Newlyn RFC

Newlyn RFC

Founded	1894
Location	Newlyn, Cornwall, UK
Ground(s)	St Goulders

Newlyn RFC was a rugby football club based in Newlyn, Cornwall, UK. The club was formed in 1894 (or 1895) by a young curate of St Peter’s Church, the Rev. Fred Peel Yates.^[1] Before the founding of the club it was said that the young men of the village played a form of rugby on St Goulders Common and on moonlit nights a ball covered in chalk was used to make it easier to see.^[2] In 1897-98 Newlyn RFC won the Cornwall Junior Cup, however the cup had to be returned to the Cornwall RFU because of an un-registered player.^[1] The following year the cup was won again. Newlyn, like many Cornish towns and villages, was hit by the migration of its young men and shortly after, the club disbanded only to restart in 1904 as a Senior Club.^[2]

There was always a certain amount of animosity with near neighbours Penzance RFC, although it was never in either clubs interest not to play matches, because of the income lost when the matches were suspended. The gate receipts for a Boxing Day match, in the 1890s, against Penzance Reserves came to over £40. With an entrance fee of 4d, a crowd of well over two thousand attended. A 1906 minute records ...that we accept no player or committee man from Penzance. Despite this players did play for both clubs.^[3]

As was usual for many clubs, Newlyn RFC did not operate during the Great War but occasional games were played near the Penlee Quarry by personal of the Seaplane Base.^[2]

Newlyn RFC final match was in December, 1939 when they beat St Ives.

In November 1944, after a public meeting held in St Peter’s Schoolroom, it was agreed to hold talks with Penzance RFC with a view to amalgamation. A Penzance RFU committee meeting on 21 November agreed to wind up the rugby club; and at a public meeting at the Guildhall on 12 December 1944 it was agreed to start a new club. Despite the animosity the two clubs combined.^[3]

Honours

• Cornwall Junior Cup: 1897-98 (returned),
• Cornwall Junior Cup: 1898-99.
• Cornwall Junior Champions 1911-12

Playing record

Season	League	Teams	Pos	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Notes
1911–12	Cornwall Junior Cup		1st	28	22	3	3	222	45	45	Champions

Grounds

• The St Goulders pitch was known for its slope and was grazed by cows during the week. In an attempt to stop people watching for free furze was put in the holes in the hedges to try and stop people sneaking in.
• Trereife

Cornwall Players

^[1]

	First Year	Last Year	Name	Number of Caps	Notes
1	1901	1901	O Gilbert	1
2	1920	1928	N ‘Nicky’ Peake	22	Forward
3	1922	1924	R A ‘Dick' Curnow	9
4	1924	1924	Edwal L Rees	5	Three quarter; knee injury shortened career
5	1927	1927	Jack Matthews	2	Forward
6	1931	1935	Gerald Kneebone	4
7	1936	1936	R ‘Dick’ Kitchen	1	Stand-off
8	1936	1936	Jack Stafford	1

Other Newlyn Teams

• Newlyn Old Boys XV (acted as a nursery for Newlyn RFC)
• St Peters
• The Adult School

See also

• Cornish Pirates

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Salmon, T. 1983. The First Hundred Years. Illogan: Cornwall Rugby Football Union.
2. ^ ^{a b c} Batten, B. G. (1978) Newlyn, Penzance and the Pirates. Penzance: Penzance & Newlyn Rugby Football Club.
3. ^ ^{a b} Westren, P, Thomas, J and Matthews, H. 50 Golden Years. Penzance: Penzance & Newlyn RFC.