 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Cornish Rebels RLFC |
| Colours | black and gold |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
|
| Competition | South West Rugby League |
Cornish Rebels are an amateur rugby league team based in Redruth, Cornwall. They were founded in January 2013 by John Beach and Rob Butland. Cornish Rebels RLFC are affiliated with the Rugby Football League, rugby league's governing body in the UK.
Cornish Rebels RLFC currently play in the South West Rugby League, a tier four regional league.
After meeting in a local pub one night John Beach, Robert Butland and Laurence Belt decided that between them they could start their own rugby league club, the first ever to be established in the County of Cornwall. Until this time rugby league had never been played competitively at club level in Cornwall.
In preparation for the 2013 South West Premier season, Former Royal Navy hooker, Jonny Platt, was given the role of head coach.
Rebels finished runners-up in the annual pre-season South-West 9s tournament. The Rebels made their league debut with an 80 - 6 away win against South West Cup holders Exeter Centurions. This was followed by a 46–18 home win over South West Men's League champions Devon Sharks. A crowd of around 200 turned out to watch and the game was covered by BBC Radio Cornwall. Cornish Rebels then made it three wins out of three to maintain their status at the top of the South West Men's League by putting 100 points past Somerset Vikings A. A week later, they beat Plymouth Titans 56-10 also at Redruth. Eventually the Rebels finished with a 100% record in their first season, finishing top of the South West Premier Division by 2 points and a +244 points scored difference.
The Rebels won the South West Challenge Cup Final at Polson Bridge, Launceston. The game was played in blistering heat, and was tied after 80 minutes. The Rebels were eventual winners, led by Captain Kye Beasley, over opponents Devon Sharks. [1]
The Rebels faced Devon Sharks in the Grand Final in their first year, after the Sharks finished second in the league, and beat the Rebels to become Grand Final Winners, after a lacklustre performance from the Rebels.
The first person to score a competitive try for Cornish Rebels was local-born fullback Darren Pellow, and the first man ever to score a competitive rugby league try in Cornwall at club level was Cornwall RFU second-row Ashley Lawton.
In 2021 the Rebels established a women's team who competed in the Betfred Super League South [2]
| Season | League | Play-offs | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos | ||
| 2021 | Super League South: Western Conference | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 28 | 170 | 1 | 3rd | Did not qualify |
Source: [3]
2013
2014
Redruth is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan and several outlying villages, stood at 55,400 making it the largest conurbation in Cornwall. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road, and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) west of Truro, 12 miles (19 km) east of St Ives, 18 miles (29 km) north east of Penzance and 11 miles (18 km) north west of Falmouth. Camborne and Redruth together form the largest urban area in Cornwall and before local government reorganisation were an urban district.
Rugby union in Cornwall is Cornwall's most popular spectator sport with a large following. The followers of the national side are dubbed Trelawny's Army. In 1991 and 1999 Cornwall won the County Championship final played at Twickenham Stadium, beating Yorkshire and Gloucestershire respectively to win the Cup. They had another strong spell in the 2010s, reaching seven of the eight finals contested between 2013 and 2022, winning four of them.
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Alex Ducker is an English professional rugby union and rugby league player who plays as a winger or full back. He is currently playing back at at Camborne. He previously played for Plymouth Albion from 2019 until 2022. An extremely gifted try scorer who can also kick points, he is most comfortable on the wing but can also play at full back. During his career he has led a nomadic existence which has seen him play for all of the top club sides in Cornwall including a stint with the Cornish Pirates. Ducker has been capped by the Cornwall senior rugby union side and has played summer rugby league with the Cornish Rebels, as well as experiencing Premiership Rugby Sevens with the Exeter Chiefs.
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