gingerjon

There's a distinction in administration but well into the regional divisions they are full-time clubs. I know the BBC at FA Cup time likes to pretend that all non league clubs are populated by milkmen who just run out on Saturday but it's been thirty years since that was true.

Not sure about the Lowland League but the others mentioned are all at least as professional as the national division immediately above them.

The 'national' division would be southern by immediate default and, pretty much straightaway, essentially worthless.

You've effectively just killed Cornwall RLFC at birth.

As I say, don’t cut the clubs funding by 80% and then be surprised if they’re annoyed an extra expense they didn’t agree to is added to their budgets.

The flag is on the club badge. Plenty will refer to Cornwall as a nation rather than a county. Duchy is, I think (could be wrong) only used by outsiders and people making a technical point.

I'd be willing to bet, because it's pretty much true everywhere, that there are more registered clubs and players of soccer, and probably, cumulatively, more people paying to watch soccer. The Peninsula League seems pretty strong.

I mean, TBH, that's the thing, isn't it? It's not in isolation. It's telling clubs that they're going to have about 20% of previous funding, no additional grant, oh, and there's this new club in Penryn ... no, not, Penrith ... I don't agree with them deciding not to travel but I can see why'd they'd be moaning.

With all the usual caveats about source:

Most (all?) grounds that get such funding now seem to at least feature a 4G training area (often multiple areas) even if the main pitch is grass*. * grass that isn't often more technologically advanced than the plastic pitch next door

I've seen Truro away a couple of times. Biggest travelling support for any club I've seen at that level - local derbies aside. The reality for them is the same as for pretty much any other semi professional operation. Costs every other weekend are going to add up - and if many/all of your players aren't local then there will be issues around training/travel expenses even on home weekends. The issue about artificial pitches is one that is just weird. Don't understand the Football League/Premier League continued objections.

It's a discussion forum.

Corrupt isn't a word I'd ever use. I certainly don't think it's that. I think the balance right now tilts heavily towards failure because too many moving parts aren't under control. Time is against them - the season is three months away. They have no sponsors worth the name that I can see. Their connection to the ground project is tenuous at best and that project is already under threat. The Cornish Rebels that they've aligned with have a very rocky history. I can't see that they have any players signed. Their pathway, and everything else about anything beyond the end of next week, seems to be at the "this would be a good idea" stage rather than anything they can point to as happening. I can't see any obvious on the ground activity to hoover up memberships, contact details etc (the sort of thing as a start up you'd be doing to get people excited about coming to your games). There are no obvious travel and accommodation options being set up for away and casual fans. You'd expect, if something was really solid, that some or all of those would be sorted before launch and the rest would at least look like they were under control. No one will be happier than me if I end up eating humble pie on this. I like being proved wrong if it means RL is being successful. Right now though, I think there's a lot of blind faith in action with nothing to justify it.

To repeat my earlier point: we lack credibility because we had all this a 20 odd years ago. Growing grassroots teams all over the country. And now our ambition is scaled back so much that we're expected to credulously cheerlead a pin in a map club and pretend that everything about it is real.

Apparently rugby league in Cornwall on three months' notice is amazing and how dare you have doubts, but rugby league in Liverpool must never be considered because reasons. I can't see how we're ever likely to see a Super League side in Liverpool but we have previously seen semi professional clubs and decent grassroots activity and there's no real reason, if resources were there, that can't be done again.

How would putting them in a five team development competition cul-de-sac be better?

At the start of the century, there were Rugby League Conference teams all over the country. The idea that we would only now be putting a Cornish team into League 1, and just how small that league is, would have shown just how small time our ambitions became in the intervening years.

What about one that rocks up from scratch three months before the start of a season?

I too like to make irrelevant comments to make it look like I have a point.

If everything is as good as the wide-eyed seem to believe then my sneering will make not a blind bit of difference.

And sponsors and spectators. What with it being a pretty sparsely populated area with some of the highest levels of poverty in the country. But they'll have done all the research they need on that. Bound to have done.

I'm not asking you to. And, based on past experience, Perez won't ever do one either.

Agreed. Although I do like a nice bit of CAD showing happy fans arriving by bike, bus and walking.

Rugby in Cornish is "rugbi" so it would probably make sense to put the Roman numerals after it, "Rugbi XIII".

They should be asked if there's an agreement in place for them to play at a fictitious stadium?