Redruth RFC (established 1875) is a rugby union club from the town of Redruth, Cornwall, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English league system, National League 2 West. The club run a number of men's teams including 1st XV (National League 2 West), 2nd XV (Counties 1 Western West), Ladies XV, Colts and a Select XV as well as a number of junior teams from age 7 through to 16. They are one of the most successful club sides in Cornwall, having won the Cornwall Cup ten times and the Cornwall Super Cup three times. Redruth enjoy a strong rivalry with neighbours Camborne, with the two clubs meeting annually on Boxing Day, in a fixture that dates back to 1928.
History
Redruth RFC was founded in 1875 by Henry Grylls and W H Willimot both of whom had returned to Cornwall after their education at Clifton College and Marlborough respectively. The club quickly established itself as one of the most successful in Cornwall, a position they were to hold for much of the 20th century. They began life playing on the Brewery Field at Redruth but, in 1883 they moved to the Recreation Ground at the end of Green Lane. They have remained there ever since. When the leagues started in 1987, Redruth was in the provincial league of South-West 1, which they won. The team then won the old League Four South in 1991 and gained promotion. In 2005, the club reached its highest-ever ranking by winning promotion into National Division One. The team finished in 4th position in the 2006–07 season.
Current standings
Ground
The Recreation Ground is situated on Cardrew Lane in Redruth, around five minutes walk from the town centre and Redruth railway station. The ground consists of a main pitch with a wooden grandstand alongside the clubhouse on the west side, and terraced grass banking on the other three sides. The ground also has several bars adjoining the grandstand, and there is also a secondary pitch for 2nd XV and junior fixtures. There is parking for around 100 cars but this is often limited on match-days and it is recommended that supporters park nearby in town.
The capacity of the Recreation Ground has varied over the decades. Up until the 1980s it was considered the third largest rugby ground in England (behind Twickenham and Leicester Tigers home of Welford Road) with an official capacity of 21,172, which included a number of temporary stands. This capacity was actually exceeded in 1969 when the ground hosted the final of the County Championship between Cornwall and Lancashire, when 25,000 are believed to have watched the game.
The removal of the temporary stands and increased safety standards saw the ground's capacity reduce to 12,000 in the 1990s to around 3,500 as of 2018. This figure includes 580 seated in the grandstand, with standing room of approximately 1,500 on the east bank, 800 on the north bank, 400 on the south bank and a further 200 or so in front of the grandstand. In 2018 the local police gave an estimate of 3,000 but since Redruth were reported to have achieved an attendance of 4,000 for a National 2 promotion playoff game as recently as 2005, this is a little conservative.
Support As one of the traditional rugby powerhouses in Cornwall, Redruth topped attendance charts in National League 2 South after entering the division during the 2011–12 season. The reported crowd of 4,000 that attended Redruth's playoff victory against Macclesfield remains the club's best crowd for a competitive fixture in recent times. The club also draws large crowds in excess of 1,000 for the traditional yearly fixture against neighbours Camborne.
The table below is a summary of the club's league attendance since the 2000–01 season. The club received its highest attendance during the 2008–09 season in the former National Division Two, in part due to crowds in excess of 2,000 during derby games against Launceston and Mounts Bay.
SeasonTotalAverageHighest2000–0110,1507812,0002001–029,1708342,0002002–032,8505706502003–040002004–059,916 9011,500 2005–0611,283 8681,7592006–0711,012 8471,5072007–0810,249 7889682008–0915,212 1,170 2,2182009–1013,974 9322,0102010–1113,996 9331,6272011–1212,622 8411,258 2012–1311,376 8131,1402013–1410,799 7201,350 2014–1511,707 7801,3202015–1611,937 7961,120 2016–1711,280 7528702017–1811,615 7749202018–199,110 6078102019–20 8,789 6769202020–210002021–2211,621 775 1,0752022–239,3487198692023–2411,0848532,850 2024–2511,038849 2,478 2025–2610,4518042,548
Season summary Below is a summary of Redruth's performances in competitive rugby since the advent of the leagues in 1987–88.
Season League National Cup(s) County Cup(s) Competition/Level Position Points Competition Performance Competition Performance 1987–88 South West 1 (5) 1st (promoted) John Player Cup 2nd Round Cornwall Cup Winners 1988–89 Area League South (4) 4th 13 Pilkington Cup 2nd Round Cornwall Cup Winners 1989–90 Area League South (4) 3rd 14 Pilkington Cup 2nd Round Cornwall Cup Runners up 1990–91 National 4 South (4) 1st (promoted) 24 Cornwall Cup Winners 1991–92 National 3 (3) 5th 13 Pilkington Cup 1st Round 1992–93 National 3 (3) 4th 16 Pilkington Cup 4th Round Cornwall Cup Winners 1993–94 National 3 (3) 10th (relegated) 4 Pilkington Cup 2nd Round Cornwall Cup Runners up 1994–95 National 4 (4) 7th 14 Pilkington Cup 3rd Round Cornwall Cup Winners 1995–96 National 4 (4) 7th (promoted) 14 Pilkington Cup 3rd Round Cornwall Cup Runners up 1996–97 National 3 (3) 15th (relegated) 16 Pilkington Cup 3rd Round 1997–98 National 2 South (4) 9th 20 Tetley's Bitter Cup 1st Round Cornwall Cup Runners up 1998–99 National 2 South (4) 11th 17 Tetley's Bitter Cup 1st Round 1999–2000 National 2 South (4) 5th 32 Tetley's Bitter Cup 3rd Round 2000–01 National 3 South (4) 5th 29 Tetley's Bitter Cup 2nd Round Cornwall Cup Semi-finals 2001–02 National 3 South (4) 8th 24 Powergen Cup 1st Round Cornwall Cup Quarter-finals 2002–03 National 3 South (4) 7th 25 Powergen Cup 2nd Round Cornwall Cup Winners 2003–04 National 3 South (4) 4th 32 Powergen Cup 3rd Round Cornwall Cup Winners 2004–05 National 3 South (4) 2nd (promoted via play-off) 104 Powergen Cup 3rd Round Cornwall Cup Semi-finals 2005–06 National 2 (3) 10th 51 Powergen Trophy 6th Round Cornwall Cup Runners up 2006–07 National 2 (3) 4th 92 EDF Energy Cup 4th Round Cornwall Cup Winners 2007–08 National 2 (3) 9th 58 EDF Energy Trophy 4th Round Cornwall Super Cup 3rd 2008–09 National 2 (3) 3rd 94 EDF Energy Trophy 3rd Round 2009–10 National 1 (3) 11th 69 Cornwall Super Cup Winners 2010–11 National 1 (3) 14th (relegated) 62 2011–12 National 2 South (4) 6th 81 2012–13 National 2 South (4) 4th 94 2013–14 National 2 South (4) 9th 72 Cornwall Super Cup Runners up 2014–15 National 2 South (4) 9th 66 Cornwall Super Cup Winners 2015–16 National 2 South (4) 4th 110 Cornwall Super Cup Winners 2016–17 National 2 South (4) 5th 101 Cornwall Super Cup 3rd 2017–18 National 2 South (4) 5th 89 2018–19 National 2 South (4) 7th 69 2019–20 National 2 South (4) 3rd 114.90 2020–21 National 2 South (4) Cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic 2021–22 National 2 South (4) 2nd 119 2022–23 National 2 West (4) 7th 75 2023–24 National 2 West (4) 9th 66 2024–25 National 2 West (4) 8th 77 2025–26 National 2 West (4) 10th 66 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.
Playing record First team Season P W D L F A Ref 1899–1900 29 15 8 6 281 115
Reserve team Season P W D L F A Ref 1899–1900 24 19 5 0 414 32
Honours Cornwall Cup winners (10): 1979–80, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1994–95, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2006–07 South West 1 champions: 1987–88 National League Division 4 South champions: 1990–91 National Division Three (north v south) promotion play-off winner: 2004–05 Cornwall Super Cup winners (3): 2009–10, 2014–15, 2015–16 Rodda's Cup winners (13): 2010 (1), 2011 (1), 2012 (2), 2013 (1), 2014 (2), 2015 (2), 2016 (2), 2017 (2)
Colts The colts section is coached by David Wills and Jason Pengilly. The team has consistently finished highly in the national Colts competition, and won the U-17s cup and U-18s Cornwall Cup competitions in 2009.
Representative honours
British & Irish Lions James (Maffer) Davey 1908 Roy Jennings 1930 Richard Sharp 1962 Phil Vickery 2001 & 2009
Great Britain (1908 Olympics) Bert Solomon James (Maffer) Davey Arthur Lawry
England William Mitchell Grylls 1905 James (Maffer) Davey 1908–1909 Bert Solomon 1910 Edward Scott 1947–1948 Richard Sharp 1960–1967 Phil Vickery1998–-2010
Barbarians Harry Faviell 1935 v East Midlands Edward Scott1944 v Thornloe. 1945 v Leicester Tigers Les Semmens 1948 v Newport. v Cardiff. Harold Stevens 1960 v East Midlands Richard Sharp Six appearances 1959-1964 C. "Bonzo" Johns 1962 v Newport v Cardiff Ken Abrahams 1962 v Newport v Cardiff Derek Prout Six appearances 1968-69 Terry Pryor 1968 v Swansea, Penarth, East Midlands Richard Keast 1992 v Newport Andy Hawken 2002 v Combined Services 2004 v Combined Services Darren Jacques 2009 Bedford
England B Terry Pryor 1978 Tour of Romania (captain)
England Counties Darren Jacques Luke Collins Owen Hambly Peter Joyce Glenn Cooper Lewis Vinnicombe Sam Heard
Notes
See also
Rugby in Cornwall
References
External links
Former official website (archived)
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