THE Cornish All Blacks returned to Step Five of the English rugby pyramid in 2019, and although they took time to find their feet back in the South West Premier, are right in touch in the race for survival.

The All Blacks started the 2018/19 campaign under the new coaching team of Ian Goldsmith and Ryan Westren, who were previously the respective forwards and backs coaches under Jimmy Tucker, who led them to a third-placed finish the year before.

Launceston enjoyed a brilliant run of form right up to Christmas, losing just twice to Okehampton and Gloucestershire-based Newent.

An injury-ravaged squad endured a poor January as they lost for the second time to Okehampton before dropping points at home to Cornish rivals St Ives.

At that point they were in a three-horse race with Okehampton and Newent for promotion with the winners going up automatically and the runners-up facing a one-legged play-off against the team that finished second in South West One (East).

The All Blacks gathered their composure to win eight of their final nine games, ending up three points behind champions Okehampton.

The play-off against Gloucester-based Old Centralians in front of a packed Polson Bridge will go down in club history.

Trailing 19-0 at the break despite having to play against a strong wind, the All Blacks tore into their visitors after the restart with Westren notching a hat-trick to go alongside tries from Martin Kneebone and Aiden Jacob as they ran out 33-22 winners.

The summer was a successful one as they managed to hold on to their key performers, although they did lose prop Andy Knight and winger Will Morton, who went back to Brixham and Saltash, while Jacob has taken a break from the game.

Recruited were Louis Ogilvie, Alfie Lang, Rhys Carpenter, Rory Cinnamond, Tom Bottoms, Gary Gynn, although many of them have spent time injured. Cinnamond and Bottoms have really caught the eye.

The All Blacks knew that the step up would be significant.

They competed excellently against old rivals Redruth under the new floodlights back in August, but a lack of pre-season fixtures proved costly.

St Ives conceded and later pulled out of league rugby altogether, meaning by the time they took on Exeter University in their opener on September 7. It had been three weeks since they had taken to the field.

Three hefty defeats to the uni, Exmouth and Ivybridge was a worrying start.

However the All Blacks gradually started to compete. They pushed high-flying Maidenhead in an 85-point classic, which they lost by a solitary point.

That sparked them into life as they won their next two fixtures, firstly running out comfortable winners at Newbury Blues before gaining some revenge on Okehampton in a 22-17 success.

Table-toppers Barnstaple and high-flying Weston-super-Mare proved too strong before suffering a cruel, last-gasp defeat at fellow strugglers Bracknell.

It was then Launceston’s turn for late glory as Westren crashed over in the final seconds to secure a 32-32 draw with Brixham.

A fortnight later the first Cornish derby of the season at Camborne went the way of the hosts, but a 20-14 success over Drybrook on December 14 and a superb 19-17 success at an Exmouth side who had thrashed them 76-24 just three months earlier, showed their remarkable turnaround.

Due to Birmingham Solihull’s pull out, just two teams go down, and with the side improving every week, especially in defence, there’s no reason why survival should be ensured.

One cause for concern will be their home record, which has seen them secure just two wins and a draw. One feels that will be the key, starting with a visit from Ivybridge on Saturday (3pm).

Bude

BUDE were desperately unlucky to miss out on promotion from the Tribute Cornwall/Devon League last term, losing just three games.

But such was the excellence of Penryn, who are in mid-table in the league above and Honiton, who are also out of the relegation places, they found themselves preparing for the likes of Veor and Pirates Amateurs instead.

Angus Hodges side have found the 2019/20 campaign much tougher, already losing five times to sit in mid-table.

Their cause hasn’t been helped by him missing seven games due to a cheekbone injury at Lanner on the third weekend.

Availability for away games continues to be a problem, although they did push promotion-chasing Truro all the way before Ieuan Boon’s hat-trick denied them a famous success.

At their Bencoolen Meadow base they continue to be extremely strong. Torquay Athletic were the only team to walk away with victory last year while it appears that a similar record is in the offing once more, having only tasted defeat to leaders Paignton on home soil.

But a solitary success on the road means they’re languishing in halfway, although they should finish in the top five if they play to their potential.

Their 2020 begins with a visit from mid-table Lanner on Saturday (2.30pm).

Camelford

ALTHOUGH there have been gradual improvements on the field, it was the tragic death of club president Nic Osborne that will be the overiding memory of 2019.

Osborne was the founder and president of the Lane End outfit, who had also celebrated their ten-year anniversary this year, but his passing in July due to a lawnmower accident has hit them hard.

They do however continue to turn sides out and finished fifth out of six in Tribute Cornwall League Two.

They beat bottom club Redruth Albany home and away as well as Stithians at Lane End.

With the league campaign finished, attention now turns to the cup competitions and friendlies, starting with the Cornwall County Cup which begins this Saturday.