Cornwall R.L.F.C. is an English

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team based in Penryn,

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. They will play their home matches at

Penryn RFC Penyrn RFC is a Cornwall, Cornish rugby union club based in the town of Penryn, Cornwall, Penryn, and is the oldest club side in the county having been formed in 1872. The club currently has 2 senior men's teams (the seconds are known as the Sara ...

's Memorial Ground.

History

2019–20: Ottawa Aces

It was first announced in March 2019 that a consortium from Canada, led by

Toronto Wolfpack The Toronto Wolfpack are a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, who compete in the North American Rugby League. The club originally competed in the British rugby league system but withdrew in the 2020 Super Leagu ...

founder Eric Perez, had purchased the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

membership of club

Hemel Stags Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased ...

and planned to relocate their licence to Canada. More due diligence took place during 2019 to decide if the club was ready to join League 1 for the 2020 season along with the New York City Rugby League, however at the end of July 2019 it was announced that the club would not enter the league in 2020 and would instead work towards joining the league in 2021. On 9 March 2020, Ottawa announced they would push back their debut season and enter League 1 in 2021. However, due to travel restrictions between Canada and the United Kingdom resulting from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, the Aces and the RFL agreed to defer entry to the League 1 another year again, until 2022. Come March 2021, it was announced Ottawa would compete in the newly founded North America Rugby League along with the

, however Perez said the club still expected to play in League 1 in 2022 and suggested the club could play as a 2nd team in the NARL. On 22 October 2021, it was announced that Ottawa Aces would relocate back to the United Kingdom permanently due the "unstable operating environment" of running a club in the British leagues from Canada during a pandemic. They would also withdraw from the NARL effectively disbanding as the Ottawa Aces.

2021–present: Relocation to Cornwall

On 2 November 2021 the club was officially relocated to Penryn,

and rebranded as Cornwall R.L.F.C.. The club will begin play in RFL League 1, the third tier of the

British rugby league system The British rugby league system is based on a five-tier structure administered by the Rugby Football League. There is no system of automatic promotion and relegation between all five tiers although teams have moved between them in the past. Since ...

. On 8 December 2021 it was announced that Neil Kelly had been appointed as head coach, and

Anthony Mullally Anthony Winston Mullally (born 28 June 1991), also known by the nickname of "Vegan Warrior", is a former Ireland international rugby league footballer who last played as a for Cornwall in Betfred League One He has previously played for Fren ...

was the first player signing They will be sponsored by Sedulo for the 2021 season.

Players

Current squad

Squad for 2022 RFL League 1;

Coaches

* Mike Abbot 2022-Present * Neil Kelly 2021–2022

Seasons

References

External links

* {{League 1 English rugby league teams 2021 establishments in England Rugby clubs established in 2021 Rugby league teams in Cornwall