Penryn Return After Nine Years for Cornish Derby
St Ives will be hosting fellow Cornish side Penryn for the first time since December 2014 when the home team managed a 36:27 win, their only victory over the visitors for many years. That was in the Western Counties West league and it was a rare win for St Ives during that season. Just three names on the Hakes’ squad remain for this weekend’s encounter.
Over the last twenty or so years Penryn have spent most of their time in Western Counties West league, being champions in 2010-11. Other seasons were within the Cornwall & Devon league. Here they were champions in 2018-19. Today St Ives sit third in the Counties 1 Western West just three points up on Penryn in 5th place. This should be a close encounter and highly competitive.
Many will remember, but far fewer these days, the intense rivalry between the clubs back in the late 60s and early 70s, with the two clubs battling out four Cornwall Knock Out cup finals in five years:
1968-69 ST. IVES 6 - PENRYN 3
1969- 70 ST. IVES 8 - PENRYN 8
1971-72 PENRYN 11- ST. IVES 7
1972- 73 PENRYN 21 - ST. IVES 0
From the Penryn RFC website………
Even as late as the 1960's, when Roger Hosen was kicking goals not for Penryn but for Northampton, there were those in Penryn who still nodded wisely and said, 'Ah, when he was a boy he lived in sight of the Memorial Ground!' ..... as if that explained it all. Players of the calibre of Graham Bate, another in the extraordinary line of Penryn full-backs (in the season of 1967-68, when 'Borough' won all their 29 games and scored 534 points in the process, Bate got 318 of them), and Roger Harris (who played 62 times for Cornwall) were the proof of it. Penryn’s last players to have represented England were Chris Martin, who gained four caps in 1984-85, Tom Voyce (nine caps 2001-2006), who started in Penryn's junior teams, and Hugh Vyvyan.
There was the visit of the British & Irish Lions in 1973. This remains the only time that the Lions have played a British club side. The select XV that was fielded by our illustrious visitors that day contained much of the side who had won the 1971 series in New Zealand. Among those who appeared for the Lions that day were Derek Quinnell, Barry John, Mervyn Davies, Stack Stevens, JPR Williams, John Taylor, Mike Roberts, Ian Mclauchlan and John Dawes. For the record, the Lions won 38-10.
(adapted from Tom Salmon's 'The First One Hundred Years: The Story of Rugby Football in Cornwall').
The St Ives line up
Jack Hill moves up from the bench to start for the first time this season, while Liam Trudgeon moves to hooker. Joel Stevens is still recovering from a head injury against Tiverton. The only other change to the starting fifteen that won at Bideford last week is Adam Harris on the wing for Billy Bassett. The bench sees the welcome return of St Ives men and past regulars, Ben Jenkins and Neil Perkin.
