CornishRebel Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 From the South West Rugby League Facebook page 2019 UPDATE There will be six clubs competing in 2019. Saltash Essayons RL, Dorset County Giants Rugby League, Cornish Rebels RLFC Tarka Storm RL and Teignbridge Trojans RLFC will welcome Devon Sharks RLFC back into the fold after a two year absence. The League competition will comprise of home or away fixtures between the clubs as well as a Magic Weekend and a Grand Finals Day at which all clubs will be involved after the final league table is confirmed. Perhaps the biggest news for many will be the return of the coveted County of Origin clash between Cornwall Rugby League and Devon for the first time since 2015. The one-off game will feature teams comprised from the active clubs and players from within both Counties and they will once again compete for the Martin Roddy MBE trophy. It is expected that fixtures will be confirmed and released by the end of February and the season is anticipated to run from June to the beginning of August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Good news but very short season!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornishRebel Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 4 minutes ago, DoubleD said: Good news but very short season!!! True but some of these clubs haven't played more than a handful of games for the last two seasons, so a moree formal structured competition is a step in the right direction. The region is only served by A roads and with the huge number of visitors in the summer travel has always and will continue to be an issue. Cornish Rebels to Dorset is 175 miles each way and with holiday traffic can easy take 4hrs. There is a huge obsession on this forum of an 8 month season for the southern and regional leagues to be deemed successful, but surely a competitive league increasing participation slowly growing club numbers, whilst clubs like the Cornish Rebels continue to work with St Helens community team and the RFL to deliver rugby league activity to over 250 schools is more of a success than 5-8 open age sides with very little in the way of development, dragging out a season from April to September playing eachother 4 times in the name of expansion! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 1 hour ago, CornishRebel said: True but some of these clubs haven't played more than a handful of games for the last two seasons, so a moree formal structured competition is a step in the right direction. The region is only served by A roads and with the huge number of visitors in the summer travel has always and will continue to be an issue. Cornish Rebels to Dorset is 175 miles each way and with holiday traffic can easy take 4hrs. There is a huge obsession on this forum of an 8 month season for the southern and regional leagues to be deemed successful, but surely a competitive league increasing participation slowly growing club numbers, whilst clubs like the Cornish Rebels continue to work with St Helens community team and the RFL to deliver rugby league activity to over 250 schools is more of a success than 5-8 open age sides with very little in the way of development, dragging out a season from April to September playing eachother 4 times in the name of expansion! A step back in the right direction, glad Devon have been allowed back in the Fold. The game is too small for people to cut off their nose to spite their face. The work you’re doing in the community is fantastic and should be lauded, how much support do Saints and RFL provide? 250 schools is a huge number, how many people do you think you’ll engage and is there a plan to divert them to community clubs thereafter? I get the distance point, but if there’s only ever a 2-3 month season it’s really not going to foster commitment or loyalty, let alone actually assist players development and skill level. You probably need that youth development to come through to be able to push a longer season, unless one of the clubs took the step up to the Southern Conference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev p Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 A 10 match season is a step in the right direction, a longer season with no more clubs would be more games against the same teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbfaz Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 To echo DoubleD's words, it is nice to see that common sense has broken out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev p Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Hopefully the 6 teams are evenly matched. Mid matches would be a step backwards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornishRebel Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 On 1/9/2019 at 11:27 AM, DoubleD said: A step back in the right direction, glad Devon have been allowed back in the Fold. The game is too small for people to cut off their nose to spite their face. The work you’re doing in the community is fantastic and should be lauded, how much support do Saints and RFL provide? 250 schools is a huge number, how many people do you think you’ll engage and is there a plan to divert them to community clubs thereafter? I get the distance point, but if there’s only ever a 2-3 month season it’s really not going to foster commitment or loyalty, let alone actually assist players development and skill level. You probably need that youth development to come through to be able to push a longer season, unless one of the clubs took the step up to the Southern Conference. Nobody was cutting their nose off to spite there face, it's a matter of attitude, one party shouted loud the others didn't because it wasn't in the best interests of the sport. St Helens have provided lots of coach education to our development team and through CPDs to the teachers of the primary and secondary schools in Cornwall. They provide lost of support and we run a number of festival days through the year with the support of the saints Community team. The last 3 years over 150 secondary students have attended each of our festivals and all gone home with Saints goodies after a great morning of skills training and afternoon of games. The RFL also support our work through Primary Rugby League and England Talent Pathway, and are regularly in attendance at our festivals and development days. We are hoping to divert the secondary kids to the Rebels where we will split into East and West of the County with a 3 game origin series planned for U16s hopefully this summer. I totally agree that a 3 month season won't ever help build the sport but the club's outside of the heartlands need to be focusing on developing their own players rather than using union players. So if we have to have a 3 month season for the next 3-6 years while our youngsters come through so be it, but it's better to build with a plan than expand and there being nothing underneath an open age team, which is unfortunately often the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighting irish Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 On 1/9/2019 at 11:27 AM, DoubleD said: A step back in the right direction, glad Devon have been allowed back in the Fold. The game is too small for people to cut off their nose to spite their face. The work you’re doing in the community is fantastic and should be lauded, how much support do Saints and RFL provide? 250 schools is a huge number, how many people do you think you’ll engage and is there a plan to divert them to community clubs thereafter? I get the distance point, but if there’s only ever a 2-3 month season it’s really not going to foster commitment or loyalty, let alone actually assist players development and skill level. You probably need that youth development to come through to be able to push a longer season, unless one of the clubs took the step up to the Southern Conference. I think the amateur game as a whole should review the "lazy" commitment and total reliance on a league structure. I have suggested in the past that Unions' spread happened organically (and accidentally) due to their rejection of leagues as too ''competitive'' by nature, (too professional). Instead, they employed ''fixture secretaries'' who compiled a season full of friendly fixtures (different every year). While we mundanely play the same 10 or 12 teams every year for the local trophy, they brightened up their season with invited clubs, glamour fixtures, touring teams, college and university opponents and of course, tours of their own.This practise automatically fed and nurtured growth in new areas. I think, leagues in the heartlands should be organised (where possible) in odd numbers of teams. Then each season, every team would have two weeks off, to rest players or organise an ''out of area fixture''. One home and one away, (to a development area perhaps). This would free up teams, every week, throughout the season and they would be free to develop relationships with teams in other areas. Such ''tours'' would (could) become annual highlights for amateur teams stuck in an otherwise routine league programme. They're also great team building and bonding events, (I've enjoyed a few myself). I suggested this to BARLA and they looked at me as if i'd come from the planet Looney. When i asked to speak at the AGM (many moons ago) they assumed i was going to make a plea for financial assistance but all we wanted (we had money) was someone to play against. They thought that some teams might be willing to visit us on tour ''around Easter'' but that would only give us one extra fixture per season. My suggestion (if widely accepted) could provide a fixture on any weekend (and every weekend) of the year. I'm writing to you, in the hope that you might adopt this suggestion, in conjunction with other areas, so that your league programme could be added to, and your season extended by the willing participation of other leagues in an interesting and exciting ''self help'' scheme. Just imagine if every amateur team in Britain, went on tour once each season, what would that do, for clubs and areas, like your own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleD Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 2 hours ago, fighting irish said: I think the amateur game as a whole should review the "lazy" commitment and total reliance on a league structure. I have suggested in the past that Unions' spread happened organically (and accidentally) due to their rejection of leagues as too ''competitive'' by nature, (too professional). Instead, they employed ''fixture secretaries'' who compiled a season full of friendly fixtures (different every year). While we mundanely play the same 10 or 12 teams every year for the local trophy, they brightened up their season with invited clubs, glamour fixtures, touring teams, college and university opponents and of course, tours of their own.This practise automatically fed and nurtured growth in new areas. I think, leagues in the heartlands should be organised (where possible) in odd numbers of teams. Then each season, every team would have two weeks off, to rest players or organise an ''out of area fixture''. One home and one away, (to a development area perhaps). This would free up teams, every week, throughout the season and they would be free to develop relationships with teams in other areas. Such ''tours'' would (could) become annual highlights for amateur teams stuck in an otherwise routine league programme. They're also great team building and bonding events, (I've enjoyed a few myself). I suggested this to BARLA and they looked at me as if i'd come from the planet Looney. When i asked to speak at the AGM (many moons ago) they assumed i was going to make a plea for financial assistance but all we wanted (we had money) was someone to play against. They thought that some teams might be willing to visit us on tour ''around Easter'' but that would only give us one extra fixture per season. My suggestion (if widely accepted) could provide a fixture on any weekend (and every weekend) of the year. I'm writing to you, in the hope that you might adopt this suggestion, in conjunction with other areas, so that your league programme could be added to, and your season extended by the willing participation of other leagues in an interesting and exciting ''self help'' scheme. Just imagine if every amateur team in Britain, went on tour once each season, what would that do, for clubs and areas, like your own? I don't have any involvement in South West RL, but I do know a lot of your ideas/suggestions are able to be adopted or are already done so by a number of leagues. That is the summer leagues outside the NCL, and not BARLA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighting irish Posted February 22, 2019 Share Posted February 22, 2019 On 1/13/2019 at 6:27 PM, CornishRebel said: Nobody was cutting their nose off to spite there face, it's a matter of attitude, one party shouted loud the others didn't because it wasn't in the best interests of the sport. St Helens have provided lots of coach education to our development team and through CPDs to the teachers of the primary and secondary schools in Cornwall. They provide lost of support and we run a number of festival days through the year with the support of the saints Community team. The last 3 years over 150 secondary students have attended each of our festivals and all gone home with Saints goodies after a great morning of skills training and afternoon of games. The RFL also support our work through Primary Rugby League and England Talent Pathway, and are regularly in attendance at our festivals and development days. We are hoping to divert the secondary kids to the Rebels where we will split into East and West of the County with a 3 game origin series planned for U16s hopefully this summer. I totally agree that a 3 month season won't ever help build the sport but the club's outside of the heartlands need to be focusing on developing their own players rather than using union players. So if we have to have a 3 month season for the next 3-6 years while our youngsters come through so be it, but it's better to build with a plan than expand and there being nothing underneath an open age team, which is unfortunately often the case. This is one of the most exciting stories I've heard in a long time. May I make a suggestion? Encourage your open age clubs to get a copy of the BARLA/Rugby League handbook ( as a source of club addresses) or by other means, and write an open letter to as many clubs from other areas of the UK inviting them to a ''Summer Holiday'' tour in Devon/Cornwall. If a club gets half a dozen respondents, it will double the length of their Open Age season and keep their adult players more interested (and more committed) to the clubs while you build your junior structures. This way, when the juniors mature, they'll have an open-age organisation to join. (Please see my earlier thread about amateur clubs supporting development in new areas by organising their leagues, into odd numbers of teams?). I've been through this experience myself and I know it involves some work but most new clubs/teams will persist if they can just play. Loosening up the rigid, closed, league formats around the country and encouraging our amateur clubs to ''tour'' will help to extend short seasons in new development areas. You have a built in advantage, you live in some of the most picturesque parts of the country with higher than average temperatures. Who wouldn't want to visit the Cornish Riviera? (and have a game of rugby league to boot.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominic Posted May 19, 2019 Share Posted May 19, 2019 Does anyone know if any of these teams are planning to join the newly formed Southern Conference League West Division for next year? Would be good to have some South West participation in the league along with 3 Welsh teams, All Golds and Swindon St George. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighting irish Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Does anyone have an update on the current state of play in the South West? The thread took off with such encouraging stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chamey Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 2 hours ago, fighting irish said: Does anyone have an update on the current state of play in the South West? The thread took off with such encouraging stories. Devon sharks beat Tarka in the final last weekend: Cornish Rebels pulled out due to teams not travelling to them: http://www.cornishrebels.co.uk/club-statement-withdrawal-from-the-2019-swrl/#more-870 after 3/6 league games (although up until that point they'd only had one home game, which doesn't make much sense) Saltash played 3, forfeited 2. All other clubs seemed to complete their schedule. More here: https://www.rugby-league.com/leagues__competitions/south_west_league/league_table Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuffer Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 2 hours ago, fighting irish said: Does anyone have an update on the current state of play in the South West? The thread took off with such encouraging stories. The final was played last Saturday with devon sharks beating us (tarka storm) in the final unfortunately...good luck to sharks next week (and hopefully beyond) in the harry Jepson knock out stages. Unfortunately, cornish rebels had to pull out part way through the season and saltash forfeited a few games too. Hopefully the two cornish teams can regroup and come back stronger for next year. In the devon v cornwall "state of origin" the cornish came out the victors against the best from sharks, storm and Trojans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSoutherner Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Somerset Vikings beat Reading Raiders in the West of England Grand final and Cheltenham Phoenix beat Oxford Cavaliers in the Plate final Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fighting irish Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Thank you for the information. With the efforts made in schools described in earlier posts, I'd say the future looks bright for the region. Is the schools work planned to continue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SSoutherner Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 9 hours ago, fighting irish said: Thank you for the information. With the efforts made in schools described in earlier posts, I'd say the future looks bright for the region. Is the schools work planned to continue? I know the Reading team has a lot of Union players in it but i also know a couple of those work for a company providing after school PE clubs etc so would hope they would be doing their bit as well even if it is not formal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbfaz Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Reading team is largely Bracknell/Reading/Reading Abbey Union players with a smattering from other places. But they all love league, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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