Latest news with #CornwallRLFC
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cornwall RLFC demise 'heartbreaking' says head coach
Cornwall RLFC head coach Mike Abbott says his players were keen to fulfil their fixtures before the League One side folded. Cornwall went out of business on Wednesday after new owner Kenny Stone was unable to bring in new investment to the Penryn-based club. But Abbott, who has been part of the coaching team since the club was founded in late 2021 and head coach since the 2023 season, says his players would have fulfilled Sunday's fixture at North Wales Crusaders. "The players were still very much for the club," he told BBC Sport. "They were willing to travel to Wales at the weekend and play and then sort of go about it then on a week to week basis to keep the club going and see if backers could come in, because phone calls were happening in the background. "They were fully engaged on North Wales away this weekend and then we'll see from there." Cornwall RLFC fold because of finance issues Cornwall RLFC taken over by new owners Abbott, like most of the team, had a full-time job as well as his rugby league commitments. He only found out about Cornwall's demise when a colleague at the school where he is a deputy headteacher told him about the news after reading it online. "I'm just concerned about the boys," added an emotional Abbott, who was keen to pay tribute to Sam Wickets, Ben Gregor, Sam Gilder and John Beach who had worked behind the scenes to keep the club going. "Some of them have moved from Australia to play for the county and the commitment and effort they've put in, it's just gutting that that's not been matched by certain people at the club. "The amount of work that goes on in the background week to week to get a rugby club to function and to get into the next game and get them ready after that game to the next one it's non-stop. "They've all got full-time jobs as well, it's heartbreaking for them." Abbott hopes the sport can be resurrected in some way in the county. Despite being more known as a rugby union hotbed, the rugby league side had been well-received both locally and among Abbott's contemporaries in the 13-man code. "There's a home for rugby league in Cornwall, and I know it comes with challenges for travelling and everything else like that, but it's untapped," he said. "It just needs someone to come in and do it the right way. "Myself and John Beach have been screaming for a foundation to be set up, let's get it playing in schools, let's do all these really solid foundations that give you a conveyor belt of players - really focus the money underneath it to make it secure. "There's a place for rugby league in Cornwall, it's untouched, no one's been into it and done it properly to try and make it work. "I hope it carries on, I hope there's someone out there who thinks we can go about this the right way, whether that's with me or someone else I'm not bothered, just come and do it properly and make it work." Cornwall RLFC
BBC News
02-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Cornwall RLFC fold because of finance issues
League One side Cornwall RLFC have folded because of financial issues and have pulled out of League One with immediate effect as a club, which was formed in 2021, was taken over by Cornish businessman Kenny Stone in Stone says he is unable to bring in new investors to help fund them going forward. Stone took over from a consortium led by Canadian owner Eric Perez with the aim of making it a community-based their record home loss - a 78-6 defeat by Whitehaven at Penryn - has proved to be their last match. The news comes as Super League side Salford struggle with ongoing financial issues, which has seen the club lose a host of players and win just one game so far this season."The club's current ownership group, who gained control of Cornwall RLFC back in November, immediately sought further investment to try and stabilise the club and to grow the game of rugby league in the Duchy, through a professional club," a statement on Cornwall's website read. "Significant progress was made with potential overseas investors to achieve this although sadly, due the current uncertainties in the United States of America, this has not been possible."The club have subsequently explored other avenues to secure required funding, but these have been extensively exhausted, leaving Cornwall RLFC with no option other than to withdraw immediately."Cornwall RLFC would like to place on record its thanks to the club's players, coaching staff, officials, sponsors and fans for their unwavering support over the past four years." The demise of Cornwall is the latest from a 'non-heartland' area to fail in the professional game. Clubs including Kent Invicta, Nottingham City, London Skolars and West Wales Raiders have all folded in recent RFL licence was that of Hemel Stags with the hope that the county, which has a rich rugby union history, would be able to provide a strong base for a rugby league they struggled in their three full seasons - winning just one game in led by former Widnes and Dewsbury boss Neil Kelly, locally-based Mike Abbott became head coach in 2023. He led the Choughs to their best season in his first year when they won five matches, including a first-ever win over a heartland season saw them register just three wins - two coming against struggling Newcastle Thunder - the same team they got their only win of 2025 against. It ends an experiment in professional rugby league in Cornwall which saw the club set records for the furthest-ever away trip and saw a first-ever Challenge Cup game played in the county in 2023. 'Always going to be a challenge from the start' Matt Newsum, BBC Sport rugby league reporterCornwall's withdrawal from rugby league's professional ranks brings a premature end to an experiment which was always going to be a challenge from the smallest division in the professional game has the smallest trickle down of incomes and yet with Cornwall at one extreme and Whitehaven and Newcastle at the other, arguably the widest geographical spread within UK-based teams and was always going to bite at the finances in terms of travel and the Rugby Football League, it marks another club lost from the league, after London Skolars withdrew for 2024, but will bring the division back to an even will be interesting to see whether rugby league's foray into the Duchy has a left a footprint in terms of the community game, and whether it will dissuade other ambitious clubs away from the heartlands such as Anglian Vipers from attempting their own push for the professional game.
