Reading time: 15 minutes

(If you missed the Christmas Rugby Special, click here…)

…see where you are after Christmas…then you’ll know how well you’re doing…

Martyn Trestrail offers sage advice

	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
St Ives	10	9	0	1	255	50
Redruth	12	9	1	2	236	76
Camborne	11	8	1	2	231	87
Hayle	9	5	0	4	125	70
Falmouth	11	6	0	5	125	95
Penzance-Newlyn	13	6	2	5	162	154
Newquay Hornets	13	7	0	6	160	174
Penryn	10	5	0	5	122	75
St Austell	11	2	1	8	95	285
Truro	11	1	1	9	70	355
Launceston	11	0	0	11	43	197

As it was…

It’s New Year’s Day, 1978. It’s been revealed that Starsky and Hutch star David Soul is dating two actresses. Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest are five points clear at the top of Division One. Compair Holman announces a massive sales drive in Germany and Italy, in order to benefit from the UK’s new membership of the EEC¹.

Camborne have just played their fifth game in nine days, beating a Cornwall U23 XV 20-6.

Business as usual?

Dave Edwards, Colin Taylor, and Paul Ranford all crossed the line for Town, as did a debutant, called up from the Colts: Steve ‘Sparky’ Rogers showed much promise and pace on the wing.

So, all’s well with the Centenary Season then.

Or maybe not. Even though Hayle (or, rather, David O’Mahoney’s kicking) had done them a favour on Boxing Day by beating top-placed St Ives 9-3², Camborne had slipped to third in the Merit Table. Behind Redruth.

This was far from ideal for an ambitious Centenary club.

They knew they were good – but how good? Rolling over the likes of, say, Cornwall U23s, St Austell, or Penryn was fine, but where were the ‘statement’ victories?

At this point in the season, did the other clubs with a true interest in Table or Cup glory – St Ives, Redruth – genuinely fear them?

No one will like me for saying this, but probably not. Indeed, in the press, Redruth were being talked up as likely candidates for a Merit Table and CRFU Cup double:

The players would not have forgotten that, back in January 1977, they were in a similar position as regards the Cup and Merit Table. They came away with nothing³.

Camborne had yet to beat a touring club of note too.

Dave Edwards told me,

…as the season progressed, so the atmosphere changed…

From being a season where the celebration was a hundred years of Camborne RFC itself, it gradually dawned on the players that, at the end of it all, they might very well have something more tangible to celebrate themselves.

They were still in the CRFU Cup – though their next opponents, at the end of the month, were St Ives. A win would set up a semi-final grudge-match with Redruth.

The top of the Merit Table was still in sight.

They were in with a shout. Of something.

They had two big games coming up.

Plymouth Albion, the Devon team, were due to visit on the 7th.

On the 14th, St Ives were coming to the Rec.

If Camborne lost that, catching St Ives, and with it the Merit Table, would be practically beyond them.

It was crunch time.

First, though, were the big boys from over the Tamar.

Roger lay down a while…

As Robert Mankee was keen to impress on me, if a Cornish XV dared to challenge a side from across the border, they would find them a

…little bit fitter…

…and rather more prestigious. Plymouth Albion were the top Devon club of the late 1970s. They had expanded their fixture list to regularly include teams from London, the Midlands, and South Wales. In 1977 they had celebrated their own Centenary by winning the Devon Senior Cup⁴.

Steve Floyd, who played them that year, recalls that Albion

…weren’t usually on our fixture list…Albion ‘gave us the honour’ of playing them…we weren’t supposed to beat them…

No, in the normal run of things, if Camborne were to play Albion, they went cap in hand to Plymouth, rather than the other way round.

Merrill Clymo certainly rolled out the red carpet in his programme notes for the fixture:

We extend a welcoming hand to Plymouth Albion who have kindly agreed to come here today, instead of our travelling to Plymouth…

Town were possibly jealous of Albion’s status, and maybe felt somewhat patronised too.

Both of which are perfectly good reasons to want to beat them…

Yes, Camborne lost, but Albion knew they’d been in a game. With twenty minutes to play, Town led 6-4, thanks to two penalties by Steve Floyd.

Camborne were bossing it. Boasting a pack described by journalist Roy Standring on the day as

…the meanest in Cornwall,

Western Morning News, January 9, 1978

they had control of their guests. What with Malcolm Bennetts winning strikes against the head, and Ranford and Richard Thomas dominating the line-outs, half-backs Mankee and Floyd could keep Albion pinned in their own half.

This wasn’t in the Devon XV’s script.

Albion’s flanker, a blonde giant ex-paratrooper from Launceston called Roger Spurrell, was

…beside himself with exasperation…

Roy Standring, Western Morning News, January 9, 1978.

Spurrell, who Paul Ranford recalls as a “bloody lunatic”, gave his pack a very public, and probably very expletive-laden, dressing-down on the pitch. It had the desired effect.

Albion had always displayed the “greater inventiveness” outside⁵, and now their forwards began the fightback. Camborne, on the retreat, conceded two penalties, which Albion’s 10 Les Ware belted over from 40 metres. 6-10, Plymouth.

In the dying minutes, Albion’s victory was rounded off by a solo try from winger Ray Westlake. Ware converted to make it 6-16.

The game may have been over, but the battle wasn’t.

According to Albion’s historian, David Fuge, who was spectating that day, Nigel Pellowe late-tackled Westlake as he crossed the line:

…a silly thing to do…

Especially, continues Fuge, when you consider that a pumped-up Roger Spurrell was on hand to take retribution.

The referee claimed he was too far away to witness any infringement by Pellowe.

Westlake, badly winded, was stretchered off.

Before anyone could stop him, Spurrell had squared up to Pellowe…

Redruth man Brian Riddle has watched a lot of Cornish rugby – and therefore a lot of fighting. He told me, though, that only one player he ever saw

…knew how to hit properly,

and that was Nigel Pellowe. In the crowd, on a rest day, was Frank Butler:

Spurrell got hit six times before he moved his hands…

If anyone had informed Pellowe that Spurrell had been in the armed forces, it wouldn’t have made much difference. Spurrell was on his backside in a flurry of punches before he could even think about issuing a final warning. As Nigel told me, with a wink,

…Roger lay down a while…

Plymouth Albion went home, victorious but maybe not as proud. Roger Spurrell may have spent part of the journey wondering how a man who just about came up to his chin had so casually floored him⁶.

Camborne had a bit of thinking to do themselves. That same day, St Ives had beaten Falmouth 19-9 in the Merit Table⁷.

Decision time…

The brains trust for the 1st XV was Chris Durant and the well-respected coach, Alan Truscott. Although input from senior players such as Bobby Tonkin and Frank Butler was welcomed, the big decisions were the preserve of Chris and Alan.

Said Truscott:

Chris and I were in constant communication during the week and on Sundays after each match. We ‘swayed’ selection and discussed all training sessions.

Durant agrees.

Having the final word in selection meetings (“few people argued with Chris”, said Dave Edwards), and a trusted working relationship with Truscott was “very important”, Chris told me.

And the question that would have kept them awake at night in the days leading up to St Ives’ visit to the Rec was this:

What’s the winning XV?

Here’s the team they went with:

Apart from Nigel Tregenza coming in for an injured Frank Butler, the biggest change was moving Nigel Pellowe to 10, a position he hadn’t occupied for some time.

Pellowe, like Robert Mankee, was a demon tackler who could be

…unbelievably brave…

Frank Butler

against even the biggest men – just ask Roger Spurrell. However, after several seasons at full-back he perhaps now lacked the distribution skills of a Steve Floyd or a Tanzi Lea.

As Dave Edwards put it, the tactic was to

…to ensure we didn’t lose…keep it tight…

“Tight” is also how Durant, with Truscott, wanted it.

Camborne were going all-in for a forward-dominated approach. The pack, in cahoots with Mankee and Pellowe, were going to suffocate St Ives.

Elsewhere, Bob Lees, more of a finisher, moved to the wing. David May was brought in at centre, for his “good hands”, and deft passing skills, recalls Truscott.

If the ball did go wide, May could put Edwards and Lees away.

Camborne were going to be tough to beat.

But could they beat the best in Cornwall?

Find out in Rugby Special ~ Part Eight here.

Many thanks for reading

References

1. See the Sunday Mirror, January 1, 1978, p2 and 48; and the West Briton, January 5, 1978, p3.
2. West Briton, December 29, 1977, p14.
3. See Rugby Special ~ Part One here
4. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Albion_R.F.C., and http://www.plymouthalbion.com/history/
5. Western Morning News, January 9, 1978.
6. Alas, Roger Spurrell has no recollection of the event. After a notable career at Bath RFC, he ran a Newquay nightclub and now has an interest in a lobster hatchery in the area. When I spoke to him, however, he was sat at home, watching Wimbledon.
7. West Briton, January 12, 1978, p20.

Reading time: 20 minutes

(If you missed Part Five of Rugby Special, click here…)

As it was…

It’s Saturday, December 26, 1977 – Boxing Day. The Christmas No. 1 is ‘Mull of Kintyre’, by Wings. There’s really no accounting for the musical tastes of our ancestors.

Lucky children are playing with their Rubik’s Cubes and Star Wars figures. 28 million people enjoyed yesterday’s Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show.¹

Camborne 1st XV’s totemic skipper, Chris Durant, has woken up with a clear head and an empty stomach. For him, Christmas Day is one of abstinence, rather than indulgence. Many of his team have doubtless followed his example – and Durant always led by example.

Why this self-denial? Camborne are playing Redruth. Again.

The Game of all Games…part two…²

Although Camborne RFC and Redruth RFC had first competed on Boxing Day back in 1877, it wasn’t until the late 1920s that the fixture became an annual event. Suffice that, in 1977 – as today – it’s the most famous rugby match in Cornwall.³

As discussed in Rugby Special ~ Part Three, a Camborne-Redruth match was “the game of all games” according to Robert Mankee.⁴ On Boxing Day, the intensity and local interest rose to fever pitch. To beat Redruth on Boxing Day, said Frank Butler,

…meant everything…

I will give one example, and to do this we will have to travel forward in time, from 1977 to 1994. Featuring in this Boxing Day game – indeed, refereeing – was David May. In the crowd was another member of the 1977-78 XV, Dave Edwards.

Lucky to leave the ground alive…

Here’s David May on the 1994 Boxing Day game. Three thousand spectators were in the Redruth ground:⁵

The game was fine for 60 minutes, until a couple of Redruth players sniped at me about being a Camborne man. I told them not to be so stupid.

In the last minute, Reds knocked on in front of their posts so I gave a scrum. Absolutely happened but the home players didn’t agree! The prop told me it was a Camborne decision, the hooker muttered ‘cheat’. I still stayed calm and didn’t penalise until the Reds captain shook his head at me.

I penalised him, Camborne kicked the penalty, I blew my whistle and Camborne had stolen a victory!

Camborne won 13-16. Dave Edwards, spectating, turned to the impressionable young man stood beside him and remarked that

…May’ll be lucky to leave the ground alive after that, bleddy hell…

May again:

On the way off, a supporter caught me by the throat with his fist raised. I calmly pointed out that he would never watch another rugby match again and he let go.

Tommy Adams [Camborne’s Captain] came into my changing room to ask if I was ok. He told me that he saw the supporter going to hit me so he hit him in the nuts!

In the bar, I sought out the supporter, who fortunately immediately apologised and bought me a drink…

May was told by the Redruth committee men that he’d never referee a derby game again. In fact, he did, several times, including the 2003 edition at Camborne. One of the more passionate moments of this match was captured by a Times photographer:

Season’s greetings…

Back to 1977. The sides’ first meeting of the season had resulted in a 3-3 draw, at Redruth.

Camborne, hosts on Boxing Day, would have seen this as a game they ought to have won. They were the form horses, and a celebration of a hundred years of rugby at the club would not be complete without a good thrashing of Redruth.

On the other hand, Redruth knew this, and beating Camborne in their Centenary Season would be a victory to live long in the memory.

In his programme notes for the match, Camborne’s Committee man Merrill Clymo didn’t hold back…

…although we wish our opponents success in 1978 we hope to send them away as losers today.

Those of you who saw the first game at Redruth (including those Redruth supporters who are honest with themselves) will agree that, although the game ended in a draw, it was a moral victory for Camborne, and but for a bad Refereeing error Camborne would most certainly have been the victors on that occasion.

Merrill Clymo, qtd in the Camborne v Redruth match programme, 26 December 1977. Courtesy Alan Rowling

And Clymo wasn’t even playing…

Made my Christmas…

As you can imagine, both sides were pretty much at full strength:

Tanzi Lea got the nod over Steve Floyd, who was home from Loughborough. For Redruth, skipper on the day was full-back Mike Downing.

Elsewhere, at the Redruth ground in fact, Jumbo Reed was warming up for the Reserves in the undercard fixture. Then the call came through: Jock Denholm couldn’t play.

Jumbo was needed for the Chiefs. As he said, the news

…made my Christmas…

Unstoppable…

Watching the game was Alan Rowling, and he reckoned that

Camborne’s pack were unstoppable against the Reds…

Maybe so. But, on that Boxing Day, at Camborne, in the Centenary Season, the unthinkable happened.

Camborne lost, 6-9.

The architect of Town’s pain was Mike Downing.

Mighty Mouse…

Downing was Redruth’s answer to Nigel Pellowe; indeed, as Pellowe himself conceded, the man

…never dropped a penny…

at 15. He appeared over 700 times for Redruth, and in 36 derbies. And this was his derby, if the headlines are anything to go by:

On the day, in front of a vocal crowd jammed to the rafters (only County matches could rival the turn-outs for a Camborne-Redruth fixture), Downing marshalled his troops like a general in a “flawless” performance.⁷

For all their possession, for all their superiority up-front, Camborne were unable to break Redruth down, and two penalties from Durant were all they had to show for their territorial advantage. It was as if Downing was always a move ahead, and Camborne’s off-colour threequarters certainly made his job easier.

Phil Tiddy scored for the Reds from a Town back-line error, with Harvey converting. Brett Pedley rounded off a fine game at 10 with a drop-goal. Camborne had yet to find a way to neutralise the Redruth fly-half, much to Frank Butler’s chagrin.

A good piss-up…

As Downing himself remarked, Camborne-Redruth relations on the field were dog-eat-dog, and then some. However, whatever happened on the pitch, stayed on the pitch. As ‘Mighty Mouse’ told me,

…there was always a good piss-up down South Terrace afterward…

Well, maybe for Downing: his team had won. They’d beaten Camborne. At Camborne. On Boxing Day. In front of thousands. In Camborne’s Centenary Season.

He, and his team, had earned a drink. Their end of the bar must have been raucous. In contrast, for Camborne’s Robert Mankee at least, the beer stuck in his craw

…like gorse…

Christmas was ruined. Someone probably stuck ‘Mull of Kintyre’ on the jukebox. There was to be no heroes’ welcome at Crofty, or Holman’s, when the holiday season was over. Worse, Camborne had played poorly, and were criticised in the press:

A magnificent forward display by the Camborne pack was wasted by their backs…The Camborne outsides squandered numerous chances…

West Briton, December 29, 1977, p14

Here, incidentally, we see the Camborne RFC myth taking shape, that the Town XV of the era was merely a gargantuan pack, and little outside. We’ll discuss this at a later date.

This was not a team, though, that apportioned blame for a poor performance. You simply

…took it all on the chin,

said Robert Mankee, and cracked on. In fact, there wasn’t time to analyse where it had all gone wrong.

Next day, the 27th, St Austell were due at the Rec.

Trounced…

The Saints’ skipper, prop Simon Woolnough, was an ex-Camborne man. He may also have been one of the toughest forwards on the circuit, with a disciplinary record to match.⁸

Though a crowd favourite, this was no fairytale homecoming as Camborne “trounced” his side easily, 26-6.⁹ Town’s backs found their legs again, with Edwards and Mankee scoring a brace of tries each.

Camborne then probably forgot all about St Austell. They’d had the beating of them, and would doubtless not play them again that season.

Next to the Rec, on New Year’s Eve, was Penryn.

Too hot to handle…

Camborne won their final game of 1977 21-7. Their visitors from the Borough were not the team of yore, and relied heavily on the kicking prowess of Paul ‘The Boot’ Winnan.

With Paul Ranford free to roam at No. 8, the headline said it all:

As the report makes clear, Ranford was more than a lineout dominator and general enforcer:

The most pleasing feature of the game was the running and interpassing of the Camborne forwards. Tonkin and Ranford are the runners, but the close snap-passing…deserves mention.

Packet, January 4, 1978

Ranford scored twice, taking his tally to 12, wing Chris Nicholas broke from a set-piece move to put in Colin Taylor, and Pellowe at 15 put on something of a show. Durant’s kicking topped off a formidable display.

But what of Penryn’s Paul Winnan?

He was the prey of David Kingston, who

…usually crunched…

Packet, January 4, 1978

the Borough’s kingpin whenever he had the ball. And perhaps when he didn’t…

Kinger…

David Kingston came to Camborne via St Ives and, earlier, Gloucester. At first a centre, he switched to flanker and found the job suited his abrasive, pugnacious style – he was a “cocky bugger”, remembers Paul Ranford. Like his regular partner and wing-forward, Frank Butler, winning the ball and thwarting the opposition was his especial talent. Kingston summarises his role thus:

To kill the half-backs…

He made sure his victims were aware that he was coming for them. Said Jumbo Reed, Kingston

…would always walk past the opposition fly-half and hint that he was going to smash him…

One can only imagine what form this ‘hint’ took.

Alan Truscott also recalls Kingston’s up-and-at-em game. He was

…aggressive, tough in defence and a good ball-carrier…[a] motivator, never liked losing…

Likewise for David May, ‘Kinger’ was an

…abrasive competitor with more talent than most thought…

Frank Butler, too, pays homage to his partner in rugby’s underworld:

David was a tough man, always a fierce competitor who demanded lots from all his team mates…[he] played centre in his early days so had all the skills too…

If you were a back in the Camborne XV, David Kingston was the kind of forward you loved. However, if you were an outside on the opposite side of the line, you probably feared him.

The ultimate number seven.

Auld lang syne…

So, into 1978. Was all going well for Camborne’s Centenary Season?

On paper, yes. They’d played 24 games, won 18, drawn 1 and lost 5. The 613 points they’d racked up dwarfed the 182 conceded.

But the big Cornish wins eluded them: Redruth and St Ives were their masters. A win against a big touring side would be nice too: the narrow loss to Pontypridd had been Town’s best effort thus far – and that had been back in September.

How fortunate, then, that two big games were coming up. The major team in Devon, Plymouth Albion, were due to visit. And then there was a crunch return fixture in the Merit Table against St Ives.

That was a must-win.

Time for a change of tactics?

Find out in the New Year’s Rugby Special, here…

Many thanks for reading

References

1. According to: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/history/what-were-you-up-during-14083800
2. See Rugby Special ~ Part Three here
3. For more on the history of the Boxing Day game, see: https://the-cornish-historian.com/2023/09/02/camborneredruth-the-oldest-continual-rugby-fixture-in-the-world-part-one/
4. Follow the link here.
5. According to the report in the West Briton, December 29, 1994, p20.
6. Of course, with the advent of the RFU’s National League system from 1987, and the professionalisation of the game from 1995, the Camborne-Redruth rivalry has become somewhat diluted. As the two sides are no longer in the same league, the Boxing Day game is now a friendly (I use the term loosely), with both sides rarely being at full-strength.
7. The Packet, December 28, 1977.
8. See Rugby Special ~ Part Four here
9. The Packet, December 28, 1977.

Reading time: 20 minutes

(If you missed Part Four, click here…)

As it was…

It’s Thursday, December 15, 1977. Talking Heads have released their single ‘Psycho Killer’. The MP for Truro, David Penhaligon, vows to grill the Transport Minister on the delays to, and the proposed route of, Cornwall’s A30 dual carriageway. In Dortmund, Wales have pulled off a shock 1-1 draw against World Champions West Germany¹.

That evening, under less-than perfect floodlights remembers Malcolm Bennetts, St Ives are hosting Camborne.

Battle of the giants…

	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
St Ives	6	6	0	0	199	23
Camborne	5	4	1	0	118	39
Redruth	7	5	1	1	152	62
Penryn	7	5	0	2	109	35
Penzance-Newlyn	9	6	0	3	146	94
Newquay Hornets	10	6	0	4	107	104
Hayle	5	2	0	3	72	32
Falmouth	6	2	0	4	90	50
St Austell	7	2	0	5	69	199
Truro	9	1	0	8	52	329

Not only was this a top of the Merit Table clash but, in beating Hayle in the first round of the CRFU Cup, St Ives had set the stage

…for a battle of the giants when they take on mighty Camborne in the next round.

West Briton, December 8, 1977, p26

Before kick-off that evening, there was little or nothing to separate the two sides. They were the top dogs of Cornish rugby. Last season’s Cup and Merit Table winners, Falmouth, were experiencing a slump. Near the foot of the Table this time round, lowly St Austell had contrived to knock them out of the Cup².

If Camborne wanted trophies with which to decorate their Centenary Season – and they undoubtedly did – the ‘Hakes’ were the team to beat.

For their part, St Ives may have seen themselves as harshly dealt with back in 1976-77. Despite having won as many Merit Table games as Falmouth, and scoring more points, they still came second³.

Both teams wanted this one badly.

The bogey team…

Camborne were pretty much at full strength, though Paul Ranford was out injured, with Michael Woods getting the nod:

There was talent everywhere in the St Ives XV. Young wing Roger Randall would soon earn a full County cap; Frank Butler puts 10 Ian Hart in the same troublesome bracket as Redruth’s Brett Pedley; Nigel Pellowe singles out centre Tom Bassett as a definite hard case.

The St Ives pack was “always strong”, Frank Butler told me. Malcolm Bennetts praised their skipper, John Trevorrow, as

…the best all-round hooker I played against…

Then there was the Corin brothers, a pair so volatile they would often fight each other, said Bennetts, to mention nothing of Peter Hendy and Simon Moody. Vastly experienced and very tough, Robert Mankee remembers that

…if your head was on the deck…

and they were nearby, anticipate a flashing boot in the face.

But that wasn’t all. St Ives, agree Jumbo Reed and Frank Butler, were Camborne’s “bogey” team:

…we rarely got the better of them…

Frank Butler

For whatever reason, Camborne seemed to think St Ives had the wood over them.

Whenever they played, some occurrence, or pure fate, would contrive against Town coming away victorious.

Something’s bound to go bleddy wrong…

This encounter was not an entertaining spectacle⁶, but would have been compellingly tough. All the senior Cornish teams had been playing each other over many seasons, with grievances, resentments, and open feuds integral to every fixture. For example, here the Corin boys would have missed another bust-up with the injured Paul Ranford: they always issued a pre-match warning that they were going to get him, and Ranford would always retaliate in kind.

(Paul recalls, though, that if he wasn’t around, the Corins had plenty of differences with the other Camborne players to satisfy themselves. He recalls an instance in another match where Roger Corin swung a meaty girt backhander at Chris Durant. Durant ducked, and Corin’s best effort buried itself into Jumbo Reed’s face, sparking him out. Ranford “couldn’t stop laughing”.)

As Robert Mankee put it:

…the first twenty minutes of any Merit Table game…was war…

And that night, St Ives exploited the home advantage. The floodlights were poor in the opinion of Malcolm Bennetts (he likened being in a scrum akin to being down a mine, and he would know), and St Ives had adapted their game accordingly.

If this was war, The Hakes opted for an aerial bombardment in the winter night, Ian Hart unleashing endless up-and-unders at full-back Nigel Pellowe.

It was truly shooting in the dark. St Ives were banking on Pellowe, normally safety itself, eventually coming a cropper in the gloom.

The tactic paid off. Pellowe got snagged in possession with his back to his own goal, and St Ives ransacked him. Tommy Bassett crashed over the line. 4-0, St Ives.

Chris Durant quickly nailed a penalty. Half-time: 4-3.

The rest of the game was attritional and tense. Although Chris Nicholas was Town’s outstanding runner, both sides had apparently abandoned all thought of scoring tries.

And then it happened.

The freak…

St Ives’ Paul Sweeney attempted a snap drop-goal, with his left foot. Paul Sweeney is actually right-footed. Mankee, doing what a good scrum-half does, attempted to charge it down.

Here’s Mankee:

if it wasn’t for me, [the kick] wouldn’t have gone over…

Indeed, Sweeney’s kick was such a dreadful shank that it was always missing the posts. However, the ball struck Mankee’s shoulder, and this impact somehow corrected its path. Mankee could only turn and watch in horror as the ball, guided by an unseen hand, floated over the crossbar. St Ives 7, Camborne 3.

Half an hour to play. In the dark.

In the crowd was Merrill Clymo, and he, like many a Camborne man, could barely believe what he’d seen either. He later described the drop-goal as a “freak” occurrence⁷.

Also in the crowd was a reporter for the Western Morning News. He described the kick as

…the luckiest drop-goal the fishermen are ever likely to see…

16th December, 1977. Courtesy Paul Sweeney

Durant kicks another penalty to make it 7-6. Dave Edwards, in an attempt to emulate Sweeney, tries a drop-goal with his left foot too. Edwards actually is left-footed. He misses. Edwards denies all knowledge of this today, though one imagines that, if his kick had been successful, he would wax lyrical on the memory.

Five minutes left. Camborne take the lead, 7-9, with a Nigel Pellowe penalty in front of the posts. Surely, this is the winning kick. Surely, nothing could deny Camborne now, could it?

It could.

Camborne conceded a penalty at a scrum, and then inadvertently failed to retire the requisite ten metres in time. The referee brought the penalty forward ten metres, and into the kicking range of the St Ives wing, Mike Rowe.

10-9, St Ives. Camborne only had themselves to blame. Watching events unfold on the bench was Jumbo Reed:

…we were really pissed off…we should’ve won that game…

But there was little time for analysis, or possible recriminations. Two days later, Newquay were travelling to the Rec.

Camborne make amends…⁸

Although the Packet tried to talk up Newquay’s performance, a 32-10 scoreline tells you all you need to know⁹.

David May, who that season was actually leading the Reserve XV, deputised for an injured Pellowe at full-back, but Town didn’t lack a cutting edge. May featured in several flowing moves and was unlucky not to score himself. As he himself put it:

…there was no weakness, even when players stepped up from the Seconds…

A dominant pack allowing Tanzi Lea at 10 to do what he does best – run the ball, anytime, anywhere – meant tries for wings Edwards and Nicholas, centre Colin Taylor, Mankee and Lea himself. Durant’s kicking was assured and Camborne were comfortable victors.

The other Centenary Season…

Like Camborne, 1977-78 was also Hayle RFC’s Centenary Season. Though runners-up to Falmouth in the 1976-7 CRFU Cup Final (which, Hayle’s Robert Tonkin remembers, they would have won had the normally deadly Dave O’Mahoney not missed a conversion), they

…didn’t fancy our chances so much in 77-78…three or four people retired and left us without a lot of experience…

Robert Tonkin, Hayle RFC

O’Mahoney was still playing, but long-serving 10 Dave Mungles had finished. When Camborne arrived at Memorial Park on Christmas Eve, the Hayle XV were fielding seven of their Reserves¹⁰.

Tonkin, normally a centre, had been moved to fly-half, and was up against Tanzi Lea. Tanzi Lea, behind a strong pack.

How to neutralise Camborne?

Hayle may have had a scratch XV but, like St Ives, they realised the importance of a gameplan against Camborne. You couldn’t expect to simply go toe-to-toe with the Town pack and win.

To beat Camborne, you had to play a way Camborne didn’t want to play. Like, for example, the St Ives method, hoisting bombs in the dark at Nigel Pellowe and making Town’s forwards track back. No forward likes the ball behind them.

Hayle’s approach was to play to their strength, which was having “a very mobile team”, Robert Tonkin remembers:

To neutralise the Camborne pack, Hayle would try to move them around the pitch…

In other words, tire Camborne out.

It didn’t work.

To dictate play to Camborne, or any XV, you must first win possession of the ball, and here Hayle were at fault. They couldn’t prise the ball off Camborne, with the ever-grafting Frank Butler a “conspicuous” thorn in their side¹¹.

Yet another blindside break by Mankee put Tanzi Lea in for a try – Robert Tonkin was delighted when I reminded him of this. Durant added three penalties to the conversion, and Bob Lees scored an opportunist’s try, from a “wild” Hayle pass¹².

Bob Lees…

Mr Reliable…

Bob Lees is a modest man, who doesn’t tend to paint too glamorous a picture of his rugby days. Listening to him, you may be guilty of wondering how he kept his place in the Camborne XV at all:

…I wasn’t too concerned with league positions…I just got on with my game…I was always a centre that played off others…I wasn’t creative…

This self-effacing style masks an independent and ambitious streak.

Chief Petty Officer Robert Lees, in fact, was the first Navy non-com permitted by the Fleet Air Arm at Culdrose to play senior rugby. To achieve this, he canvassed for permission from his Commanding Officer.

At first, he played for St Ives. However, a perceived preference for “locals” left Lees feeling that he wasn’t being given a fair go, so he joined Camborne, and quickly found his niche.

Lees’ playing experiences with the Navy found him well-prepared for the demands of Camborne’s Centenary Season. He was more than used

…to being up against classy opposition…

…and therefore not fazed by the challenges ahead.

His team-mates rapidly recognised his qualities. David May describes him as a

…quiet man with good pace, effective at centre or wing…

Jumbo Reed is also appreciative of his “hard running”, and the versatility that enabled him to play centre or wing.

Frank Butler goes into more detail. Bob was a

…most reliable rugby player…[with a] razor-sharp rugby brain…[who] always had plenty to say when discussing tactics…knew the game well and was never beaten…

Alan Truscott is more succinct. For him, Bob Lees was

Mr Reliable…

He certainly was. Bob made forty appearances for Camborne that season, scoring 15 tries. Though not, by his own admission, a playmaker (and therefore his preference was always for Tanzi Lea at 10), he knew where to be, what to do, and where the tryline was. Camborne needed its finishers, and Lees was definitely one of them.

‘Tis the Season to be Jolly…

Hayle 6, Camborne 19.

The players from both sides enjoyed a Christmas Eve at the nearby Penmare Hotel (a favoured nightspot that season). Robert Tonkin may have spent some of the evening wondering what Dickie Wells, the “main man” for pointing out any shortcomings among Camborne’s opposition, would say to him at Holman’s when he next clocked in.

For the moment, tomorrow was Christmas Day, and the players could look forward to some indulgent time at home with their families.

But maybe not too much. The day after, Boxing Day, was the date of the biggest, and one of the oldest, rugby clashes of the Cornish season.

Camborne are playing Redruth.

And you can read all about that in the Christmas Rugby Special, here…

Many thanks for reading

References

1. From that day’s Daily Mirror, p32, and West Briton, p1. For more on Penhaligon and the development of the A30, see: https://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=A30/History_-_Connecting_Cornwall
2. West Briton, December 8, 1977, p26
3. See the opening to Rugby Special ~ Part One here
4. See: https://www.stivesswrfc.co.uk/history
5. See: https://www.stivesswrfc.co.uk/history
6. The narrative is based on the report in the Packet, December 21, 1977.
7. From the programme notes to Camborne v Newquay Hornets, December 17, 1977.
8. From the Packet, December 21, 1977.
9. December 21, 1977.
10. West Briton, December 29, 1977, p14.
11. From the Packet, December 28, 1977.
12. From the Packet, December 28, 1977.

Reading time: 20 minutes

(If you missed Part Three, click here…)

As it was…

It’s Saturday, October 8, 1977. ’20 Golden Greats’, by Diana Ross and The Supremes, is about to enter its third week at the top of the album chart. Motorists will soon be liable to face breath tests in new drink-drive laws. Pin-ups of Angela Rippon’s legs, taken from the Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show, are banned by the BBC¹.

Once you cross the Tamar…

Camborne are hosting Torquay Athletic. They’ve had over a week, and two training sessions, to put their disappointing 3-3 draw against arch-rivals Redruth behind them. They’ve also had one post-training Thursday evening ‘discussion’ of the match at Tyack’s Hotel which, with its roster of live bands, was easily the best night of the week, according to Paul Ranford and Frank Butler.

(Dickie Bray, who organised the entertainment at Camborne’s clubhouse – which was David May’s preference too – may have disagreed.)

Torquay would not be easy opponents. The ‘Tics’ hooker, Colin Rylance, told me that at that time his club had a “very good team”. Indeed. The next season, 1978-9, Torquay would win the Devon Senior Cup, for only the second time in its history². Merrill Clymo, in his programme notes for the fixture, acknowledged Torquay as one of the leading Devon clubs.

Plus, as Robert Mankee observed,

…once you cross the Tamar, they’re that little bit fitter…

Notable absences…

Fly-half Steve Floyd had returned to college. Wings Michael Eddy and Barry Wills were both injured; although Wills didn’t know it yet, he was out for the rest of the season. Bobby Tonkin and Chris Durant were on County duty. Number 8 Chris Lane was also unavailable.

How did the team look?

Bob Lees retained his position at centre, but by his own admission he was “never a creative player”, more of a finisher. Camborne had yet to find the ideal partner for Colin Taylor, who was an “excellent” inside centre, said Alan Truscott.

On the right wing was Chris Nicholas, a player Truscott describes as “big hearted, and deceptively quick”. On the left was Dave Edwards, a Cornwall U23, but only making his first appearance of the season.

Tanzi Lea slotted in at 10; although a flair player and very classy, he admitted his preferred spot was full-back.

Jumbo Reed came into the front row, with Michael Woods moving to lock. Richard Thomas, a County cap, got the nod at 8.

Nigel Pellowe assumed the captaincy he had relinquished last season.

And had a Captain’s match…

The Tics arrived with a big pack; on the day bigger than Camborne’s, and put it to good use³. All the early running was from the visitors, but Mankee and Butler tackled like demons. When the ball went wide, Pellowe was on hand to do what he does best, organising the cover and putting in the crucial hits himself.

Merrill Clymo was watching that day, and reckoned Pellowe’s play was

…a joy to watch as he turns defence into attack, and his tackling of the wings in full flight were of international class.

From the programme notes, Camborne v Newton Abbot, October 15, 1977

The early storm weathered, Town gradually took control. With Lea at 10, any possession was likely to be put to attacking use, and so it proved.

After 20 minutes, Mankee touched down in the corner, thanks to (you’ve guessed it) a break on the blind-side.

More slick movement in the threequarters led to a try for Chris Nicholas, which Pellowe hoofed over from way out on the touchline. The crowd must have loved that.

Camborne weren’t done yet, with Michael Woods crashing over from a line-out. Camborne 14, Torquay 4.

Town were back.

Camborne go storming on…

This, wrote the Packet, was

…a great performance…

October 12, 1977

Merrill Clymo went one better:

Camborne go storming on. Even though it was necessary to restructure the side…the cream of Devon was well and truly whipped…

From the programme notes, Camborne v Newton Abbot, October 15, 1977

They’d beaten one of the best in Devon, without several key players. It must have given the club as a whole great reassurance. With a fixture list in excess of fifty matches, clearly absences through injuries or otherwise were inevitable, and the squad needed strength in depth.

Alan Truscott’s intense pre-season work was paying off; plus, if a place in the Centenary XV was up for grabs, you could guarantee a fight to claim it. Clymo, writing in the same programme as above, praised Truscott, and his “second”, Frank Butler…

A Great Rugby Man…

Along with David May, Frank was integral in setting up the mini/junior section at Camborne – one of the first in Cornwall. May recalls the first session, arriving at the Rec with four assistants, and four balls:

A huge host of youngsters arrived…over a 100! Quite a shock I can tell you…

Frank’s involvement with grassroots rugby didn’t end there. From 1991-2002, he was the CRFU’s Youth Development Officer, and

…produced some of the finest players in the County…

said Malcolm Bennetts. One of them was Phil Vickery. After that, he ran the Bath RFC Academy for ten years – longer than any other coach, Frank told me. Then, from 2012-2020, he covered Dorset and Wiltshire as the England Rugby Community Coach, leaving a positive impression wherever he worked.

As a player, Frank judged his strength to be

…doing all the work on the ground so the big boys could have the ball…

In those days, you could play the ball on the ground, whilst off your feet, but Frank’s ball-winning role wasn’t for the fainthearted. Being

…kicked and raked…

or worse, was part of the game.

Butler’s unsung yet vital style was recognised by his team-mates. For example, David May observed that he

Linked the backs to the forwards so effectively…

Jumbo Reed noted how he

…read the game well and was a great tackler…

Alan Truscott and Nigel Pellowe acknowledged his intelligence and all-round rugby nous.

Bob Lees, Paul Ranford, Barry Wills and, later, Dave Edwards might have scored the tries. Pellowe, Durant, Mankee and Tonkin might have made the crowds cheer, and grabbed the headlines. But tries can’t be scored, matches can’t be won, and fans won’t cheer, unless you have the ball – and getting the ball was Frank Butler’s special talent.

On his retirement in 2020, the verdict of one club he worked with said it all. Frank was a

Great rugby man…⁴

*

Camborne won the next seven games in a row.

Next over the Tamar, on the 15th, were Newton Abbot. With Tonkin and Durant back, Town handed them a 52-3 drubbing. No matter that Nigel Pellowe was unavailable; Graham Johns deputised at 15, and got on the scoresheet with a try. Frank Butler demonstrated a little-known facet of his game in kicking three conversions.

On the 22nd, in a Merit Table game, Camborne travelled to unfancied St Austell. Even The Saints’ captain, prop Simon Woolnough, admitted their underdog status:

…St Austell weren’t long a senior side…

Woolnough would also know what his men were up against: he’d played for Camborne from 1967 until the mid-1970s. He also has the dubious record of being sent off nine times in his career. In fact, he’s the only person I know who rates himself tougher than Jock Denholm – which is saying something.

His team were tough too. Though unlikely to win, they were hard to beat, and

…defended dourly…

Packet, October 26, 1977

But no matter. Even without the services of Tonkin and Durant again, Camborne won 9-23, running in four tries. Dave Edwards scored his first of the season.

Town then had a week off, and on November 5, played St Bartholomew’s Hospital, down from London. Confidence was so high that Merrill Clymo blithely likened the fixture to a practice game:

…today’s game will help to sharpen the team for their trips to Newquay and Penzance…

Qtd from the Camborne v St Bart’s match programme, November 5, 1977

Robert Mankee missed out, giving a rare opportunity to the Reserves’ 9, Paul ‘Rafie’ Hamblin. His performance was “outstanding”, and, as such a “talented player”,

…does not always get the chances his play deserves…

Packet, November 9, 1977

Dave Edwards agrees: Hamblin “never got the credit, or the recognition”, he told me.

Indeed, Rafie even out-Mankee’d Mankee, setting up a try for Lea with a 35-yard break. With Ranford bossing things up front, Camborne strolled home 38-3.

Back to the Merit Table, and a trip to Newquay Hornets on November 12. Mankee was back, and typically reasserted his #1 status with a

…brilliant try…

Packet, November 16, 1977

Things were rounded off with another score by Edwards, following a

…magnificent movement…

Packet, November 16, 1977

4-16, Camborne.

Next up, Camborne travelled to Penzance. They hadn’t beaten The Pirates at Mennaye Field since 1959, and were soon 9-0 down.

No matter. A Tanzi Lea break put in Chris Nicholas, Durant slammed over the conversion, and Pellowe drew the scores level with a penalty.

Pellowe then laid the Mennaye ghost to rest with a last-minute drop goal.

9-12, Camborne⁵.

The Severnsiders…

Lydney, like Camborne, is a rugby town. The sign that greets you as you enter its outskirts off the A48 tells you that, yes, this is The Home of Lydney RFC.

The Severnsiders had beaten Camborne last season, and were on the verge of becoming a formidable John Player Cup team⁶.

Camborne were without Mankee, Butler, and Paul Ranford, who was attending his sister’s wedding. The St Ives’ scrum-half, Paul Sweeney, was about to become his brother-in-law.

Rafie Hamblin, supersub, was also unavailable, and Camborne called on the services of Lanner’s centre, John Dunstan, to play at 9⁷.

No matter.

In a “storming” performance, Camborne won 19-14. Town were in “top gear” from the word go, and though Lydney fought back, tries by Chris Nicholas and Richard Thomas were enough.

Truro must have hated playing Camborne that season. Their Merit Table season was going nowhere, and they’d conceded 67 points in the sides’ first fixture back in September. This was not going to be a game from which they could rebuild their fortunes.

Truro were hammered, 58-9. Colin Taylor, Paul Ranford, Chris Nicholas and Dave Edwards took a brace of tries each. And Camborne did most of the damage with only 14 men, when the unfortunate Rafie Hamblin went off injured⁸.

Complete togetherness…

The unbeaten run was brought to an end on December 10 by a Cambridge University team fresh from their Varsity Match, and featuring the England full-back Alastair Hignell. Even then, it was close: 13-16.

If the above headline is anything to go by, no-one seemed to care.

Camborne had played 18 games, winning 14, drawing one and losing three. They’d scored 500 points, and conceded only 135. The try tally stood at an imposing 85.

Their strength in depth must have been as frightening as the beatings they regularly handed out. As David May said, this was a squad that played with

…complete togetherness…

Asst. Treasurer Terry Symons pointed out that the

club spirit…formed the nucleus of the side…

If a player missed out, his replacement would selflessly give his all. There was no jealousy emanating from the Reserves toward the Chiefs, said Chris Durant. It’s the Centenary Season. We’re in this together…

On the flipside, however, as Bob Lees observed, maintaining fitness was paramount for 1st XV players. Any injury could see you lose your place.

The scorelines and figures we’ve seen also rather give the lie to the notion that the Camborne team of the late 1970s was just a massive pack, with little else.

Clearly, under the right circumstances, and with a fly-half possessing a touch of the flamboyant, such as Tanzi Lea or Steve Floyd, Camborne could be rampant when on top.

Top of the Merit Table clash…

Beating Redruth (which Camborne had yet to do), might mean you

…were treated like heroes in work for a week…

according to Jumbo Reed. Playing such luminaries as Pontypridd, Crawshay’s, Cambridge Uni, and Devon’s best, Torquay, might have given Camborne RFC much status and prestige.

But, if the Centenary XV wanted some silverware to show for their efforts – in other words, to be the undisputed best in Cornwall – they had to beat one team. And this would be a “top of the Merit Table clash”, wrote Merrill Clymo⁹, against…

St Ives.

No matter…

Read all about the outcome in Rugby Special ~ Part Five here…

Many thanks for reading

References

1. According to that day’s Daily Mirror, p1 and 3.
2. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon_RFU_Senior_Cup. Of course, Torquay would win it a third time in the 2006-7 season.
3. The main narrative of the match is taken from the Packet, October 12, 1977.
4. See: https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/chippenham/news/frank-butler–the-retirement-of-a-great-rugby-man-2572185.html, and https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/7205325.frank-lands-top-job-at-bath-rfc/. The very first intake of the Camborne Minis included such notable players and clubmen as Martin and Michael Symons, Jon Polglase, Tommy Adams, Adrian and Graham Smith, Andy Bartle, Mark Warren, and Andrew Middleton.
5. From the Packet, 23 November 1977
6. From Merrill Clymo’s Camborne v Lydney programme notes, November 26, 1977, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydney_Rugby_Football_Club
7. From the Packet‘s match report, November 30, 1977. The reactions to the game are taken from here also.
8. According to the West Briton, December 8, 1977, p26
9. From the Camborne v Cambridge University programme notes, December 10, 1977

Reading time: 20 minutes

(If you missed Part Two, click here…)

Football has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting.

George Orwell, ‘The Sporting Spirit’, from Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays, Penguin, 2003. Obviously, substitute ‘football’ for ‘rugby’…

…the first twenty minutes of any Merit Table game…was war…

Robert Mankee

As it was…

It’s Thursday, September 29, 1977. Muhammad Ali beats Earnie Shavers over 15 rounds at Madison Square Garden to retain the World Heavyweight Crown. Bianca Jagger publicly denies having an affair with Rod Stewart¹. The UK’s largest tin mine, South Crofty, forecasts a pre-tax profit of £4 million for that financial year².

But none of that matters a damn. Camborne are playing Redruth.

The Game of all Games…

The rivalry, jealousy, competition, suspicion and one-upmanship between Camborne and Redruth had existed for time out of mind. If one settlement was seen to prosper from its beneficial proximity to Cornwall’s industrial and mining heartland, the other felt itself sulkily hard done-by. If Camborne had a fire brigade, why not Redruth? (Unsurprisingly, the two services disliked each other³.) If Camborne was the proud possessor of a prestigious science and art school, well, should Redruth not have its own⁴? To presumably avoid any claims to superiority, both Camborne and Redruth’s free libraries were actually declared open on the same day⁵.

Such rivalry naturally extended to the recreational sphere.

Why, asked a local journalist in September 1877, hasn’t Camborne got a rugby team?

…after all, Redruth have got one…

qtd in Tom Salmon’s The First Hundred Years: The Story of Rugby Football in Cornwall, CRFU, 1983, p41

And the rest, as they say, is history. It was inevitable that the rugby teams of Camborne and Redruth would compete with each other, and, on Boxing Day 1877, Cornwall’s oldest annual sporting fixture was born⁶:

(More will be written on the importance of the Boxing Day matches in due course.)

Thousands would turn up to watch the sporting representatives of the two towns battle to claim bragging rights over the other; sometimes however over-exuberance marred the possibility of an outcome. In 1926, the fifth Camborne-Redruth match of that season was called to a premature halt due to constant fighting between players and spectators, after three participants had been sent off⁷.

At other times, the fixture failed to live up to its own hype. In April 1977, when the BBC’s Rugby Special crew, fronted by Nigel Starmer-Smith, came to the Rec to film the Camborne-Redruth Merit Table game, it was billed as ‘The Granite Men of Cornwall’. (I’m going on hearsay here; the original recordings were sadly wiped.) Dave Edwards described the game as “crap”, and Malcolm Bennetts said it was a

…rubbish match…no fights…must have been the most boring match ever on the BBC…

Camborne lost, 3-7, and may have suffered stage-fright. At one point, when Town had a penalty, Bob Lees exhorted Chris Durant to not

…bleddy kick the penalty, run it, we’re on bleddy TV…

Durant opted to kick. At least Camborne got on the scoreboard.

All of which brings us nicely back to 1977. After the County Council’s controversial amalgamation of Camborne and Redruth in the 1930s⁸, and the further formation of Kerrier District Council in 1974, the “long-standing” rivalry

…nowadays finds its outlet mainly on the cricket and rugby fields.

West Briton, July 28, 1983, p20

Dave Edwards recalls that the sporting cognoscenti of Camborne “disliked Redruth”, and vice versa. Banter at Crofty, Holmans and Maxam often spilled over into “raw animosity”, he said. This isn’t particularly surprising, when you recall that such establishments employed almost every working man “in a 10 mile radius”, according to Jumbo Reed.

Spectators at the matches rivalled in numbers what you would expect for County fixtures, Robert Mankee told me, and they

…bleddy hated each other…

said Chris Durant. They weren’t overly keen on opposition players either. Paul Ranford, who otherwise treated the clash as any other game, endured a lot of verbal abuse from the Redruth faithful, and

…I also had a couple of encounters when coming off the field…I never experienced that at any other club.

(Any ‘encounter’ involving Paul Ranford in such a situation is likely to be brief, and physical.)

My uncle John, an ardent Town fan, always closed his eyes whenever travelling through Redruth – which wasn’t often. Another Camborne supporter never watched a game in Redruth; he refused to enter the ground. Redruth man Phil Meyers’ favourite jibe was that his team’s strip was coloured red on account of all the Camborne blood spilt.

In contrast, Malcolm Bennetts had an uncle who never ate a red apple, nor entertained the notion of having them in his home. Another married couple (husband, Camborne, wife, Redruth) would watch derbies with their fellow supporters, rather than with each other.

Camborne men were jealous of Redruth RFC’s status in Cornwall, believed Dave Edwards, and their fans would assert that Redruth was

…the spiritual home of Cornish rugby and the Cornwall team…¹¹

From a young age, Edwards continues, Camborne players had the significance of the fixture drilled into them. The Colts coach, Brian Bray,

…instilled in everyone that Redruth was the ultimate enemy…

Understandably, then, a Camborne-Redruth rugby match was an occasion to savour, the “most important” fixture, said Jumbo Reed. Chris Durant, for one,

…wouldn’t miss it for the world…

To play, and beat, Redruth, Frank Butler recalls,

…meant everything…

Malcolm Bennetts remembers

The buzz and excitement to run out of either tunnel to a crowd of 2-3,000 spectators cheering – unbelievable…

Robert Mankee confesses that such big clashes served to bring out his inner showman (something that lurks close to the surface with Mankee anyway). He also put it best. Camborne versus Redruth was

The game of all games…

Who’s in, who’s out..?

This was the game, said Chris Durant, that everyone wanted to be picked for. Steve Floyd remembers walking down Trelowarren Street to the little noticeboard on the wall of Lloyd’s Bank, where the teamsheets were displayed, and always felt

…very proud…

to see his name there. Likewise Malcolm Bennetts always felt a special “buzz” knowing he’d been picked. Conversely, Jumbo Reed told me that to not be selected left him feeling

…f___king hellish…

And he wouldn’t have been happy with the make-up of the Camborne XV for this match either. Jock Denholm was unavailable, but the selectors had gone with another Navy man, Michael Woods, at prop. Jumbo would have found this bitter news to swallow.

In the days leading up to the match, team selection and form would have been exhaustively discussed underground, on the shop-floor, and in local taverns…

Would Camborne miss Denholm? That’s still pretty much a first-choice pack…Steve Floyd’s at 10, been kicking points for fun and releasing the backs well…is Bob Lees out of position at centre? Taylor’s so solid…Wills is currently unstoppable…Eddy’s had a hat-trick already…how d’you get past Pellowe…bleddy hell…

For Redruth, prop Terry Pryor was hitting the form of his life: in 1978, he was on the bench for England in two Five Nations matches, would represent the Barbarians, and skipper England B on a tour of Romania¹². Malcolm Bennetts rated Phil Angove “the best, and hardest” scrummager he ever played against. Paul Ranford remembers locks Dave Parsons and Derek Collins as “good guys” and fierce competitors. Yet, for all Redruth’s power up front, Nigel Pellowe reckons Camborne were “not bothered” by any threat posed.

Outside, Frank Butler reckoned 10 Brett Pedley caused him the “most trouble”, though his fellow-flanker David Kingston said he was “easy”. David May recalls their threequarters

…were always being touted as brilliant, but I can’t remember fearing them or ever being bettered by them.

That said, centre Nick Brokenshire was an England colt. And Nigel Pellowe respected his opposite number Mike Downing who, as the man himself will doubtless tell you, was appearing in one of his 36 career derbies, and wouldn’t be phased by anyone. Brian Harvey on the wing was pushing Barry Wills hard for his County spot¹³. And David May wasn’t picked.

On paper, maybe Camborne had the edge overall.

Form guide…

As we saw last week, Town were on fire¹⁴. They’d won 6 of their first 8 games, notching up 252 points and conceding only 61. Along the way, they’d dished out some fearful beatings – just ask Truro. In their last three fixtures, they’d scored 135 points – unanswered. Their two losses had been at the hands of Welsh XVs – Pontypridd and Crawshay’s – who boasted international class wherever you looked. And they’d only just lost to Ponty, no matter what Chris Durant says.

Plus, this would be Camborne’s first Merit Table game of the season, and a good start was imperative.

Although they had recently racked up 76 points against St Austell, with a record 42 of those from the wing John Harvey, Redruth had lost their last three matches. This included a 16-10 defeat by Newquay Hornets, and a brief tour to the Black Country to lose against Stourbridge and Wolverhampton¹⁵.

However, as the Redruth match programme for the big game is at pains to point out, the team that lost to the Hornets was “very weakened”, and the touring team was “similarly depleted”.

In other words, Redruth in their own back yard, against Camborne, was a different beast than Redruth anywhere else.

For all that, you’d have to start Camborne as favourites. But it won’t do to predict sport. This, after all, is the derby match in Cornwall, and it’s what you do on the day that counts. Plus, as Dave Edwards reminds us,

During the Centenary, Redruth will have wanted to ruin celebrations, whereas Camborne really needed to better the ‘auld enemy’ to justify the Centenary.

A Centenary Season wouldn’t be a Centenary Season unless you stuffed Redruth.

Grandstand…

Both sides had pre-game setbacks. Terry Pryor pulled out with a rib injury, with John Kitto replacing. Camborne lost Michael Eddy, and played Tanzi Lea out of position on the wing – his daring, creative style may have been put to better use further infield.

Steve Floyd, ever studious, put in “several hours” of kicking practice the evening before the match. Preparations had been made. Tactics discussed. Several thousand people were packed into the Redruth ground, anticipating an exciting affair. The teams were on the pitch, pawing the turf, sizing each other up, geeing each other up. The talk stops here. The referee blew his whistle. The ‘game of all games’ was underway¹⁶.

It must have been a dour affair. After an hour’s play, the scores were locked at 0-0. Knock-ons and fluffed passes were “prevalent”, according to the West Briton¹⁷.

There were other, more glaring, errors.

Steve Floyd, for all his place-kicking diligence, must have left his boots at home. Three crucial penalty kicks were missed.

Chris Durant, sensing his 10 was having an off-night, opted to take a fourth penalty kick himself, but he was equally unsuccessful.

Things weren’t any prettier elsewhere on the field. Wills and Harvey, billed as the ultimate wing match-up, barely saw the ball, and Tanzi Lea must have been equally wasted.

Downing and Pellowe, who knew the other’s games as well as their own, practically cancelled each other out. The ‘papers gave the verdict on the night to Downing.

And so it was elsewhere, for sixty minutes or so of gridlock. If, for example, Durant and Ranford had the edge in the lineouts, John Kitto made the most of his opportunity to spoil possession.

Frank Butler’s problems with Brett Pedley persisted, as the Redruth fly-half made several breaks, but himself failed to capitalise on them, and his threequarters must have seen as much of the ball as Camborne’s did.

Defeat facing them…

On the hour, Camborne gave away a kickable penalty. With Floyd possibly still ruing his missed chances, John Harvey made no such error. 3-0, Redruth. Hellfire Corner was suddenly the place to be.

This served to slap Town out of their stupor and,

…with defeat facing them at last, [Camborne] let the ball go and several bouts of handling moves gave the crowd something to cheer about.

Packet, October 5, 1977

Paul Ranford came close, perhaps from Camborne’s ‘double diamond’ move (obviously named after the popular lager): Floyd would switch-pass with Colin Taylor at centre, who in turn would switch with Ranford, changing the angle, thundering through the middle, at full gas. It was often a successful ploy, but not tonight. Ranford was brought down short.

Robert Mankee, ever alert for a blind-side break (and the opportunity for some solo heroics), saw his chance and took it. The crowd (or, at least, those from Camborne in the crowd) rose to their feet and hollered him on, as he gloriously scorched over the try-line…

But the linesman’s flag was raised. ‘Mank’ had put a boot in touch. The linesman was in fact Merrill Clymo, Camborne’s own General Secretary, who wrote that he was later “congratulated” by many Redruth clubmen for this “sporting” gesture. Clymo was far from flattered:

Is there anything in the laws of Rugby Football which allows one not to put his flag up when the player is in touch..?

Merrill Clymo, qtd in his programme notes for Camborne v Torquay Athletic, October 8, 1977

In short, Clymo was aghast that it had been assumed he would cheat, and keep his flag down.

Things were getting desperate. With minutes left, Floyd attempted a drop-goal, which struck the posts. Camborne’s pack rushed to regain the ball, and Redruth obstructed. The referee awarded Camborne a penalty, ten yards from goal.

Floyd didn’t miss this time. 3-3. And so it stayed.

Honours even…

Merrill Clymo disagreed:

Like it or not, this was a setback for Camborne, a throwback to the previous season, where four of their Merit Table fixtures had ended in draws.

It was not the rugby expected of a Centenary Year XV in a local derby. A possible match-up in the CRFU Cup notwithstanding, Town had the return Merit Table game, on Boxing Day, and an end-of-season finale, to make good. Redruth must have been delighted, and relishing further opportunities to spoil the party.

It was also Barry Wills’ last game for Camborne that season. Several days later, playing for Cornwall against the USA, he sustained a serious knee injury, obviously a “great loss” to the squad, said Merrill Clymo¹⁸.

Steve Floyd returned to Loughborough. He’d had a game to forget, and was criticised in the press for standing “too deep” at 10.

He was better than that.

The Marcus Smith of his day…

Still only 20 in 1977 (and playing for Cornwall U21s as well as Loughborough), Floyd had made his 1st XV debut at 17. He was still seen as the “baby” of the side, Alan Truscott told me, and Camborne looked after its young talent. Steve recalls his debut game, where he was badly raked on the head by the opposition:

…the first person to check I was OK was Paul Ranford. He wasn’t happy…

And an unhappy Paul Ranford is bad news for the opposition. Despite his youth, he quickly asserted his authority at 10, marshalling the game, calling the shots, and establishing himself as the first-choice goal-kicker. His team-mates were certainly impressed. Frank Butler noted that Floyd had a

Good eye for the game and a very reliable right boot…

His coach, Alan Truscott, marked him as a

Clever fly-half, good goal-kicker and distributor. Became an excellent first team regular…

David May is even more fulsome in praise. Floyd was the

Marcus Smith of his day. Great footballer, overflowing with flair and natural talent. Could have played at the top…

It’s a shame, then, that due to University commitments, his appearances were limited that season. As he himself says, “it wasn’t to be”.

As for his perceived fault of standing too deep, on reflection it’s apparent that Floyd was an all-round fly-half, arguably Camborne’s most complete 10 at the time, and had an eye for creating chances on the outside. That Cornish – and Camborne’s – rugby of the era was pack-dominated and relatively flair-free, is not his fault.

Weakened..?

Camborne had over a week to put this fixture behind them. Up next was Torquay Athletic, a “leading” Devon club, wrote Merrill Clymo in that game’s programme.

He also noted that Camborne were “weakened”, with Chris Durant and Bobby Tonkin on County duty, both Floyd and lock Ian Moreton back at college, and Wills injured.

Were Camborne about to falter?

Luckily, wing Dave Edwards, a Cornwall U23, had belatedly made himself available…

Find out how it went in Rugby Special ~ Part Four here…

Many thanks for reading

References

1. According to that day’s Daily Mirror, p3
2. West Briton, September 29, 1977, p1
3. Cornish Post and Mining News, November 19, 1892, p4, and the Cornish Telegraph, April 5, 1906, p6
4. Royal Cornwall Gazette, October 5, 1883, p6
5. Western Evening Herald, May 18, 1895, p4
6. It has been erroneously claimed that the Boxing Day clash is the oldest rugby fixture in the world; in fact, two Scottish clubs assert that their fixture is older. See: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/sport/10915517.three-generations-of-rodda-family-on-hand-to-see-camborne-claim-roddas-milk-cup/, and https://www.heraldscotland.com/default_content/12765683.oldest-rugby-match-celebrates-150-years/
7. See the Western Morning News, March 15, 1926, p2, and https://bernarddeacon.com/2021/04/13/camborne-versus-redruth-regrettable-scenes/
8. The amalgamation was initially opposed by an “overwhelming” majority of Camborne and Redruth residents. See: Cornish Guardian, October 19, 1933, p12, and the Cornishman, November 30, 1933, p2
9. From: https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/19253922.camborne-rfc-awarded-funds-grandstand-renovation/
10. From: https://www.heartofconflict.org.uk/rugby-at-the-front-redruth-rugby-club/
11. From: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22971142@N06/26678810273
12. See: https://www.redruthrugbyclub.co.uk/news/terry-pryor–rip-2525196.html
13. According to the Packet, October 5, 1977
14. See Rugby Special ~ Part Two here.
15. See the West Briton, September 15, 1977, p2, September 22, p5, and September 29, p26
16. The main narrative of the match is taken from the Packet, October 5, 1977
17. October 6, 1977, p26
18. From his programme notes for Camborne v Torquay Athletic, October 8, 1977, also the West Briton, October 6, 1977, p26

Reading time: 25 minutes

(If you missed Part One, click here…)

As it was…

It’s Saturday, September 3, 1977. There’s a Labour government in power. The Number One single that week was Elvis Presley’s ‘Way Down’. There’s only three television channels. The BBC’s sports flagship Grandstand is fronted by Frank Bough.

Camborne RFC’s opening game of their Centenary Season is against the County President’s Select XV.

And Camborne were primed. Coach Alan Truscott and RN fitness instructor Barry Wills (Come on fellas…) had whipped the squad into dynamite shape. The thought of that fixture list, featuring clashes against the best in the land, had upped the ante.

A wooden scrummaging machine, knocked together by David Kingston, had been reduced to kindling. (This was the era before the famous ‘Rhino’ designs; the RFU had provided building instructions for interested clubs.) Truscott reckons the contraption took a single, brutal hit from Camborne’s massive pack to be demolished. Kingston, prickly at this perceived slight against his skills as a joiner, claims they wrung six months of use from his creation. (I am devastated that no photograph of this machine was taken.)

Either way, pre-season training was over. Time for the real thing.

Who impressed the selectors..?

The game was, in effect, a County trial, with CRFU President Arthur Pill and his phalanx of selectors joining a full house to view proceedings. Indeed, the XV Pill named featured seven capped men: Redruth’s Dave Parsons (lock) and Nick Brokenshire (centre), Hayle’s Gary Trewartha (hooker) and no. 9 David Mungles, Falmouth’s no. 8 David Muirhead, the Penzance-Newlyn flanker Peter Trudgeon, and, as skipper, the formidable St Ives lock, Roger Corin¹.

The rivalry between Corin and his fiery Camborne opposite number, Paul Ranford, was such that Ranford could usually expect a pre-match message from him. Corin would pass it down the line that

…he was going to whack me one…

As Paul tells it, “I always got in first…”

For their part, Camborne were not short of County experience either. Captain Chris Durant, his fellow lock Paul Ranford, prop Bobby Tonkin, and 15 Nigel Pellowe had all been capped. Besides this, scrum-half Robert Mankee was in the Cornwall U23 squad.

Plus, David Kingston rated wing Michael ‘Jed’ Eddy as “outstanding in Cornwall”, and Mankee reckoned centre Colin Taylor unlucky not to win a cap.

For all their firepower, lack of time together told for the Select XV, with Camborne winning 12-7. The clinching score, remembers Dave Edwards (who was in the crowd that day, still finishing the cricket season), was made by an interception from Colin Taylor. Taylor “would always” be alert for such an opportunity, said Edwards, and “poor alignment” from the opposition threequarters gifted him the chance².

Curiously, it wasn’t Taylor, or Camborne’s much-rated pack, that shone that day. In early scrums the Town front row of Bobby Tonkin, Malcolm Bennetts and Jock Denholm found themselves inexplicably shunted around, a sight that was to get rarer and rarer as the season wore on. No, with Steve Floyd at 10, Camborne could play a running game, and it was wing Barry Wills that “impressed the selectors”, scoring a try³.

Indeed, Wills was immediately selected for Cornwall; Jock Denholm and Robert Mankee had to wait until 1979 to wear black and gold⁴.

The result, said Frank Butler, put down a marker. It was a chance

…to show who we were…

The ‘Barbarians’ of Wales…

That’s how Bob Lees described Captain Crawshay’s Welsh XV, who Camborne took on four days after beating the President’s side.

This was a fixture steeped in history, an occasion to celebrate the traditional camaraderie and sporting ethos of rugby. Captain Geoffrey Crawshay’s (1892-1954) touring sides always featured international and rising Welsh talent, and they always played a fast, entertaining game.

Crawshay’s had visited and played Camborne, with a brief interlude for war, between 1923 and 1964, when Cornwall took over the fixture⁵. Now, in the year of Camborne’s Centenary, they were back, fielding a team to savour:

Merrill Clymo, Camborne’s Hon. General Secretary, wrote the notes for the programmes whilst working at a local solicitors. (So dedicated was he to Camborne RFC, that his daughter Sally recalls many a Sunday morning spent helping him clean the changing rooms.) Clymo was clearly most effusive about the game:

No one seems to have told the players any of this…

If you don’t shut your f_____g mouth…

Crawshay’s 15, David Gullick, (who was invited to tour by dint of a father who was born in, and played for, Pontypool), told me that his club side Orrell were a

…tough team, but nothing like this…

The Crawshay’s skipper, Wales flanker Clive Burgess, was known as ‘The Steel Claw’ or, more simply, ‘The Animal’⁶. Apart from Orrell’s Gullick, and Cambridge Blue Eddie Butler, these were all hard-working men from the Valleys, up against a bunch of hard-working men from Cornwall.

David Kingston recalls only a few instances about the game, which is hardly surprising: he was so concussed that he turned to Nigel Pellowe and said

…I’m seeing two balls…get us my glasses…

Pellowe, who knew a thing or two about people being scat silly, wisely told Kingston to leave the field of play.

Elsewhere, Robert Mankee was getting no end of grief from his opposite number, Bridgend’s Gerald Williams.

One of the few things Kingston does remember is that Williams was “full of himself”, and kept stamping on Mankee’s toes at scrummages, amongst other things. Mankee says he was all talk, and warned him that

If you don’t shut your f_____g mouth…

he could expect repercussions. Williams apparently told Mankee to “F__k off”. Both Kingston and Malcolm Bennetts concur that Mankee

…never warned anyone three times…

…and so it came to pass. At a scrum on Camborne’s 22, in the corner by the turnstile, said Bennetts, an incensed Mankee suddenly

…let rip and punched Williams that hard he split his eye…

Or, as Mankee describes it, he split Williams’ face

…from his eye-socket to his nostril…

Legend will tell you, dear reader, that the sound of Mankee’s right hook making good its connection was heard in the packed grandstand…on the opposite side of the ground.

Williams fell away, blood pouring from between his fingers, and was stretchered off to Treliske for stitches.

Malcolm Bennetts:

There was hellup, the Crawshay’s players wanted to rip Mank’s head off…

Clive ‘Steel Claw’ Burgess instantly, and loudly, demanded vengeance on Mankee. Chris Durant, sensing yet more carnage, advised Mankee to move to the relative safety of the wing, to which Mankee is alleged to have replied,

…I’m not a f_____g winger! I ain’t ‘fraid…bring it on!

(He did, however, accept the sage advice of Frank Butler: “whatever you do, Mank, don’t go on the ground…” Butler knew the only law that existed on the deck was the law of the jungle.)

At the next line-out, said David Kingston, Camborne’s pack all stood in front of Mankee and stared the Crawshay’s men down. Burgess, Kingston told me, “dropped it”.

David Gullick remembers it differently. Crawshay’s, he said, “dealt with” Mankee, “later on…”

A lot of skullduggery…

Where, you may ask, was the referee in all this? Mankee wasn’t sent off, but a penalty was awarded to Crawshay’s. Paul Ranford told me that, in the 1970s, referees “were poor”. Dave Edwards identifies one in particular who was so afraid of Bobby Tonkin that Bobby would virtually “referee the game for him”…in Camborne’s favour.

Terry Symons, then the club’s Asst. Treasurer, and blessed with a memory of Camborne rugby stretching back to the days of John Rockett and Gary Harris, says this was a time when

…a lot of skullduggery went on…

Which is rather like saying that a lot of drinking goes on inside a pub⁷. Paul Ranford freely admits rugby players at the time “were no angels”, and weak refereeing meant a lot of violence went unpunished. It’s important to bear this in mind for later in the season.

Incidentally, Crawshay’s won, 18-30, with great Welsh threequarter hope Pat Daniels (he was to join Cardiff in 1978⁸) wowing the crowd with searing breaks, though it was Gullick who Frank Butler remembers “cutting us up” that afternoon. Although Camborne “played very tight”, reckons Gullick, Barry Wills scored what David Kingston described as an “excellent” try.

If hospitality was somewhat lacking on the pitch, this was made up for after the match with, the Neath hooker Pat Langford recalls, a guided tour of Port Navas Oyster Farm. In the South Terrace Clubhouse, however, Robert Mankee and Gerald Williams had little to say to each other.

Camborne moved on.

Bobby Tonkin ~ The Smiling Assassin…

Two days later, on the evening of Friday the 9th, Camborne ran in ten tries against Bournemouth, winning 56-9. Faced with obviously lesser opposition than Crawshay’s, and with the expansive Tanzi Lea at fly-half, Town ran amok. Such sides were meat and drink to the Camborne pack in general (who were described as “magnificent”⁹), and prop Bobby Tonkin in particular, who scored a hat-trick.

Bobby Tonks had it all, in the opinion of Alan Truscott:

…excellent ball skills, good scrummager, and, for a prop, an excellent goal kick…comfortable with ball in hand.

If ever he smelt fear on an opponent – or a referee – Bobby could dominate a game, as Bournemouth, and many others, discovered to their cost. He was a hit with the crowds, and a darling of the press: “well respected”, reckoned Bob Lees.

Tonkin was a “big man, with a big personality”, Jumbo Reed told me, adding

…he either liked you, or he didn’t…

Conversely, and like many other big men with big personalities, you either “liked Bobby, or you didn’t”, reckoned Terry Symons. Either way, he was vital to Camborne’s success, with countless attacks from the line-out, for example the ‘1234’ move. Chris Durant would catch at the front, and feed to Bobby, who would be peeling round the short-side, bullocking forward, body low, chin out, on the rampage. Malcolm Bennetts would grab the opposition hooker and pull him into the line, creating a gap for Bobby to pop-pass to Paul Ranford, who would sprint through to score. Such were his ball skills, said David May, that Bobby was “ahead of his time”, inasmuch that he was often to be found in the threequarters, eyeing up an opposition centre,

…like a smiling assassin.

He must have been a hell of a player.

Never a bleddy try…

The next day, a Saturday afternoon, Camborne entertained Pontypridd. This would be, wrote Merrill Clymo in his programme notes, a “formidable task”. Ponty’s historian, Alun Granfield, informed me that the club were elected Welsh champions for the 1976-77 season by the Western Mail newspaper, as well as being awarded the Sunday Telegraph trophy. Their skipper was international flanker Tom David – yes, that Tom David, a member of the Barbarians XV that beat the All Blacks in what is now seen as the quintessential 1970s rugby match.

And it was tight. Going into the final quarter, Camborne led 9-7, thanks to three penalties by Steve Floyd. Though Ponty had scored earlier with wing Brian ‘Mad Dog’ Juliff outsprinting both Pellowe and Mankee to touch down in the corner, they were down to fourteen men. A fight had broken out at a maul, and the match official (from Cornwall) had no option but to order the visiting hooker, Steve Moule, off the pitch¹¹.

Camborne, egged on by a baying crowd sensing a famous win, fancied their chances – but it was not to be. In the dying moments, who else but Tom David crashed through a desperate tackle to touch down in the top-right corner…or did he?

The decision to award the try, and victory, 9-11, to Pontypridd, still upsets Chris Durant – and you don’t want to upset Chris Durant. The referee gave the try after much persistent shouting and celebrating from the visitors, but Durant insists the

…try was never scored…it was never a bleddy try…

David Kingston recalled that Durant, in cahoots with Mankee, had David in a bear-hug (which must have been quite a tussle), preventing the Welsh legend from touching down. Camborne

…should’ve won…

But they didn’t. And, sadly, for all that David magnanimously praised the “power” of Camborne’s pack, and how Town had Ponty “worried” until the final whistle¹², there was to be no rematch. Pontypridd have never played Camborne, or toured Cornwall, since 1977.

Next Friday, the 16th, Camborne easily beat visiting Maidstone 22-4. (Maidstone’s President, Paul Ehrhart, recalls a “very physical match”, from the start.) Highlights included ten points from the ever-trusty boot of Steve Floyd, and a try from Mankee that brought the house down “from a superb, darting solo run”¹³.

(Doubtless this was a trademark ‘Mank’ break, where he would look to attack on the open-side but in fact go blind, and streak into the opposition’s 22, leaving the would-be covering tacklers coughing in his dust.)

Barry Wills ~ Come on fellas…

Teignmouth cried off on the Saturday, but on the following Tuesday, Camborne travelled to lowly Truro for the first round of the CRFU Cup. The game was practically a bye, with Town running in fourteen tries, winning 0-67. Michael Eddy, whom Dave Edwards recalls as a fast, dangerous finisher with a lovely outside swerve, scored a hat-trick. The other wing, Barry Wills, notched up four – all in the second half. His form was white-hot, but he was to play only one more game for Camborne that season.

Wills was a Royal Navy PTI, and “one hell of a fitness freak”, according to Paul Ranford. His training sessions with the squad were described as “regimented” by Robert Mankee, and “painful” by Ranford; indeed, he confesses to throwing up after every one. (All Paul hoped for was to make it to Tyack’s on a Thursday evening in one piece.) Regardless of the whining, the squad’s stamina was excellent, thanks to – Come on fellas…and ONE and TWO and THREE and… – Barry Wills.

Malcolm Bennetts recalls a Camborne Ladies versus Camborne Players match (this long before the advent of the WRFU), in aid of the family of a Plymouth Albion player who had tragically died whilst playing Camborne Reserves. The Ladies’ XV trainer was Barry Wills. (He was the kind of man who would volunteer “for everything”, remembers Frank Butler.) Every Sunday for a month (Come on ladies…), Barry had his new recruits doing interval sprints up the banking, scrummaging work, full tackling, and were introduced to the finer points of line-outs, rucking and mauling. The women would come home bruised and exhausted, begging for it to be over. “Come the big day”, said Bennetts, the game was in fact touch rugby, with no line-outs or scrums, and the men not permitted to run. “But”, Malcolm continues, “that was Barry Wills”. All or nothing.

This was reflected in his play. David May praises his “hard, straight” running, while Jumbo Reed called him a

Top player, anywhere in the backs.

Though not much of a kicker, and a worse passer (few and-and-out wingers are), Nigel Pellowe points out his tough streak when on the defensive. If there was

…any trouble, we would sort them out.

Six matches in the Centenary Season, six tries, and four Cornwall caps – his only four – before injury ruled him out. (More on that next week.) A classic case of what might have been.

Camborne maintain brilliant start…

…was the headline in the sports pages of the Packet of September 29th. Town were on a roll. Three days after pummelling Truro, they beat Avon & Somerset Police 32-0. The day after that, Saturday the 24th, Paignton went down 36-0.

Camborne had played 8 games, winning 6, scoring 252 points, and conceding only 61.

They were flying. But the Merit Table fixtures were about to start, and first up were Camborne’s oldest of old foes…

…Redruth. Would the brilliant start be maintained?

You can find out in Rugby Special ~ Part Three here…

Many thanks for reading

References

1. See Tom Salmon, The First Hundred Years: The Story of Rugby Football in Cornwall, CRFU, 1983, p142-3
2. The Packet, September 7, 1977, p26
3. The Packet, September 7, 1977, p26
4. See Tom Salmon, The First Hundred Years: The Story of Rugby Football in Cornwall, CRFU, 1983, p142-3
5. In recent times a Camborne v Crawshay’s fixture is arranged to signify an event of great import for Camborne RFC. Apart from the Centenary match, Crawshay’s played Camborne in 1991 to celebrate the opening of the Crane Park clubhouse, and again during the 125th anniversary season of 2003. I am grateful to Martin Symons for providing me with this information.
6. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Burgess
7. The 1970s witnessed the most violent game, and the most notorious call – “99” – in rugby history. Even in a British Lions Test, match officials could do little to act against the perpetrators. See: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/lions-99-call-south-africa-18587954, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_call
8. See: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/what-became-42-rugby-players-24721126
9. The Packet, September 14, 1977
10. From: https://www.mediastorehouse.com/colorsport/popular-themes/gareth-edwards/tom-david-passes-ball-barbarians-build-up-gareth-6303968.html
11. The Packet, September 15, 1977
12. As Merrill Clymo noted in his programme notes for the Maidstone fixture.
13. The Packet, September 22, 1977

Reading time: 20 minutes

…take great pride in the history of your club…achieve new success, set your standards high…make sure that the Centenary playing record of your club…will be the envy of all other Cornish clubs.

R.E.G. “Dickie” Jeeps (1931-2016), RFU President 1976-77, from the Camborne RFC Centenary Programme 1878-1978, by Philip Rule and Alan Thomas, 1977

…we drank beer, we chased the ladies, and played some rugby in between.

Player’s name withheld

	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against
Falmouth	20	15	1	4	331	131
St Ives	20	15	1	4	390	172
Hayle	20	14	1	5	288	146
Redruth	20	13	1	6	291	138
Camborne	20	10	4	6	226	170
Penzance-Newlyn	20	10	3	7	203	174
Penryn	20	6	2	12	204	253
Newquay	20	6	1	13	155	288
St Austell	20	6	1	13	116	315
Launceston	20	5	1	14	181	313
Truro	20	2	0	18	124	411

As it was…

At the conclusion of the 1976-77 season, Falmouth were undoubtedly the top Cornish rugby team. They had beaten Hayle 20-9 to win the CRFU Knockout Cup, which was then sponsored by John Player Tobacco¹.

As we can see above, they were also inaugural winners of the CRFU’s “new official” Merit Table, a league formed to determine the team with the most success against their fellow Cornish clubs².

It had been a close-run affair. Falmouth took the title with their final game of the season, beating Launceston 31-3 to ensure a better points for and against ratio than their nearest challengers, St Ives. ‘The Hakes’ (as St Ives were known), had taken it to the wire a week previously, hammering Newquay Hornets 61-3 in a valiant attempt to improve their own ratio, but it was not enough, and they only had themselves to blame. They had lost at home 13-26 to Falmouth prior to their Newquay fixture – had St Ives won, the title was theirs. Falmouth, with a game in hand over St Ives (they beat Penzance-Newlyn 14-0), made no similar error against Launceston.

It was the end of an era for Falmouth. Their skipper, Graham Bate, and stalwart prop Bruce Cocking both retired after beating Launceston, and were chaired from the field³.

Falmouth’s back-row forward Stephen Lightfoot (who scored twice in that title-clincher against Launceston) told me that the squad were now

…lacking strength in depth in a number of key positions.

Next season, 1977-78, they were not going to be as tough a proposition. Likewise Hayle: long-serving half-back Dave Mungles was retiring, and several “vital” players would also be missing, said their centre Robert Tonkin. Hayle, therefore, were

…without a lot of experience…

Second-placed St Ives, licking their wounds, ruing the missed opportunity, and pondering the mathematical necromancy that saw them come second to a team who’d scored less points than them, must have fancied their chances.

All of which begs the question…

Whither Camborne?

In January 1977, Camborne shared the top of the Merit Table with Falmouth and Hayle: P14, W9, D3, L2. Then they let it slip dramatically, winning only one of their last six games, thus leaving Falmouth, St Ives and Hayle to duke it out for the title.

They crashed out of the CRFU Cup in the semi-final to the eventual runners-up, Hayle. And that must have been a choker: their first semi had ended in a 3-3 draw, at Camborne, meaning a rematch at Hayle, which they lost 9-6.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Camborne lost their final Merit Table game of the season, at home, 3-7, to Redruth. To add further shame and ignominy, the game was televised on the BBC’s weekly Rugby Special⁴. (If you can remember the theme tune, ‘Holy Mackerel’, you’re humming it right now.)

Various reasons have been given for this distinctly underwhelming end to the the 1976-77 season.

Frank Butler, flanker and Players’ Secretary, attributes Falmouth’s success to their gaining half of the Penryn squad after a fall-out at the Borough. In other words, they had the manpower that Camborne didn’t.

Dave Edwards, wing, reckons that, though the team took “each match seriously”, Camborne

…didn’t really pay much attention to the Merit Table and its potential and standing.

Some perspective is perhaps needed here: Camborne had played an additional twenty or so fixtures to the Merit Table clashes; like many a Cornish team, they regularly entertained touring sides from upcountry.

Dave ‘Jumbo’ Reed, prop, blamed selection decisions:

If anyone walked into the club and mentioned they had been to Cardiff they were straight in the first team.

Paul Ranford, lock, reckons it was an absence of ambition:

…we…didn’t realise how good we could have been…

Ranford also cites a lack of fitness overall, which may explain the late-season fade.

Trussy…

1976-77 was Alan Truscott’s first season as Camborne’s coach, but he was no callow rookie. Having only retired as a player the previous season, he knew his squad intimately and, with a distinguished career for Camborne’s 1st XV, crucially had their respect too. Having taken up coaching in the late 1960s as a schoolteacher, and recently guiding Helston U15s to their County Championship, the club were keen for him to take the job on. His verdict on the 1976-77 season is emphatic:

…we were considerably underachieving…

Next season, 1977-78, Trussy reckoned, would be different. A young squad (mostly aged between 19-24), would be older, stronger, and (hopefully) wiser. The challenge, as he saw it, was to be the top club in Cornwall, a sentiment echoed by Paul Ranford. They needed to grow up, he reckoned, and

…not take any nonsense from any team.

The 1977-78 season had to be better. It had to be special. The 1st XV, from a squad, Truscott remembers, of around 35-40 players, had to improve. The expectations and pressure would be that much greater.

Why? Because the 1977-78 season was Camborne RFC’s Centenary Season.

1877…1977…

From an inauspicious start in November 1877 (Penzance beat them by three tries to nil⁵), Camborne RFC had grown to be one of the senior Cornish clubs. It doesn’t take academic books of cultural theory⁶ to state the obvious, that the Cornish instinctively identify with the sport of rugby, and Camborne was, is, a rugby town. In the inter-war years, there was eleven rugby teams in the area, not including Camborne RFC itself, and featured such XVs as the ‘Camborne Unemployed’. Whenever a member of the Unemployed XV found work, he would have to leave the club, in a bizarre kind of economic revolving-door policy⁷.

Camborne RFC had prospered with the town; the Unemployed XV, perhaps thankfully, hadn’t, and were no longer around in 1977. Camborne was still a good town to find work in, the mines were still open, and some Town players, such as the hooker Malcolm Bennetts and the livewire scrum-half, Robert Mankee, earned their wages underground.

Of course, with a workforce of around 3,000, the big employer in Camborne was the world-renowned engineering firm, Compair Holman.

Many of the Camborne RFC squad found employment there, such as Frank Butler, Derick Taylor (who, in 1976-77, scored a record 193 points in 24 games), Kevin Lean, David Reed, Dave Edwards, Paul Ranford, Dickie Wells, and Martyn Trestrail (who today is the club’s Fixtures Secretary).

Many of Camborne’s regular opposition also worked there, such as Paul Sweeney from St Ives, and Alwyn ‘Slats’ Smitham and Robert Tonkin from Hayle (all three had previously played for Camborne). If your team had lost at the weekend, keeping a low profile when on the shop floor was advisable; Robert Tonkin remembers that Dickie Wells “never missed the chance” to wind him up. He must have been one of very, very many.

The town, and population of Camborne was inextricably linked with its industry, and its sport. For example, when a Holman’s employee married in 1978, it was important to note that the

The season that The Lord St Levan built…

The ‘Lord St Levan’ was the sobriquet of Treve Pascoe, Camborne RFC’s Fixtures Secretary. Who Camborne’s 1st XV would be playing in their Centenary Season was his brainchild, an entity, he claimed, that had taken six years to realise⁹. Luckily, as Alan Truscott recalls, Pascoe was the County liaison officer for all teams wanting to visit Cornwall, and could thus claim first dibs on the touring creme de la creme for Camborne.

Of course, a financial guarantee had to be made to these clubs, and, according to Frank Butler, the ‘Lord St Levan’ had a habit of arbitrarily booking teams without consulting the committee, and leaving the job of scraping together the cash up to them. It may be what the Assistant Treasurer, Terry Symons, is referring to when he good-naturedly describes Pascoe as a

…pain in the ass…

£600 was the target required – that’s £2,800 today. Camborne couldn’t rely on gate takings alone, and Pascoe’s manoeuvres led to such fundraising innovations as this, which raised £400¹⁰:

(Remember, these financial guarantees were to the clubs themselves, not the players¹¹.)

No matter how he did it, Pascoe had contrived a masterpiece of a season, and Frank Butler believes this is just as well:

…we would not have got as many good fixtures if all was needed to be agreed by the committee…[normally] big clubs would not play the likes of Camborne…

And what fixtures! The original list ran to fifty-four games, and would be more provided Camborne had a good run in the CRFU Cup: 35-40 games was the average for a season, reckoned Robert Mankee.

Besides the regular Cornish opposition in the Merit Table, Camborne would be up against such luminaries as Captain Crawshay’s XV, Pontypridd, Lydney, Plymouth Albion, Saracens, Coventry, South Wales Police, Gloucester, and Cardiff. Cardiff, for crying out loud: that meant Gareth Edwards, Gerald Davies, Gareth Davies, Terry Holmes…

The general reaction to the fixture list is summed up by Steve Floyd, a young fly-half then studying Ergonomics at Loughborough. The squad were generally

Excited. You could be no other…

Dave Edwards reckoned that, though Camborne had played major sides previously,

…this season we felt we were really competing…because of the expectation…to do something special…

Treve Pascoe would also take unilateral action when recruiting players. Back in June 1975, he called on a youthful Illogan Park player, who was newly married and returned home that very day from Cardiff College, where he had qualified as a teacher.

David May began his Camborne career.

Like a machine…

In the 1970s, rugby in Cornwall was a game dominated by its forwards. The “proper Cornish game”, wrote the journalist Jerry Clarke, is one

…in which threequarters are mere spectators.

The Packet, March 23, 1978

Camborne, by common consent, had the biggest, meanest pack in the County, and this isn’t just ‘Town’ old-timers talking themselves up. Practically all of the 25-30 people I’ve spoken to – players, fans, clubmen, deadly enemies – agreed on one thing: Camborne’s forwards were the best. Mickey Stephens of Launceston rates the Camborne fixtures as the

…hardest games of the season…

for this very reason.

And in the Centenary Season, Camborne’s pack got harder. Combining with the ever-dependable hooker Malcolm Bennetts in the front five were County players Bobby Tonkin (prop), and 6ft 4″ locks Chris Durant and Paul Ranford. The new recruit from St Ives was the Royal Navy tight-head prop Jock Denholm, a player Frank Butler describes as

…uncompromising and brutally strong. A very hard man…

With Denholm as immovable as Carn Brea on the tight, Tonkin was now free to exhibit his considerable handling skills on the loose. The “front 5 jigsaw”, said Alan Truscott, “was now complete”.

On the blindside flank was Frank Butler, a genuine terrier. In the days when players were permitted to play the ball on the ground, his job was to win possession, a task, he said, which meant he was constantly

…kicked and raked…

On the openside flank was David Kingston, a tough ex-Gloucester man. When I asked him his main role, the reply was unequivocal:

To kill the opposition half-backs…

Behind them at 8 was usually Richard Thomas, a highly-rated ball player and another County cap.

Whether they meant it or not, a further statement of physical intent was to be made in the man the players elected their Captain for the Centenary Season: Chris Durant.

This pack, remembers the ball-boy Tim Carr, would perform “like a machine”, week in, week out.

It was only in the final, and arguably most important, fixture of that long, long season, that the machine finally met its match.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The 1976-77 season was when the team “started to gel”, in the opinion of Robert Mankee. Two more Royal Navy men, hustled up by Alan Truscott, who lived near RNAS Culdrose, had complimented the squad. They were Bob Lees, a threequarter with sniping pace, and Tanzi Lea, a talented back with a sense of adventure. With another RN man from Camborne, PTI Barry Wills taking the fitness sessions (Come on fellas…), stamina became less of an issue, no matter how much the squad griped.

But the “hard edge”, as Frank Butler termed it, remained ever-present. It can perhaps be best exemplified in one of the relatively smaller players on the field…

Nigel Pellowe

A Camborne legend, County stalwart, and crowd favourite who played over a thousand games for the club, from the late 1960s on. A genuine all-round athlete with fitness to burn, in his youth he had been a promising boxer who had won the Junior ABA title, fighting at the Royal Albert Hall. (He never forgot how to throw a punch.) Legend (or rather, Alan Truscott) has it that, as a teenager, he won a cross-country race for West Cornwall, played for Camborne Colts that same afternoon (they won), and then travelled to Plymouth to box for Cornwall ABA in the evening. Needless to say, he won that too.

On the pitch, his talent was such that Malcolm Bennetts reckoned

…he could have played anywhere, even hooker.

As a fly-half, he was 100% reliable, and many people have said he would tackle like an extra flanker. At full-back, he was a kind of Cornish JPR Williams – last in defence, first in attack, and full of aggression. Dave Edwards recalls his defensive work in the back line was “pivotal”, Jumbo Reed rated him the “best tackler on the team”, and Bob Lees told me he had the fundamental perquisite of any 15: a “safe pair of hands”. Offensively, Pellowe was in possession of a sidestep that, remembers Launceston’s Mickey Stephens, would

…torpedo straight through you.

Terry Symons, similarly, reckons he was

…like bleddy lightning…

Oh – and he could kick goals too. Whenever the opposition saw this man take up his position at the rear of the pitch, they must have known a tough afternoon was in the offing.

Bring it on…

Pre-season training, throughout the summer of 1977, got very intense according to Alan Truscott. Everybody wanted a piece of the action, to see how they measured up against some of the very best. That said, Truscott reckoned none of the squad were apprehensive about any of the teams they would be facing, Cornish or otherwise. On the whole, he said, the general attitude was one of

bring it on…

Camborne, then, were going to hit the ground running. They needed to. Apart from an inter-squad match on September 1 (which Martyn Trestrail recalls for the wrong reasons: Dickie Wells bested him in the scrums, and reminded him of this ever after), there was to be no gentle pre-season friendly.

Camborne 1st XV’s opening match of the Centenary Season was to be against the Cornwall County President’s Select XV…

…and you can read all about that in Rugby Special ~ Part Two here…

Many thanks for reading

References

1. The CRFU Cup had been held annually since the 1967-68 season. See: Tom Salmon, The First Hundred Years: The Story of Rugby Football in Cornwall, CRFU, 1983, p144. For 1976-77, it was named the Alan Barbary Memorial Cup after the recently deceased CRFU Secretary. See the West Briton, April 7, 1977, p20. Falmouth, as winners, received a £350 prize from the sponsors, John Player; Hayle got £250, or nearly £1,900 today, for losing. See the West Briton, February 17, 1977, p26. Falmouth, in the 1977-78 season, would then compete in the RFU National Knockout Competition – the John Player Cup. Overall winners that season were Gloucester.
2. Quote from the West Briton, November 18, 1976, p28. The West Briton of May 6, 1976 (p20) shows a table of the inter-club matches played throughout the 1975-76 season amongst the senior Cornish teams. Falmouth were top, with 19 wins from 23, but fixtures were arranged on an ad hoc basis and their actual position at the top of this table meant little: Launceston and Redruth Albany had only played 17 all-Cornish games, while Penzance-Newlyn amassed 28. The Merit Table brought greater structure, and, as the winner went on to play in the South West Merit Table for the following season, it can be seen on reflection as part of the first steps toward a national league system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_English_rugby_union_system.
3. West Briton, April 28, 1977, p26, and May 5, 1977, p26.
4. West Briton, February 17, 1977, p26, 24 February, 1977, p6, 21 April, p30, and 28 April, p26.
5. Royal Cornwall Gazette, November 16, 1877, p5. Though rugby journalism was in its infancy, the necessity of recording any injuries or violent play is already entrenched. The reporter dutifully lists a couple of sprained ankles, plus scratches, bruises, and bloodied handkerchiefs, before giving the result.
6. For example: The Cornish Paradox: Identity and Rugby Union, by Aidan Taylor, MA Thesis, Amazon Kindle, 2013.
7. From “Between the Wars”, Camborne RFC Centenary Programme 1878-1978, by Philip Rule and Alan Thomas, 1977. Depressingly, one wonders how many sides could be formed among the unemployed of Camborne today.
8. See: http://cornishstory.com/2021/02/10/holman-echoes-of-an-age/
9. “Message from E. Treve Pascoe”, Camborne RFC Centenary Programme 1878-1978, by Philip Rule and Alan Thomas, 1977.
10. West Briton, September 1, 1977, p26.
11. All Rugby Union back then adhered to the amateur code. If any players actually earned any money from the game, it was only those playing at the very top, it wasn’t very much, and they kept very very quiet about it. Nowadays, the Welsh fly-half Dan Biggar earns a reputed £600K salary for Northampton; his 1970s counterpart, the late, great, Phil Bennett, worked at the Llanelli steelworks. Whenever Bennett represented his country, he lost money on account of not being able to work overtime on a Saturday morning. See: https://rugbydome.com/dan-biggar-salary/, https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/adidas-used-pay-bungs-welsh-1820555, and https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/work-rest-rugby-1935540.