This Saturday saw 193 Parents, Coaches and Players from as young as the U7′s up to Colts travel to Twickenham to watch the Aviva premiership Final. What a game they witnessed from the off the atmosphere was electric and the 80,000 crowd were in store for some fantastic rugby. Leicester depsite their best efforts could only score from the tee, both teams seem to trade penalties until finally James Short manages to score a well worked try. Tensions were great as we went into 7 minutes of overtime before the ball was finally put out.

Final Score Leicester 18-22 Saracens

David Penberthy has told his peers on the Redruth RFC Executive Committee that he no longer wishes to continue as Chairman of the committee. In his own words:

‘Now before you hear this anywhere else I want to explain why I have stepped down as Chairman of the Executive Committee at Redruth. I told the Executive Committee on Monday night that I did not wish to stand for a further term as I have found it increasingly difficult to match the Chairman’s role with the DoR role, the anxiety experienced this year particularly has persuaded me that it is for the best. I have enjoyed my 3 year tenure and feel that a new face would be the right thing for the club …. I like challenges and this has certainly fulfilled that … I would like to thank my fellow Exec colleagues for their support and wish my successor all the very best. I still intend to remain on the Exec and certainly continue with my role as DoR for this season.’

The re-focusing of his attention purely back to rugby matters will no doubt be a great boon to Redruth’s attempts to hit the ground running in National 2 South next season. The club acknowledges the great work that David has done as Chairman on top of the exhausting role of Director of Rugby, all done on an entirely voluntary basis alongside his normal full-time employment with local company Somar, and thanks him whole-heartedly for it all.

Update: Dave steps down as Club Chairman.

Well another week over and 1 less to go until the start of another season (cant believe I just said that)!!!! This past weekend was a bit of a challenge on body and soul with our venture to the Heineken Cup final…. What a great weekend again even though my best efforts of mucking it all up with a failed hotel booking it all went swimmingly well!! A small group of us travelled on Friday to watch the Amlin Cup Final between Stade Francais and Harlequins, really poor attendance but a very exciting end with Quins grabbing it at the death. Stade dominated the game possession wise but just couldn’t get their noses in front. Nick Evans was outstanding for Quins and deservedly kicked the winning conversion. After the game 3 of us were deserted by our friends and had to stank back from the Cardiff City Stadium to our usual haunt …The Walkabout … after that it was Harts Ice Cream and off to bed …. On the Saturday a further 13 joined the crew and it was back into Cardiff for a beer or two in … yes you guessed it … The Walkabout! Many familiar faces around from not too far away but that didn’t deter us too much! Fish and Chips in Chip Pan Alley about 3.45pm on top of a guts full of beer and we were well prepared for the epic that was about to unfold in front of us … what a game!! …. And that old cliché of “ a game of 2 halves” was never more apt! Leinster definitely deserved it (I can only say that now after sitting and watching it on Sky after the event) and their passionate display was unbelievable .. anyway Northampton failed at the final hurdle and they will have to wait for another year now …..

Going back to my earlier statement about doing my best to muck things up … a slight misunderstanding (understatement) with ourselves and the hotel in Cardiff that we were originally booked into resulted in us having to stay in Swansea on Saturday night … but it was only a short train trip away and there was a Charlie Chalk’s there!! … Charlie’s had all the attractions you have come accustomed to … ball park, kids slides, lots of different obstacles, fancy dress ….. it was great! We had sherbet by the gallon or is it kilo ….. anyway it was fun and Sylvester was so happy that this ball park was absolutely full … not like the last one we went to!! Denver, Dirk and Serevi were like pigs in the proverbial … but it was a great night followed by a burger at Eddie Rockets Diner and then it was off to bed …Sunday we were a little more responsible with a nice brekky and then a coach trip back to Cardiff …. A couple of Peroni’s and then into … yes you guessed it .. The Walkabout in Cardiff …lunch and then down to the Packet in Cardiff Bay followed by the best Chinese I have had in the Pearl of the Orient …. A brilliant weekend, slightly fabricated here but, what a brilliant bunch of boys, really proud to have them as mates and can’t wait for Twickers next year …. Hotel is provisionally booked (don’t worry boys Sully has done it!!) and tickets to be sorted this week ….

Whilst in Cardiff I received the news that Aaron has been selected for the full England Counties tour to Spain starting next week …. You could of knocked me down when he told me!! This has been an incredible first season in men’s rugby for him …. Experiencing the ups and downs of a 10 in a red shirt, playing for England Counties Under 20’s, playing for Cornwall in the County Championship and finally this … very proud dad indeed! Moreover, I believe the opportunity players get, who play in the Community Game and who play for their Counties, to pull on an England shirt is first class. The opportunity and experience should motivate players to play for their Counties whether it be at Under 20 level or Senior level because the potential rewards at the end of it could be huge ….

Congratulations also to all our players who represented Cornwall this year and helped keep them in the top tier of the County Championship, so to Brett Rule, Tom Notman, Matt Bowden, Steve Kenward, Sam Parsons, Aaron Penberthy, Nick Simmons, Darren Jacques (captain) Richard Brown, Peter Joyce, Damien Cook, Chris Fuca, Owen Hambly, Steve Wood (I have this feeling I have forgotten someone!!) well done..

Lots of things going on all over the place at present …. The Ryan Giggs episode, hope this doesn’t distract from the great footballer he is, the Tuilangi case, Gavin Henson quitting Toulon and Manchester City bidding a reported £300m for Messi.

Willie Mason has switched codes by joining French Top 14 side Toulon 24 hours after Hull KR cut their ties with the controversial Australian forward. The former Kangaroos international was released by Rovers just six months into a three-year contract. Mason, 31, has signed a one-year deal at big-spending Toulon with an option for another (before anyone bright spark says …”yes this last bit was cut and pasted from the BBC website!)

We have a players meeting tomorrow night (Wednesday 25th) when we will discuss our plans for next year. I have tried to get hold of most people but if there is anyone out there who I have forgotten or anyone new who are interested the meeting starts at 6:45pm and should last no longer than an hour … you are most welcome..

So that is it for this week and to coin the phrase of the incredibly funny Celebrity Juice compere, Keith Lemon “If I don’t see ya through week I’ll see ya through window”!!!!

Cheers for now …

Dave Penberthy

REDRUTH RFC AWARDS NIGHT
FRIDAY 3rd JUNE 2011
7.30 p.m.

After a great season full of highs and lows – finishing in the most dramatic and nail-biting style – it’s time to congratulate the efforts of the players who epitomised the pride and passion of the Redruth shirt, and we’d like you to join us all!

You are invited to join us in the Club House to round off the season in style. Following the presentation of awards to the players – doubtless to be accompanied with a bit of banter and a lot of laughs – there will be a free buffet to thank you all for your support throughout the season and entertainment from your very own Chris “The Mince” Allen.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Latest 200 Club draw results – the most sociable way to win with Redruth!

£50 Mrs S Hawkins
£25 Mrs M Harris
£25 Mr C Allen

Click here to win with the 200 Club.

So week 2 of the close season gone and only 5 weeks to go before pre season kicks in again! It sounds early doesn’t it but with a new season start date of the 27th August we need a good base to get that underway successfully. We have a couple of pre season friendlies lined up against Plymouth Albion and we will be looking for 1 more Saturday fixture and maybe a couple of midweek games for our development players. So its all go at the moment and hopefully there will be a few things to report with regards to new signings over the next couple of weeks. Remember it’s the AGM this Thursday and I would like to see a full house there to receive the various reports from the club.

At this point I would like to thank all the clubs and the personnel associated with those clubs for all the good wishes received over the past couple of weeks. It is a sad time now that we are out of the National League 1 but its down to us to regroup and rejoin as quickly as we can ….. thank you and I wish you all well ….

Popped up to Cinderford on Saturday to watch Cornwall play Gloucestershire in the County Championship. Cornwall were well in the game up until the 60th minute but Gloucestershire showed their power and emerged as comfortable winners. Cornwall now travel to Canterbury this weekend in a must win game if they are to keep their place in the top tier. I met of few of the Cinderford guys and also Nick Nelmes from Lydney. Cinderford are sad to lose us but Lydney are looking forward to renewing our rivalries which have been pretty intense over the years. Again there are some quality people in this part of the world who love their rugby and its always a pleasure to go there …. Waiting to meet up next season already …

Well that great weekend is upon us once more when 24 guys, all who are associated with the club make the annual pilgrimage to the Heineken Cup Final which, this year, is in Cardiff (Yippee!!!!!!!!). The added bonus this year is that the Amlin Final is on the Friday night and 8 of us are taking advantage of that and going over to Wales on Friday morning so that we are in the city to watch Stade Francais take on Harlequins … think Quins may have the edge here but with Stade packed with internationals from all parts of the world … you never know!!

As for the Heineken Cup, I think the Northampton v Leicester game last weekend may have taken its toll and I think it could be a big ask for Northampton to raise their game after the beating they suffered! Leinster are tough and playing well….I would love to see Northampton win as I have great admiration for Jim Mallinder but I am going to predict a Leinster victory …. Hopefully there will be some Munster fans in town for a bit of a social!!!!

Whilst talking about the Premiership semi final between Leicester and Northampton, the game was very physical but it was marred by a nasty incident involving Manu Tualagi and Chris Ashton. Tualagi took Ashton out without the ball and Ashton reacted by pushing Tualagi but also using his knee to strike the back of Tualagi’s head (that is what I think caused the reaction). Tualagi reacted and threw 3 punches one of which caused Ashton to receive stitches. I think it is inevitable that Tualagi will be cited and will probably receive a ban which I would imagine Leicester will appeal against thus allowing him to play in the Premiership Final …. Lets wait and see what actually happens????!!!!

The Players Presentation Evening will be held in the clubhouse on Friday 3rd June starting at 7:30pm. I am not sure what the cost is at present but the event will be advertised on the website in due course …

I don’t normally talk about the “round ball” game much because it doesn’t really interest me BUT the weekend just rekindled many childhood memories when my favourite team Manchester City won the FA Cup! At last I can bleat about something …. When I was a kid it was the great team of Mulhearn, Book, Pardoe, Doyle, Booth, Oakes, Summerbee, Bell, Lee, Young and Coleman that were my heroes especially when the beat Leicester City back in the 60’s to win the win the FA Cup … that was the last time I really had anything to shout about!! Anyway I am enjoying the moment and hope that next season Alex Ferguson will be looking over his shoulder!!

Short and sweet this week but I thought I had better do something!

Cheers for now

Dave Penberthy

Director of Rugby

We are looking for a volunteer coach to join the highly successful Colts team. The job would involve helping with training and taking charge of the team on Saturday match days

If you are interested in helping out and for more information, please contact Simon Blake on 01209 -215401

Well its happened and in some ways I am glad the waiting is over! We gave it our best shot and in the end it was a great effort at the end of the season to ensure our nearest rival to relegation had to have a high scoring draw or win to survive. I offer my congratulations to Rich Senior and his Sedgley Park players on their survival. When you look at the results over the season they had done the double over us and had some good results at home …. I will look back at what might have been but am composed and ready to move forward …. I have “cut and pasted” a response that I sent out to some members who appear on our club database and I echo those thoughts to all who have made my time in National 1 so pleasurable. I have met some great people, made some great friends and seen some outstanding talent on the field. Without doubt I will miss my trip to Wharfedale the most, they are fantastic people there and I sincerely hope they fulfil their promise and come down to Redruth to watch next season …. My email ….

Hi everyone ..

Well it finally happened yesterday and after an incredible fight by the players over the last month or so we now take our place in National 2 South. It is a very sad day for us all but we must move on.

I would just like to say, on behalf of the players and coaches, that we tried! No one likes to lose at anything but sometimes you have to hold your hands and admit defeat to better teams. There were some very good players in the league this year and it was the most competitive that I can remember.

There were dark days but there were also some very bright days and the way we finished the season was superb! We won 12 games and drew 2, we amassed 62 points and will rue the missed bonus points. The key thing is that our players will be a year older next season and they will have learned from the experience. For the last few games we fielded our youngest backline ever and with an experienced pack we had notable wins at Coventry and Wharfedale.

The future is neither bleak nor disastrous, our pre season will be better than last, we will have 2 pre season games with Plymouth Albion and will relish the beginning of next season. We needed to rebuild and we have done the biggest part of that over the past 2 seasons. I am proud of the team effort and commitment.

Mark Bright finished as the 4th top try scorer in the league with 19 and Aaron Penberthy the 2nd top goal kicker with 251 points and was also the 5th top points scorer in the league …. Not bad for an 18 year old in his first season on National League Rugby …..

Thank you for your support and I look forward to even more next year ….

The new season will see the return of many teams we have locked horns with in the past. Launceston, Henley, Westcombe Park, are the most recent but we will renew acquaintances with Richmond, Clifton, Dings, Lydney, Taunton, Southend to name a few. It will be very competitive and many teams will be relishing the visit to the Recreation Ground. We have some good old fashioned South West derby’s to look forward too and we will play Barnes, Hartpury College, Shelford and Old Albanians for the first time.. Those of you who watched the county game on Saturday will of seen the Hertfordshire side consisting of mainly Hertford and Old Albanian players …. They looked a tidy outfit and I am sure everyone will see some good rugby at Redruth next year.

The county game on Saturday was a good game for our club with the majority of the side consisting of Redruth players. It was a shame Launceston players were unavailable but I do understand the reasoning of the Launceston club. This week the team faces a daunting task of travelling to Cinderford to take on Gloucestershire …. But you never know!!

Last Friday night was a very proud evening for me when my son, Aaron, played for England Counties Under 20’s against Scotland Under 20’s up in Leeds. The England side lost 18 – 15 but played exceptionally well against a Scottish side that competed in the recent 6 Nations and currently in training for the Junior World Cup. The England side were together for 3 days but you would not of thought that. They gave Scotland a real game and but for some bad luck near the end, the could of won! Aaron kicked a penalty and a conversion and hit an upright with a further conversion attempt from the touchline. He played the full 80 minutes and did well. It was a surreal moment seeing him line up in his England kit and singing the National Anthem … very emotional believe me!! They were presented with their shirts by Neil Back prior to the game. Aaron was the youngest player on show and has another year at this level.

So a break now …. NOT ……. And 4 months to prepare for next season. The next few weeks will be hectic but I will keep you informed as we go ….. Heineken Cup and Amlin Cup on the horizon as well …. Then its off too the England v India Test Match in August … happy days!!!

Back next week ….

Cheers for now

Dave Penberthy

Director of Rugby

UPDATE: This position has now been filled: congratulations to our new Club Administrator Andy Gallie.

Redruth RFC Ltd requires a Club Administrator to commence as soon as possible.

The successful person will look after the day to day administration of the club, particularly the financial side. Salary to be negotiated depending on skills and qualifications but is likely to be in the region of £15K to £20K for a standard thirty-seven and a half hour week based at the club.

Computer skills are essential and bookkeeping skills with a working knowledge of SAGE would be an advantage.

Letters of application with CVs should be sent to the Club Secretary, Roger Watson, Trelawny House, 30 Fore Street, Tregony, Truro, TR2 5RN.
Telephone: 07790 365250
e-mail: watson_roger@hotmail.com from whom further information is available.

Closing date for applications: Wednesday 18th May 2011