Cornish Pirates Rugby Club is a Cornish professional rugby union club playing in the second tier of the English rugby union system, the RFU Championship. The club was formed in 1945 when Penzance RFC and Newlyn RFC amalgamated to form Penzance & Newlyn RFC and is based in Penzance, Cornwall. Twenty days after the end of the Second World War, the first match was played against Guy's Hospital on 22 September 1945. The club was renamed Cornish Pirates in 2005 and apart from one season at Kenwyn, Truro and four at the Recreation Ground, Camborne, they play at the Mennaye Field in Penzance.Westren, P, Thomas, J and Matthews, H. 50 Golden Years. Penzance: Penzance & Newlyn RFC.Tomlin, S and Straughan, D. (2009) Pirates! Pirates! The Rise And Rise Of A Cornish Rugby Club. Penzance: Cornish Pirates
The list below details the club's achievements from the first league season when they played at level eight in the Cornwall and Devon League through to last season (2011–12), when they equalled their highest league position and were also losing finalists in the play–off for promotion to the Aviva Premiership. The club have won promotion on six occasions and have been successful twice in national competitions and also won Cornish Cup competitions three times.
SeasonLeagueNotesNational Cup Cornwall CupDivisionPWDLFAPtsPosLevel1987–88Cornwall and Devon League10613166111134th8QF1988–8910505120147107thSF1989–901090125696181stPromoted1st R1990–91Western Counties1021710511559th71st R1991–921060411696125thQF1992–9312804314129164th1st R1993–9412804185124164thQF1994–9512804287160164th18 consecutive home winsSF1995–96 11704202150143rdPromoted5 clubs promoted due to league reorganisationQF1996–97South West Two (West)211803636241361st6Promoted1st roundSF1997–98South West One221417599361294th5SFSF1998–992220021083247401stPromoted3rd roundWinners1999–00National Three South2620151055481412nd43rd roundWinners2000–01261826823492383rdFinalists2001–022624111271468491st4Promoted2nd round2002–03National League Two262213849442451st3Promoted2nd round2003–04National League One2681174748924310th24th round2004–05261709698526854th2nd round2005–06261907694561903rdhighest position2nd round2006–073020288124911014thWinners2007–08302019800583915th3pts deducted2008–093016113744578827th2nd roundWinners2009–10RFU Championship2211110555463566th 2 3rd place in group stageWinners2010–11221516633337763rdhighest positionlost promotion play–off finalgroup stage2011–12221435606464743rdhighest positionlost promotion play–off finalSF 2012–13 22 10 2 10 435 480 52 6th 2013–14 23 10 2 11 456 554 51 6th 2014–15 22 9 0 13 436 464 45 8th 2015–16 22 8 1 13 530 570 49 9th 2016–17 20 9 2 9 559 497 55 6th 2017–18 22 12 0 10 681 577 67 4th Semi-final held and won at beginning of following season; the final against Launceston was not played and the Pirates decided to withdraw from Cornwall RFU competitions for seven seasons. three points deducted for scrum replacement irregularity New competition, the Cornwall Super Cup British and Irish Cup from 2009–10 onwards
Williams, T. and Mitchell, B. (1991) Courage Clubs Championship Official Rugby Union Club Directory 1991-92. Taunton: Tony Williams.
See also
Cornish Pirates RFU Championship
References
External links Cornish Pirates official website