 2nd but
they will have to wait now. Dan Goodwin is recovering well from his op and
has started swimming. Hopefully this will progress to light training in
the next week or so. Paul Thirlby, whose calf muscle is still slightly
sore, has decided to take a rest until he leaves for New Zealand at the
end of January. Nathan Pedley, as you know, is now back in action so
hopefully we will have the luxury of choosing from a near full squad for
the Esher game.

Well that’s about it for 2005…what a great year and one that I will
remember for many years to come. I hope you all have a great New Years Eve
and I look forward to having a chat in 2006….All the best!

David Penberthy

Rugby Manager

RUGBY CLUB’S PLEA FOR HELP AFTER ARSON ATTACK

Redruth Rugby Club this week launched a special appeal to help it get back on its feet after suffering a major financial blow from an arson attack on its grandstand.

Officials said the blaze, which destroyed a quarter of the stand and part of the main bar, had left the club with a shortfall of around

REDS FIND WATERLOO A LEAGUE BATTLE TOO FAR

Redruth head coach Nigel Hambly said he had no complaints after seeing his team suffer their heaviest National 2 defeat of the season in their final game of 2005 at Blundellsands on Saturday.

“They are the best side we have played this season and sometimes you have to hold your hands up and admit you were beaten by the better side,” he said.

The win took Waterloo top of the table, after defeats for rivals Moseley at Launceston and Esher at Barking, and Hambly believes the Liverpool-based side are destined for promotion.

The Reds were outscored by seven tries to two on a chilly, but dry afternoon, with the game virtually over as a contest by half time when Waterloo had eased into a 29-3 lead.

“They showed their class by scoring from five of the six chances they had in the first half and gave us a bit of a lesson,” explained Hambly.

“There is a big gulf in the league between the top three and the rest and in the first half we missed a few first up tackles which cost us.”

Ironically, it was the Reds who struck first when international referee Steve Lander awarded them a penalty in the first minute and from in front of the posts Mark Scrivener kicked Redruth into a 3-0 lead. However, it was to be their only score of a half which saw Waterloo score five tries, three scored by scrum-half Craig Aikman.

In the second half despite early Redruth pressure two more converted tries stretched Waterloo’s advantage to a massive 43-3, but to their credit Redruth never gave in with hooker Ben Priddey in outstanding form followed by Nathan Pascoe as the visitors’ best player. And they had their reward finishing the game strongly with two tries.

The first came three minutes from the end of formal time when scrum-half Marek Churcher sent left winger Oscar Osula clear for a touchdown which Scrivener did well to convert from a difficult angle. More strong Redruth pressure ended with centre PJ Gidlow barging his way over in the corner for a try, which this time Scrivener was unable to convert.

It was though a good note for the Reds to end their 2005 league campaign, which resumes on January 7 when they entertain deposed leaders Esher.

Phew…..Conceding 43 points wasn’t quite the Christmas present I was hoping
for, but I think we caught a very good Waterloo side on a day when
everything went right for them.

To be fair we did contribute to our own
downfall and our defence was pretty suspect on occasions. Waterloo are very
organised with a very good 13, flyhalf and No 8. The game was refereed by
international ref Steve Lander who certainly let everyone know he was on the
field. The game itself was very physical and I think we took a while to wake
up. By this time Waterloo has taken advantage of key turnover situations and
scored some 5 tries before half time. We were taught a lesson BUT the guys
showed real fighting spirit and finished strongly, with 2 good tries scored
by PJ and Oscar.

It was a real pleasure to go to Waterloo as it is still
very much a rugby club with great tradition and a very supportive crowd.
Talking to the Director of Rugby afterwards he said that he was looking
forward to coming down to Cornwall in April for the return match and was
looking forward to spending time at the club as he felt our passion as a
rugby club was very similar to theirs….and there was not a yellow card in
sight!

So the 1st half of the season is over and 12 games have been played…6 wins
and 6 losses and a re-arranged game to play against Manchester in February.
We made the 6th round of the Powergen Trophy and disposed of 1st Division
Doncaster on the way so all in all it’s been a pretty encouraging start and
one that we will be looking to build on in the second half of the season
starting with the Cup game at Penryn on January 2nd.

Both Launceston and
Barking had great wins over the weekend against the other 2 sides at the top
of the table which now means that Waterloo lead the table at the half way
point. If I was a betting man I would say that Waterloo would by choice as
promotion favourites. It was good to meet some of the Waterloo supporters
afterwards and there was one really nice guy who lived in Camborne whilst
serving at Culdrose and another guy who has family in Illogan…they were
very keen to talk and we had a good hour or so having a bit of banter!

Our next action is on Boxing Day when the Development team take on Camborne
at Camborne. I assume kick off for this game will be 2:30pm

An update on the injury front….Dan Goodwin underwent surgery on Friday on
his troublesome groin and things have gone satisfactorily. Dan hopes to be
back playing in January….

So it just leaves me to say that I hope you all have a very Happy Christmas
and I’d like to wish you a Prosperous New Year and look forward to seeing
you at the club on January 7th for our first League match of 2006 against
Esher.

The new clubroom will be open and we are planning to have a disco
after the game. Whilst talking about the clubroom, it will be open on
Christmas Eve! Many people have been asking and I hope to see many of you
there on Saturday….2005 will go down as one of the most successful seasons
in the clubs history and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it…well pretty much
every minute…thank you for your support and here’s to 2006!

Catch up with you all in the New Year….or maybe in a weeks time….

David Penberthy

Rugby Manager

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The young Reds finished 2005 in style with an excellent win over Penryn. The first over the try line was Jack but this was quickly cancelled out by a try for the red and blacks. Some great tackling by both teams made for entertaining rugby however Jack broke free to score his second try. But again Penryn came back to level the score once more. Two quick tries for the Reds, one from Joel and then Jack completing his hat trick gave them a two try cushion. Penryn had the last word in this game with their third try.
Score 20-15.

In the second game a fresh Redruth side showed no mercy to the weary Penryn side and Harry was first over the line, quickly followed by Perran G and then Josh. However Penryn stuck to their guns and made some great tackles and some good running, but they couldn’t get any reward. This was made worse as Will barged his way over for two tries. Josh added another try before a fine run by a Penryn player gave them their only try of the game. Liam then went over for his first try in his debut game.
Score 35-5.

Both coaches agreed to another 10 minutes play due to the commitment being shown by both sides. This is when Aaron scored the easiest try he’ll ever score. Some hard yards were made by Josh, getting past the entire Penryn side only for him to pass to Aaron on the line, so all he had to do was put the ball down. Perran G scored his sides second try of the game before Penryn again wrapped up the scoring.
Score 10-5.

Special mention to Harvey who ran his socks off today but didn’t get any reward for his hard work.

Both the Redruth and Penryn teams made it a very enjoyable game not only to watch but also to referee. Thank you all.

The two teams put out by Redruth today worked hard in all areas of the game which enabled the try scores mentioned above to get their tries.
A big thank you to all the lads and their parents who turn up in all weather for training and games.

I hope you all have a good Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

Chris Jose.

Waterloo 43 Redruth 15

Redruth Coach Nigel Hambly was realistic after the seven tries to two defeat on the Lancashire coastline.

He said: “No complaints, you have got to take your medicine, they were good, we weren’t bad but we weren’t in their league today. We were taught a lesson today, they were excellent, I thought we battled well.”

With Moseley losing at Polson Bridge and Esher going down at Barking, Waterloo now head the table and Hambly said: “Waterloo are the best team we have played in the league this season, their coach (Phil Winstanley) said the first half was the best half of football they have played this season”

International referee Steve Lander’s first decision was to award the Reds a penalty in front of the posts in the opening minute, Mark Scrivener converting from 30 meters.

The power of the home pack was soon evident, an ominous drive sucking the life out of the Reds’ defence and winger Neil Kerfoot was on the end of a big overlap to touch down an unconverted try in the third minute.

Nine minutes later, home scrum-half Craig Aikman darted down the blind side following a turned scrum to score Waterloo’s second try.

In the 17th minute, Aikman dummied and crossed near the posts for Neil Hunter to convert to keep the scoring rate at a point a minute.

Redruth had a good spell in the middle of the half but the hosts were sharper in thought and deed, making all the tackles and Redruth had to commit extra forwards against bigger opponents to win slow ball, only to face a solid defence as they tried to use it.

Two tries in quick succession just after the half hour, both created by Payne, saw Waterloo put the game out of sight, Aikman completing his hat-trick and left wing Paul Edwards touching down, one converted by Hunter to make it 29-3 at half-time.

The opening five minutes of the second half were dominated by Redruth but they could make little impression on a tight defence and a loose pass in the Waterloo half led to an interception and Payne made the running for Edwards to touch down his second try, Hunter converting. Waterloo’s only other score of the second half was a 68th minute touchdown by David Blyth converted by Hunter.

The visitors refused to cave in and hooker Ben Priddey enhanced his reputation with a lively display in the loose while Nathan Pascoe got through a lot of work in the back row and all the front five stood up to bigger opponents.

From a quickly taken free kick, Marek Churcher sent Oscar Osula away down the left hand touchline and the Kenyan flyer touched down for Scrivener to convert from a wide angle in the 77th minute.

More Redruth forward pressure then resulted with PJ Gidlow forcing his way over in the left hand corner for an unconverted score.

The Reds defended two scrums and a line-out close to the line in injury time to prevent Waterloo from adding to their score.

Hambly added: “We competed better in the second period and can take away some pride. Hopefully we can learn from today and move forward.”

The Reds under 15′s have had a couple of mixed games recently. With a three ender at the Rec with Camborne and Devonport Services ending in a win one lose one situation. The Reds faced old enemy Devonport for the first time in 2 seasons. The Reds started well but could not convert possession into points with the Devon sides defence as one would exspect. First half penalties saw thing even in a tense first half. Redruth started well in the second half and should have been awarded a penalty try, but the resulting penalty was fruitless. Devonport went ahead with a penalty in front of the posts and played some superb rugby to keep the Reds at bay. Devonport nailed the coffin with a converted try 5 minutes from end of the match.

In the second match Devonport met a spirted Camborne led by ex Red Ben Hitchens. Camborne tried hard but were no match for a well drilled Devonport side who used this match to play all their squad.

In the third match the Reds woke up and completely dominated a spirited Camborne team. Better late than never the young Reds knew that the day had been a rollercoaster and will train harder to avenge the loss to Devonport.

Last weekend saw the Reds travel to Penryn. A full report will follow but Josh Matevesi led the Reds to a complete squad performance win again a Bourough team than came to play a hard physical game. Reds man of the match was their skipper Josh, who showed some excellent visionary play.

The Reds under 15′s would like to thank all their supporters and sponsors for all their help in 2005 and wish the Redruth faithful a great 2006.

On a very cold but sunny afternoon, with International referee Steve Lander in charge, Redruth managed to put some respectability to the scoreline with late tries from Oscar and PJ, one converted well from wide out by Mark Scrivener.

Waterloo ran in three tries in the first 15 minutes as the Reds found themselves under the cosh from the off. Mark Scrivener’s early penalty seemed a distant memory at half-time as wingers Neil Kerfoot and Paul Edwards added to the Reds misery in a 5 try rout as scrum-half Craig Aikman completed his hat-trick. Full-back Neil Hunter added two conversions as a very powerful pack and cutting-edge centres made the first 40 minutes a half to forget.

Redruth managed to stem the scoring in the second half, but could not prevent further tries for winger Edwards and one from No 8 David Blythe.

The win puts Waterloo clear at the top as both Esher and Moseley crashed to unexpected defeats. At Launceston, Moseley No 7 Mason was shown red by ref Nick Williams, the home side’s win helping to push them up the table, which now has a hugely bunched look to it behind the top three. Redruth finish 2005 in a very respectable 6th place, with a home game in hand. And note that Barking, who were beaten out of sight at Moseley last weekend, edged out previous league leaders Esher at home today, so maybe we can take heart and learn from that…our next league fixture is at home…to Esher !

Redruth : Bonds, Vinnicombe, Caruana, Gidlow, Oscar, Scrivener, Churcher, Jacques, Priddey, Heard, Cook, Carroll, Fuca, Pascoe, Mann. Reps : Donald, Joyce, Harper, Hosking.

redruth finished the year unbeaten,after a hard fought win over awell organised and commited Falmouth.

The scoreline (40-7 in favour of the Reds)did not reflect the game, Falmouth had a good share of the possesion, stealing the redruth ball at most of the lineouts, and were first to the ball in the loose against an uncharacteristicly sluggish pack.

Falmouth kicked off, and good chasing pinned Redruth on their own line. From a lineout close to the line Falmouth stole the ball and went over for a well deserved try. For the next few minutes Falmouth dominated, and only good defence kept them out.

Eventually the Reds got hold of the ball, and some excellent back play saw Dirk Moodie score, Steve Trenoweth converting the try.

Dirk then went over again to put the Reds in front. Falmouth came back strongly and were on the Reds line when Ollie Bryant showed great pace, running the length of the pitch to score, Trenoweth converted to make it 19-7 at half time.

The second half saw the Reds pack play with more determination giving the backs better ball, from a scrum in midfield good handling gave Ollie the space to break through to score , Ollie converted his own try. This score was quickly followed by Daniel Eathorne going down the blindside to score the Reds 5th try, Trenoweth again accurate for the extra 2 points.

Ollie Bryant then picked up a loose ball and scored the final try to make the score 40-7.
Thanks to falmouth for taking the fixture at short notice, they gave a great account of themselves and i'm sure they will do well this year.

Well done to all the boys for a great first half to the season, hopefully the success will continue into the new year.

Editors note…well done to the under 11′s for a magnificent first half of the season.