Truro RFC is a Cornish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club that is based in the city of

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro ...

and was formed in 1885. The club's colours are blue and yellow and they operate 2 senior men's teams, a women's team, a colts side and various mini/junior teams (ages 7–16). The men's first team currently play in Regional 2 Tribute South West - a league at level 6 of the

English rugby union system Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system. Women's Rugby union in England cons ...

History

Truro RFC are one of the oldest rugby union clubs in

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 ...

having been founded in 1885. Despite being one of the senior clubs in the county the club has only started to experience success in more recent times. With the advent of the Courage National Leagues in 1987, Truro were placed in Western Counties - ranked at tier 7 of the English rugby union league system. They remained in this division until 1991 when they were relegated to Courage Cornwall/Devon having finished bottom of the league standings. After seven relatively unremarkable seasons in Cornwall/Devon, Truro finally won the first league title in the club's history, finishing 4 points clear of second placed Crediton who were also promoted. This league title was the beginning of the club's most successful period so far as they went on to achieve three successive promotions, winning

Western Counties West Counties 1 Western West (formerly known as Western Counties West for sponsorship reasons) is an English rugby union league. Originally a single division called Western Counties, in 1996 the division split into two regional leagues called Wester ...

in 1999 and then South West 2 West (winning 21 out of 22 games) to reach South West Division 1, which at tier 5 is the highest level Truro have played at. In 2001 after just one year in South West Division 1 Truro were relegated back into South West 2 West. They bounced back the following year by winning a league and cup double. First they won the Cornwall Cup 27–20 against Penryn at the

Recreation Ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

- remarkably the first time the club had reached the final of the competition let alone won it. They then overcame promotion rivals, Berry Hill, to claim the league title after a very close contest which saw the two sides finishing on 37 points apiece but Truro going up as champions due to better for/against record. In 2004 the club were relegated once more from South West Division 1 in bottom place, after two seasons in the division. They would also reach the final of the Cornwall Cup that year, losing 0–22 to Redruth at the

in Camborne. The demotion at the end of the 2003–04 season would be the first of three relegation's in four years as Truro went down from South West 2 West in 2006 and then from

in 2007. In 2017 the club won the South West section of the

RFU Intermediate Cup The RFU Intermediate Cup is a rugby union national knockout cup competition in England run by the Rugby Football Union. It is contested by teams at level 7 of the English rugby union system. While the competition is a national one, it is howeve ...

, advancing through to the national semi-finals where they met the London & South East champions, Charlton Park. Unfortunately, Truro were unable to qualify for the final at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team plays ...

as they lost heavily away to the London side. In 2019 Truro were relegated from Western Counties West on the last weekend of the 2018–19 season, finishing 13th out of 14. After just one season, Truro returned to Western Counties West, where despite the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

crisis they had done enough to be crowned league champions of Cornwall/Devon.

Ground

St Clements Hill is situated in south-east Truro at the top of the road that gives it its name, about 35–40 minutes' walk from the train station (be warned it is hilly). St Clements Hill consists of a club-house, main pitch and a secondary pitch for 2nd XV and junior fixtures, and there is plenty of parking available in and around the ground. The main pitch does not have a stand or any covered areas, although there is a tiered bank that surrounds the pitch on two sides offering a good view of the action for spectators. Due to the bank overall capacity at the ground is around 2,000, all of which is standing.

Season summary

Honours

* Cornwall/Devon champions (2): 1997–98, 2019–20 *

champions: 1998-99 *

promotion: 2021-22 * South West 2 West champions (2): 1999–00, 2001–02 * Cornwall Cup winners: 2002 * RFU South West Intermediate winners: 2017

Notable former players

* Darren Dawidiuk - Truro born hooker who started his career at the club after coming through the youth teams. Currently playing in the Premiership with

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

after a spell with the

Cornish Pirates The Cornish Pirates ( kw, An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn ...

. * Lewis Vinnicombe - winger who had short spell with Truro in between playing for Redruth and the

. He has been capped by

and was the top try scorer at the 2014 Bill Beaumont Cup. *

Tom Voyce Thomas Michael Dunstan Voyce (born 5 January 1981) is a former English rugby union player who played at wing or fullback. He previously played for England. Voyce married Anna Wood in September 2015. Biography Born 5 January 1981 in Truro, ...

- Truro born full-back and winger who played youth rugby at the club before going on to a successful career in the English Premiership with several clubs including

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

, and was also capped 9 times by

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Notes

References

External links

Truro RFCCornwall RFU
{{Rugby union in England Cornish rugby union teams English rugby union teams Rugby clubs established in 1885 Sports clubs in Cornwall 1885 establishments in England Truro