| Full name | Mounts Bay RFC |
|---|---|
| Union | Rugby Football Union |
| Nickname(s) | Bay |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Disbanded | 2009 |
| Location | Penzance, Cornwall, England |
| Ground(s) | Mennaye Field (Capacity: 4,000) |
| League(s) | National Division 2 |
| 2008-09 | 13th |
Mounts Bay RFC was a Cornish rugby club formed in December 1999 and based in Penzance, England, which folded in July 2009. [1] Initially formed as an offshoot from Penzance & Newlyn RFC, the club operated as an independent club. Mounts Bay were promoted at the end of the 2007-08 season and competed in National Division Two in the 2008-09 season. [2] However, the club folded in the summer of 2009 due to financial problems and withdrew from the league structure altogether.
Mounts Bay had a successful year as they were promoted to the National Leagues as champions of Southwest 1 with three games to play. They also reached two cup finals; on 11 April 2007 they lost 43-7 to Redruth in the final the CRFU Cornwall Cup and on 15 April 2007, Bay made their only visit to Twickenham for the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup Final against former winners Dunstablians. They won the match 46-36. [3]
In their first season in the National Leagues, Mounts Bay finished first in National Division Three South and were again promoted, their eighth promotion in nine seasons, to play in National Division Two during the 2008-09 season. Fly-half Lee Jarvis was the league's top point scorer with 266 points. In addition to the league championship Mounts Bay also won the Cornwall Super Cup by defeating Launceston 45-17 on 24 March 2008.
Mounts Bay's quick rise ended with their only relegation. It was soon followed by an AGM in July 2009 that confirmed they were to fold after the possibility of a groundshare with Redruth RFC broke down and they were left with large debts and little assets. [4]
| Season | League | National Cup(s) | County Cup(s) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competition/Level | Position | Points | Competition | Performance | Competition | Performance | ||||||||
| 2000–01 | Cornwall 2 (10) | 1st (promoted) | 26 | Cornwall Clubs Cup | Runners up | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Cornwall 1 (9) | 2nd (lost playoff) | 26 | |||||||||||
| 2002–03 | Cornwall 1 (9) | 2nd (promoted via playoff) | 26 | Cornwall Clubs Cup | Runners up | |||||||||
| 2003–04 | Cornwall/Devon (8) | 1st (promoted) | 40 | Powergen Junior Vase | Semi-finals [5] | |||||||||
| 2004–05 | Western Counties West (7) | 1st (promoted) | 40 | Cornwall Cup | Quarter-finals [6] | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | South West 2 West (6) | 1st (promoted) | 42 | |||||||||||
| 2006–07 | South West 1 (5) | 1st (promoted) | 35 | RFU Intermediate Cup | Winners | Cornwall Cup | Runners up | |||||||
| 2007–08 | National 3 South (4) | 1st (promoted) | 107 [a 1] | EDF Energy Trophy | 4th Round [7] | Cornwall Super Cup | Winners | |||||||
| 2008–09 | National 2 (3) | 13th (relegated) | 29 | EDF Energy Trophy | Quarter-finals [8] | |||||||||
| Green background stands for either league champions (with promotion) or cup winners. Blue background stands for promotion without winning league or losing cup finalists. Pink background stands for relegation. | ||||||||||||||
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.
The Cornish Pirates 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.
Helston RFC is a rugby union club in Cornwall which has been in existence since 1965. They currently play in Counties 2 Cornwall, following relegation from Cornwall League 1 in 2018–19. In season 1995–96 side they reached the final of the RFU Pilkington Shield, and are one of only three Cornish club sides to have played in a competitive final at Twickenham.
Redruth RFC is a rugby union club from the town of Redruth, Cornwall, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English league system, National League 2 West. The club runs a number of men's teams including 1st XV, 2nd XV, Colts and a Select XV as well as a number of junior teams from age 7 through to 16. They are one of the most successful club sides in Cornwall, having won the Cornwall Cup ten times and the Cornwall Super Cup three times, and are currently the second highest ranked club side behind the Cornish Pirates. Redruth enjoys a strong rivalry with neighbours Camborne, with the two clubs meeting annually on Boxing Day, in a fixture that dates back to 1928.
Lee Jarvis is a former international Welsh rugby union player who was known as a top points scorer with the boot. His career has been spent in both Wales and England including top level rugby in Wales and in the Celtic League, winning a number of trophies in both countries. He has represented Wales from school level to full international honours as well as being selected by the Barbarians. Despite being tipped as the "next best thing" during his early career and being a great points kicker Jarvis only earned one cap for Wales at full international level. After retiring from rugby union as a player, Jarvis took up coaching. He is currently head coach at Rhydyfelin RFC.
Launceston Rugby Club is a Cornish rugby club which play at Polson Bridge, Launceston, Cornwall. They are currently in Regional 1 South West, at the fifth tier of the English rugby union system following their promotion from Tribute South West 1 West via a play-off in 2019. At present the club fields two senior men's teams, colts (under-18), mini/junior sides, as well as several girls teams.
Camborne RFC was established in 1878, known locally by fans as 'Town', are one of the most famous rugby union clubs in Cornwall. They are currently champions of Regional 1 South West, a level five league in the English rugby union system and are promoted to National League 2 West.
The 2008-09 National Division Two was the ninth and final version of the third division of the English rugby union league system using the name National Division Two. The RFU was planning to introduced a new professionalized format of the second division for the 2009-10 season which would lead to widespread league changes throughout the English league system including National Two being renamed National One and being increased from the 14 teams to 16 teams – a decision they made halfway through the season. New teams to the division included Birmingham & Solihull and Launceston who were relegated from the 2007–08 National Division One while promoted teams included Tynedale coming up from the 2007–08 National Division Three North while Mounts Bay (champions) and Cinderford (playoffs) both from the 2007–08 National Division Three South.
Hartpury University RFC is an English rugby union club. The men's first team play in the second tier of the English rugby union league system, the RFU Championship, having won promotion from National League 1 at the end of the 2016–17 season.
Exmouth Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team based at the Imperial Recreation Ground in Exmouth, Devon. The club runs four senior teams and a ladies side as well as the full range of junior boys teams and girls teams at three age levels. The first XV plays in the Regional 1 South West, the fifth tier of the English rugby union league system.
The Cornwall Super Cup is an annual English Rugby Union club competition founded in 2007, organized by the Cornwall Rugby Football Union and was last sponsored by Tribute Ales. Previously the competition was competed for by the top three Cornish national league teams - Redruth, Camborne and Launceston. Currently, the competition is competed for by Camborne and Launceston, due to the fact that they are the top Cornish sides that are in the same division, with Redruth one division higher in National League 2 South.
The CRFU Cornwall Cup is an annual rugby union knock-out cup club competition organised by the Cornwall Rugby Football Union first played for in 1896 but only regularly since 1969. It is open for teams based in Cornwall that are ranked below the national leagues but above the Cornish regional divisions. Tier 9 to 10 clubs have their own competition in the Cornish Clubs Cup.
Nat Saumi, real name Nacenieli, is a retired Fijian rugby union player who is currently a coach. A versatile back, Nat could play at fly-half, centre or full back. Despite having offers to play Premiership rugby, Nat spent his career in England playing for south-west clubs, most notably with Penzance & Newlyn and Plymouth, whom he also coached. An outstanding points scorer both in terms of kicking and tries, Nat became one of the most prolific points scorers of all-time in National League 2 South with over 700 points, including a divisional record of 374 points in a season, achieved in 2001 while playing for Penzance-Newlyn. As well as playing club rugby, Nat has also represented Fiji Sevens, Barbarians and Cornwall with whom he won the Bill Beaumont Cup back in 1999.
Penyrn RFC is a Cornish rugby union club based in the town of Penryn, and is the oldest club side in the county having been formed in 1872. The club currently has two senior men's teams as well as a ladies team, colts, and multiple mini/youth sides. Nicknamed "The Borough" the club's colours are black and red. The men's first team play in Counties 1 Western West - a league at level 7 of the English rugby union system - having been promoted from Cornwall/Devon as champions at the end of the 2018–19 season. They enjoy a rivalry with neighbours, Falmouth RFC.
St Austell RFC is a Cornish rugby union club based in the town of St Austell and was founded in 1963. The club run three senior men's teams as well as ladies side, a colts and multiple junior/mini sides. The club's kit is red and white hoops and the first team currently play in Regional 1 South West with home games at Tregorrick Park.
Matthew Shepherd is an English and Cornish rugby union player who currently plays at scrum-half or full back for Redruth in National League 2 South, having previously played for Plymouth Albion in National League 1. An extremely reliable points scorer with a knack for scoring important tries, he was instrumental in Cornwall's County Championship victories in 2015 and 2016 and has also been capped by England Counties XV. As well as playing union, Shepherd has played summer rugby league for the Cornish Rebels.
Truro RFC is a Cornish rugby union club based in the city of Truro and was formed in 1885. The club's colours are blue and gold and they operate two senior men's teams, a women's team, a colts side and various mini/junior teams. The men's first team currently play in Regional 2 South West – a league at level 6 in the English rugby union system.
St Ives Rugby Football Club is a Cornish rugby union club that are based in the town of St Ives and play home games at the Recreation Ground, just off Alexandra Road. The club operate a senior men's side as well as several min and junior teams. Following their withdrawal from the level 6 South West 1 West at the start of the 2019–20 season, the club continued to play friendlies for the remainder of the season. The club were readmitted to the league structure for the 2020–21 season, returning to competitive rugby in Cornwall League 2, at level 10, the lowest level St Ives RFC have played in. The season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. St Ives were then promoted as unbeaten champions at the first attempt in the 2021–22 season and currently play in Counties 1 Western West. The club play a traditional Boxing Day fixture against neighbours Hayle RFC.
Ryan Westren is a Cornish rugby union player who is currently a player-coach at Launceston, where he plays at outside centre. A club legend at Launceston, he previously played professional rugby union with Cornish Pirates and London Scottish, as well as captaining Cornwall in the county championships. His brother, Murray Westren, is also a rugby player, while their father, Phil Westren, played for Cornish Pirates when they were known as Penzance/Newlyn.
The RFU Senior Vase is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union, which has been competed for since the 2006–07 season. It is contested for by teams at level 8 of the English rugby union system, with only 1st XV sides being allowed to enter. The competition is a national one but is split into regions until the semi-finals with the final being held at Twickenham Stadium in London. As of 2018-19 it is the fourth most prestigious national club cup competition in England behind the Premiership Rugby Cup, RFU Championship Cup and RFU Intermediate Cup.
