Cornish Pirates

Cornish Pirates

Full name	Penzance and Newlyn Rugby Football Club
Union	Cornwall RFU
Founded	1945; 73 years ago (1945)
Location	Penzance, Cornwall, England
Ground(s)	Mennaye Field (Capacity: 4,000 (2,200 seated))
Chairman	Paul Durkin Directors : Dicky Evans, Martin Hudson, Colin Groves (NZ), Graham Stone, Martin Haag, Martin Tucker Life President : Dicky Evans
Captain(s)	Chris Morgan
League(s)	RFU Championship
2017–18	4th
Team kit
Official website
www.cornish-pirates.com

The Cornish Pirates (Cornish: An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn RFU, the Cornish Pirates play and train at their home ground, the Mennaye Field in Penzance.

Contents

• 
  1 History
  


• 
  2 Club honours
  


• 
  3 Club records
  


• 
  4 Current standings
  


• 
  5 Current squad
  


• 
  6 Notable former players
  


• 
  7 Notes
  


• 
  8 See also
  


• 
  9 References
  


• 
  10 External links
  

History

There has been recent talk of plans to build a permanent 15,000 seat stadium which will be fit to host Premiership rugby, but at present the club is considering its options as the minimum entry requirements to the Premiership are constantly changing.

At the end of the 2004–05 season the Pirates finished in 4th position in National Division 1 which at the time was their highest league position since owner Dicky Evans became President and just three places below Premiership rugby status. To fulfill the club's aspirations of gaining promotion into the Premiership it is necessary to fulfill a number of criteria including becoming a Limited Company and playing home matches in a new capacity stadium.

In 2005 the Pirates moved away from their home at The Mennaye in Penzance, first to Kenwyn Rugby Ground, near Truro, and then to Camborne Recreation Ground. The Pirates returned to The Mennaye for the 2010–11 season and remain there to date. In examining the options it was viewed as imperative to increase the support base which led to a difficult decision for Dicky Evans and the supporters of the Pirates, as to whether the team should relocate to another site to play their home matches or not. The questions, concerns and sentiments arising from the proposals were thoroughly debated in the clubhouse and elsewhere. However, on 27 May 2005 at an emergency meeting held in a packed St Johns Hall the innovative plans were passed. They included:

• Relocating to a new temporary site at Kenwyn, Truro for the 2005–06 season.


• Re-branding including changing the club's name to the Cornish Pirates.


• Upgrading all the facilities at the Mennaye Field which will continue to act as the permanent training base for the Cornish Pirates.


• The Mennaye to continue to act as the playing home for the Pirates mini and junior sections and Mounts Bay RFC.

Following the vote Richard Evans told members: "ten years ago I asked you to support me in taking this club into the professional era. At that time there were those were totally against this move, there are people that are against this latest move. However, it is my belief that we must try this venture". He expressed his personal happiness at the support expressed for the move and regarded it as a step towards a Premiership rugby club in Cornwall.

Cornwall Council is currently developing a business plan for a proposed Stadium for Cornwall, which could host both the Pirates and Truro City Football Club.^[1] The Stadium For Cornwall plans hit a problem when Cornwall Council refused to give any public funding to constructing the facility, which they announced towards the end of the 2011–12 season.

When new chairman Ian Connell took over on 1 July following owner Dicky Evans' decision to retire,^[2] it was announced that the club hope to move into a new stadium in Truro in time for the 2016–17 season.^[3]

Joe Beardshaw wins line-out ball for the Pirates against Plymouth Albion

Following a highly successful 2005–06 season, (when crowds were increased and the Pirates finished 3rd in Division 1), it was decided to relocate again and over the next two seasons the Cornish Pirates will play their home rugby matches at Camborne RFC's recreation ground. Camborne's ground is seen as many to be the best rugby ground in Cornwall boasting a superb grandstand.

Penzance & Newlyn RFC club badge.

The Pirates say they intend to make match days an "event" as they did last year at Kenwyn and as the Camborne Recreation Ground accommodates over 9,000 people with a stand capacity of 780, and a new Family Stand of allowing for more than 1,000. There is also good banked standing, a 80-foot-long (24 m) marquee bar complete with Cadgwith Singers and ample parking at or near the ground.

Cornish Pirates continue to work towards developing a stadium that will be required to ensure Premiership status. They are reportedly working with Cornwall County Council, and other partners, and at various sites near Truro, Camborne, or points in between. The Camborne Rec is a popular and historic Cornish rugby venue, having hosted many top class games over the years against teams including the "All Blacks" and the "Wallabies".

On 15 April 2007, the Cornish Pirates won the EDF Energy National Trophy at Twickenham for the first time in the club's history, against Exeter Chiefs. The score was 19–16.

After the success of the 2006–07 cup win, the hope was that the club’s ambition could finally be realised, this hope was hampered by the loss of Viliami Ma'asi and Alberto Di Bernardo (to Leeds), these losses were offset in some degree by the signing of Canadian international scrum half Ed Fairhurst, former England U21 centre Simon Whatling from Worcester and seasoned professional Rob Elloway from Gloucester. At first the results were not good but after the world cup the team began to pick up and were joined by one of the stars of the tournament Tongan full back; Vunga Lilo. Unfortunately the side couldn’t live with the newly relegated Northampton Saints and were unlucky to draw them in the 1st round of the cup, going down 15–3 at home.

Club honours

• 
  Cornwall Cup winners (3): 1975–76, 1998–99, 1999–00^{[a 1]}


• 
  Cornwall & Devon champions: 1989–90


• 
  South West Division 2 champions: 1996–97^[4]


• 
  South West Division 1 champions: 1998–99^[5]


• 
  National League 3 South champions: 2001–02
  


• 
  National League 2 champions: 2002–03
  


• 
  EDF Energy National Trophy winners: 2006–07


• 
  British and Irish Cup winners: 2009–10^[6]


• 
  RFU Championship runners up: 2010–11, 2011–12
  

^[7]

Club records

Highest attendance — 6,487

At home to Northampton Saints on 9 September 2007 (Recreation Ground, Camborne).^[8]

Current standings

2017–18 RFU Championship Table watch · edit · discuss
	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points for	Points against	Points diff	Try bonus	Loss bonus	Points
1	Bristol (C)	22	21	0	1	949	417	532	18	1	103
2	Ealing Trailfinders	22	16	1	5	766	522	244	15	2	83
3	Bedford Blues	22	11	2	9	654	576	78	14	6	68
4	Cornish Pirates	22	12	0	10	681	577	104	10	9	67
5	Jersey Reds	22	13	1	8	542	480	62	8	3	65
6	Yorkshire Carnegie	22	12	2	8	518	547	-29	9	2	63
7	Doncaster Knights	22	9	1	12	582	615	-33	13	6	57
8	Nottingham	22	10	1	11	547	619	−72	7	3	52
9	Richmond	22	9	0	13	444	597	-153	6	4	46
10	Hartpury College	22	6	1	15	480	623	-143	9	7	42
11	London Scottish	22	6	1	15	521	707	-186	8	6	40
12	Rotherham Titans (R)	22	2	0	20	376	780	−404	2	4	14
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Pink background is the relegation place. Updated: 28 April 2018 Source: "Greene King IPA Championship". NCA Rugby.

Current squad

For player movements before or during the 2018–19 season, see List of 2018–19 RFU Championship transfers § Cornish Pirates.

The Cornish Pirates squad for the 2018–19 season is:^[9][a]

Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Union Tom Channon Hooker England Tom Cowan-Dickie Hooker England Dan Frost Hooker England Sam Matavesi Hooker Fiji Jack Andrew Prop England Tom Concu Prop England Tyler Gendall Prop England Christian Judge Prop England Billy Keast [a] Prop England Alan Paver Prop England Marlen Walker Prop New Zealand Brett Beukeboom (c) Lock Canada Josh Caulfield [a] Lock England Jake Clemson [a] Lock England Danny Cutmore Lock England Nodar Tcheishvili Lock Georgia Matt Bolwell Flanker England Toby Freeman Flanker England Dan Lee Flanker England James McRae [a] Flanker England John Stevens Flanker England Tom Duncan Number 8 England Chris Morgan Number 8 England

Player Position Union Jake Ashby Scrum-half Australia Alex Day Scrum-half England Alex Schwarz Scrum-half Wales Will Cargill Fly-half England Luke Flack [a] Fly-half England Harvey Skinner [a] Fly-half England Dan Koster Centre New Zealand Rory Parata Centre Ireland Callum Patterson Centre Ireland Jordan Payne Centre New Zealand Harry Strong [a] Centre England AJ Cant Wing England Kyle Moyle Wing England Alex O'Meara Wing England Robin Wedlake Wing England Matt Evans Fullback Canada Maliq Holden Fullback England Javier Rojas Fullback Argentina

• Notes:

1. 
   ^ ^abcdefgh Josh Caulfield, Billy Keast, Harry Strong, Jack Clemson, Luke Flack, James McRae and Harvey Skinner joined Cornish Pirates on a dual-registration basis with Exeter Chiefs.^[10]
   

Notable former players

• 
  Joe Bearman
  


• 
  Brian 'Stack' Stevens
  


• 
  Rob Thirlby
  


• 
  Will James
  


• 
  Blair Cowan
  


• 
  Dave Ward
  


• 
  Bertie Hopkin

Notes

1. 
   ^ Note that Penzance (a parent club of the Pirates) won 2 additional Cornish Cups and Newlyn (the second parent club) won the Cornwall Clubs Cup once.
   

See also

• 
  Cornwall portal
  

• 2012–13 RFU Championship


• 2012–13 Cornish Pirates RFC season


• 2012–13 British and Irish Cup


• Newlyn RFC


• Penzance RFC

References

1. 
   ^ "Business plan for Cornwall sports stadium approved". BBC News. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
   


2. 
   ^ "Cornish Pirates owner Dicky Evans leaves after 20 years". BBC Sport. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014. 
   


3. 
   ^ "Cornish Pirates eye new stadium in 2016". Stadia Directory. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014. 
   


4. 
   ^ http://www.trelawnys-army.org.uk/ta/tables67.html
   


5. 
   ^ http://www.trelawnys-army.org.uk/ta/tables89.html
   


6. 
   ^ "Cornish Pirates 23-14 Munster". BBC. Retrieved 3 January 2012. 
   


7. 
   ^ http://cornish-pirates.com/pzn/honours/league_cup_honours.htm
   


8. 
   ^ "Cornish Pirates 26 Northampton Saints 35". Cornish Pirates. 9 September 2007. 
   


9. 
   ^ "Cornish Pirates Squad - 2017/18". Cornish Pirates. Retrieved 11 August 2018. 
   


10. 
    ^ "Pirates Announce Their Dual-Registered Players" (Press release). Cornish Pirates. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2018. 
    

External links

• Official site


• Unofficial Fans site & Forum


• Camborne RFC


• Trelawny's Army


• London Cornish RFC – for those living in London missing Cornish Rugby!


• Cornish Pirates on itsrugby.co.uk

v t e RFU Championship
2018–19 teams	Bedford Blues Cornish Pirates Coventry Doncaster Knights Ealing Trailfinders Hartpury College Jersey Reds London Irish London Scottish Nottingham Richmond Yorkshire Carnegie
Former clubs	Birmingham-Solihull Blackheath Bracknell Bristol Bears Cornish All Blacks Esher Exeter Chiefs Fylde Gosforth Harlequins Henley Liverpool St Helens London Welsh Manchester Morley Moseley Newbury Newcastle Falcons Northampton Saints Orrell Otley Plymouth Albion Richmond Rosslyn Park Rotherham Titans Rugby Lions Sale Sharks Saracens Sedgley Park Wakefield Waterloo West Hartlepool Worcester Warriors
Seasons	National Division Two 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 Premiership Two 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 National Division One 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 Championship 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Representative team	RFU Championship XV

v t e British and Irish Cup
2017–18 Teams	English Bedford Blues Bristol Bears Cornish Pirates Doncaster Knights Ealing Trailfinders Hartpury College Jersey Reds London Scottish Nottingham Rotherham Titans Richmond Yorkshire Carnegie Irish Connacht Eagles Leinster A Munster A Ulster A Welsh Cardiff Blues PS Dragons PS Ospreys PS Scarlets PS
Former clubs	English Birmingham & Solihull 2009–10, 2010–11 Coventry 2009–10 Esher 2010–11, 2011–12 Exeter Chiefs 2009–10 Newcastle Falcons 2012–13 Plymouth Albion 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 Worcester Warriors 2010–11, 2014–15 Scottish Ayr 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14 Currie 2010–11, 2011–12 Dundee HSFP 2012–13 Edinburgh Academicals 2013–14 Gael Force 2009–10 Gala 2012–13, 2013–14 Heriot's FP 2009–10 Melrose 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13 Stirling County 2012–13, 2013–14 Welsh Aberavon 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 Bedwas 2012–13 Bridgend Ravens 2012–13 Cardiff 2009–10, 2012–13 Carmarthen Quins 2012–13, 2014–15 Cross Keys 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 Llandovery 2010–11, 2012–13 Llanelli 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 Neath 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13 Newport 2009–10, 2010–11, 2012–13 Pontypridd 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 Swansea 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13
Seasons	2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18
Winners	2010: Cornish Pirates 2011: Bristol 2012: Munster A 2013: Leinster A 2014: Leinster A 2015: Worcester Warriors 2016: London Welsh 2017: Munster A

v t e Rugby union in Cornwall
Governing bodies	Rugby Football Union
Teams	Bodmin Bude Callington Camborne Camelford Cornish Pirates Falmouth Hayle Helston Illogan Park Lankelly-Fowey Lanner Launceston Liskeard-Looe Mount's Bay Newlyn Newquay Hornets Penryn Penzance Perranporth Pirates Amateurs Redruth Redruth Albany Roseland RFC Saltash St Austell St Day St Ives St Just Stithians Truro Veor Wadebridge Camels
Clubs of Cornish interest	London Cornish St Columba & Torpoint
Competitions	County Championship Tribute Western Counties West Tribute Cornwall/Devon Cornwall League 1 Cornwall League 2 Cornwall Super Cup Cornwall Cup Cornwall Clubs Cup
Related articles	Stadium for Cornwall
Cornwall Portal

v t e Rugby union in England
Governing body	Rugby Football Union Rugby Football Union for Women (merged into the RFU)
National teams	Men's England England Saxons 7's U-20 U-21 U-19 U-18 Schoolboys British and Irish Lions England Counties XV Women's Women's 7's
International competitions	Men's World Cup Six Nations Rugby World Cup Sevens Sevens World Series Sevens Grand Prix Series Commonwealth Games Women's World Cup Six Nations World Series Sevens
Competition divisions	Men's Premiership Championship National Leagues London and SE Division Northern Division Midland Division South West Division Women's Premier 15s
European competitions	European Rugby Champions Cup European Rugby Challenge Cup
National competitions	Gallagher Premiership Premiership Cup Greene King IPA Championship Championship Cup National League 1 National League 2 North National League 2 South RFU Intermediate Cup EDF Energy Trophy Premiership Rugby Sevens Series Women's Premiership
London and South East competitions	London & South East Premier London 1 North London 1 South London 2 North East London 2 North West London 2 South East London 2 South West London 3 Eastern Counties London 3 Essex London 3 North West London 3 South East London 3 South West Eastern Counties 1 Essex Canterbury Jack 1 Hampshire Premier Hampshire 1 Hampshire 2 Hampshire Cups Herts/Middlesex 1 Herts/Middlesex 2 Hertfordshire Cups Middlesex Cups Shepherd Neame Kent 1 Shepherd Neame Kent 2 Kent Cups Surrey 1 Surrey 2 Surrey 3 Surrey 4 Surrey Cups Sussex 1 Sussex Cups
Midland competitions	Midlands Premier Midlands 1 West Midlands 1 East Midlands 2 West (North) Midlands 2 West (South) Midlands 2 East (North) Midlands 2 East (South) Midlands 3 West (North) Midlands 3 West (South) Midlands 3 East (North) Midlands 3 East (South) Midlands 4 West (North) Midlands 4 West (South) Midlands 4 East (North) Midlands 4 East (South) Midlands 5 West (North) Midlands 5 West (South) Leicestershire Cups North Midlands Cups Staffordshire Cups Warwickshire Cups
Northern competitions	North Premier North 1 East North 1 West Cumbria 1 Cumbria 2 Cumbria Cups Lancs/Cheshire 1 South Lancs/Cheshire 2 Lancs/Cheshire Division 3 Cheshire Cups Lancashire Cups Durham/Northumberland 1 Durham/Northumberland 2 Durham/Northumberland 3 Northumberland Cups Yorkshire 1 Yorkshire 2 Yorkshire 3 Yorkshire 4 Yorkshire Cups
South West competitions	South West Premier South West 1 East Tribute South West 1 West Southern Counties North Southern Counties South Tribute Western Counties North Tribute Western Counties West Tribute Cornwall/Devon Tribute Cornwall 1 Tribute Cornwall 2 Cornwall Cups Tribute Devon 1 Tribute Devon 2 Devon Cups Gloucester Premier Gloucester 1 Gloucester 2 North Gloucester 2 South Gloucestershire Cups Tribute Somerset Premier Somerset 1 Somerset 2 North Somerset 2 South Somerset 3 North Somerset 3 South Somerset Cups Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier Berks/Bucks & Oxon Championship Oxfordshire Cups Dorset & Wilts 1 North Dorset & Wilts 1 South Dorset & Wilts 2 North Dorset & Wilts 2 South Dorset & Wilts 3 North Dorset & Wilts 3 South
County competitions	County Championship Cup County Championship Plate County Championship Shield
Related articles	International players Clubs Churchill Cup Calcutta Cup Millennium Trophy Cook Cup Hillary Shield

v t e Cornish Pirates – current squad
Forwards	Jack Andrew Paul Andrew Brett Beukeboom Matt Bolwell Josh Caulfield Tom Channon Alex Cheesman Rupert Cooper Tom Cowan-Dickie Tom Duncan Toby Freeman Christian Judge Billy Keast Tom Lawday Dan Lee Sam Matavesi Chris Morgan Alan Paver John Stevens Marlen Walker
Backs	Bar Bartlett AJ Cant Will Cargill Nicolas Coronel Harrison Cully Alex Day Nicolas De Battista Matt Evans Dan Koster Pete Laverick Laurence May Toby May Kyle Moyle Alex O'Meara Mike Pope Harry Strong Angus Taylor
Coach	Gavin Cattle Alan Paver

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