Launceston RUFC

For the Australian club, see Launceston Rugby Union Football Club.
Cornish All Blacks
Full name Launceston Rugby Club
Union RFU
Nickname(s) Cornish All Blacks
Founded 1948 (1948)
Region Cornwall Rugby Football Union
Ground(s) Polson Bridge, Launceston (Capacity: 6,000)
Coach(es) Jimmy Tucker
League(s) National League 2 South
2015–16 15th (relegated to National League 3 South West)
Polson Bridge, home of Launceston Rugby Club

Launceston Rugby Club (also known as the Cornish All Blacks) are a Cornish rugby club and play in National League 3 South West, the fifth tier of the English rugby union system.

History

The club was founded in 1948 after an inaugural meeting chaired by the then Headmaster of Launceston College, Mr Spencer Toy with Gordon Reeve, Eric Smith and Arthur Venning (who is still a member). By Spring 1949, the club had its own ground, rented from the council (now a factory site of its main sponsor DS Smith Plc), with scaffolding poles for goal posts and ex-army huts for changing rooms and a clubhouse. The club moved to another site when the Town Council sold the land, but again moved on in 1969 when the club had the vision to refuse becoming part of the proposed Sports Centre. The ground at Polson Bridge was purchased in 1969, with developments such as floodlights, enlarged clubhouse, present changing rooms and finally the grandstand being added over the years.

In 1981 they then went on to win the Cornwall Senior Cup for the first of many since wins and started their remarkable climb to be one of the top 40 sides in England (from a town with a population of just over 7,000). LRFC gained promotion to National League Division 3 South (level 4) in 2000 and were runner-up in their first season, losing in the play-off away to National 3 North side Sedgley Park. The following season, 2001–02, LRFC were 2nd again, but this time won the play-off against Dudley Kingswinford, and were promoted to Division Two (level 3). They were unfortunate to be relegated after a most unusual series of results on the last day of the season. However, in 2003–04 Launceston bounced right back by again finishing second but winning the play-off away to Halifax. LRFC finished in 5th position in National League Division 2 (level 3) in 2004–05 and by the end of the 2006–07 season they had been promoted to English National Division 1 (level 2). On 26 April 2008, the Cornish All Blacks suffered a final day relegation to Division 2 (level 3) as an unexpected sequence of final day results saw relegation threatened Birmingham & Solihull and Sedgley Park pull off dramatic wins against Bedford and Rotherham respectively. The Cornish All Blacks were relegated when they had actually won more games than either of their two rivals. In truth the damage had been done earlier in the season when losses against Newbury (away), Nottingham (away), Sedgley Park (away), Birmingham & Solihull (away), Esher (home) came back to haunt the coaching staff and players.

Honours

Current standings

2015–16 National League 2 South Table
Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus Points
1 Cambridge (C) 30 25 2 3 1029 532 497 25 1 130
2 Old Albanian (P) 30 25 1 4 1040 468 572 23 3 128
3 Bishop's Stortford 30 22 1 7 912 436 476 21 5 116
4 Redruth 30 22 1 7 752 547 205 16 4 110
5 Taunton Titans 30 20 1 9 896 611 285 16 5 103
6 Chinnor 30 13 0 17 802 748 54 13 8 73
7 Bury St Edmunds 30 13 0 17 735 753 –18 12 7 71
8 Redingensians Rams 30 13 1 16 670 746 –76 12 5 71
9 Old Elthamians 30 13 2 15 669 770 –101 8 6 70
10 Canterbury 30 13 0 17 700 871 –171 12 6 70
11 Worthing Raiders 30 13 1 16 636 684 –48 10 5 69
12 Clifton 30 11 2 17 732 749 –17 12 6 66
13 Barnes 30 10 4 16 677 827 –150 15 3 66
14 Dorking (R) 30 10 0 20 598 822 –224 9 7 56
15 Southend Saxons (R) 30 7 3 20 574 845 –271 8 4 46
16 Launceston (R) 30 0 1 29 290 1303 –1013 2 6 5[b 1]
  • If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
Green background is the promotion place. Blue background is the play-off place. Pink background are relegation places.
Updated: 30 April 2016
Source: "National League 2 South". NCA Rugby. 
Notes
  1. ↑
    • Launceston were deducted 5 points for playing an unregistered player against Bury St Edmunds on 19 March 2016.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "John Fry, Launceston and Cornwall rugby president, dies at 80". Cornish Guardian. 12 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Prog Notes - Tynedale Rugby Football Club: TYNEDALE v LAUNCESTON". Tynedale Rugby Football Club. 10 January 2009.
  3. ↑ "Trelawny's Army Final League Tables 1999-2000". Trelawny's Army. 22 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "Club Discipline Season 2015-2016". NCA. Retrieved 16 April 2016.

External links

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