When the rugby union leagues were introduced in 1987, Camborne was the highest placed Cornish team and played in Area 4 South. They are also one of the most successful club sides in Cornwall having won the Cornish Cup ten times as of 2016 – level with local rivals Redruth – following a record fourth title in a row in 2016.[1] Camborne enjoys a strong a rivalry with neighbours Redruth, with the two clubs meeting each year, in what is the world's longest enduring rugby fixture.[2]
History
Many original players were involved in the local tin mining industry especially at Camborne's Dolcoath mine which at that time was the deepest mine in Britain, and many were employed at the local machine tool manufacturer at Holman Brothers producing mining equipment. The first Camborne RFC game was played against Penzance in front of some 600 spectators in November 1877. At the start of the 1880–81 season the ground was a field near Camborne Consols (described as an ″old mine″), adjoining Holman Brothers' stone yard.[3]
In 1909–10 Camborne was the top Cornish team and in the following season no Cornish side managed to score a try against "Town" as they were then known. When the tin mining recession hit Cornwall in the late 19th-century many Camborne men and their successors were forced to emigrate to places such as South Africa, Australia and North and South America and along with their mining skills they also helped establish the game of rugby in these areas.
After the First World War in the early 1920s, rugby established a huge following in Camborne. Teams would change at a local hotel and march to the ground behind the Town band. In 1924 a crowd of 19,000 people gathered at Camborne to watch Cornwall, with no less than seven Camborne players, take on the New Zealand All Blacks, and matches against local rivals, Redruth, invariably pulled in crowds of around 6,000. Captain Crawshays Welsh Touring XV started to include Camborne on their fixture list in 1923. Crawshays teams were chosen from the leading clubs in Wales, and consisted of seasoned internationals and up and coming players who would usually go on to be internationals. In 1926–27, Camborne, also known as the Cherry and Whites were the top club in Cornwall and had their first win over a Crawshay side.
With the end of the Second World War the club was back in business and John Collins made his debut for the reserves team in 1946–47 and was selected to play at full back for England in 1952. The 1950s and 60's saw many more successful teams, and Camborne became the first Cornish side in 1968 to beat Ebbw Vale in eighteen Cornish tours.
The team became the most consistent and successful side in Cornwall in the 1970s, winning the Cornish league and cup in 1977–78, the league for the next four years running until 1982, again league champions 84–85 and 85–86, were the highest placed Cornish national league club 87–88 and 88–89, and achieved further Cornwall Cup wins in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1992. Giant lock Andy Reed joined the Cherry and Whites in 1987, who was later to play for the all-conquering Bath Rugby team of the nineties and represent Scotland and the British and Irish Lions. In 1989 Cornwall reached the final of the County Championship at Twickenham against Durham and were represented by nine Camborne players out of the twenty-one man squad.
More recently youth development products Josh Matavesi and younger brother Sam have gone on to represent Fiji at International level. They are the sons of Camborne and Cornwall legend Serelli Matavesi.
Recreation Ground
View of the grandstand at the Recreation Ground, home of Camborne RFC
In 2006 it was agreed to ground share the Recreation Ground with RFU Championship team the Cornish Pirates and the ground underwent a major refurbishment including a new stand for the 2007–08 season.[4] This arrangement has now ceased and the Pirates returned to play at the Mennaye, Penzance in 2010. The first stand was built in 1901 with a £400 loan from the local order of Oddfellows.[5]
The capacity of the Recreation Ground has varied over the decades. Up until the 1980s it was one of the largest rugby grounds in England with an official capacity of 18,582.[6] The current capacity (2018) is much reduced on this due to much tighter safety measures, being approximately 7,000, which includes 780 seated in the grandstand.[7] The Cornish Pirates came close to achieving a capacity crowd at the ground with a club-record attendance of 6,487 watching the Pirates play Northampton Saints on 9 September 2007.[8]
Green background stands for either league champions (with promotion) or cup winners. Blue background stands for promotion without winning league or losing cup finalists. Pink background stands for relegation.
Josh Matavesi – played junior rugby at the club, went on to play for a number of professional clubs including Racing 92, and has gained multiple international caps for Fiji as well as representing the Barbarians.
^RFU league restructuring for the 1990–91 season meant that Area League South was renamed National 4 South.
^RFU league restructuring for the 1993–94 season would see a new Courage League Division 5 introduced. This meant that all teams apart from the top two in National 4 South were relegated into the new division, including 4th placed Camborne.
^RFU restructuring, which included the cancellation of Courage League Division 5 (which Camborne were relegated from), meant that South West 1 would revert to being a level 5 league.
^The last time Camborne were in this division it had been known as South West 2 West. The name change to South West 1 West came following RFU league restructuring for the 2009–10 season.
^The 2010–11 season would see the introduction of bonus points into lower league English rugby union (tier 6 and below).
^The RFU league restructuring for the 2017–18 season meant that National 3 South West was renamed South West Premier.
^The season was postponed and ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom with Camborne sitting in 9th, having played 20 games and gained 46 points. The remaining games were calculated on a 'best playing record formula', with Camborne remaining in 9th place with 55.20 points.[55]
^Note that the Rodda's Cup fixture between Camborne and Redruth is contested twice a season on a home and away basis, once on Boxing Day and then again in either March or April. Also note that the cup was first competed for on the Boxing Day of 2010.[57]
