Cornwall Rugby League - Will it last?

Cornwall RL - (BBC Sport)

Expansion in the world of Rugby League in the northern hemisphere has always been a touchy subject with mixed opinions from fans, clubs, players and owners. We've seen expansion teams such as Paris, Oxford, Hemel Stags, Celtic Crusaders and most recently Toronto Wolfpack come and go in the world of Rugby League after entering the abyss due to several reasons including bankruptcy, lack of support and most recently the covid-19 pandemic. Back in March 2019, it was announced that a consortium from Canada, led by Wolfpack owner Eric Perez who had set the pathway for the rise of the pack, had purchased Hemel's license to run a second Canadian team in the British leagues, a team that would be later announced as "Ottawa Aces. Due to the pandemic, like most things, the Aces struggled to progress and meet the requirements to join the league in 2021 and in the same month we saw the Toronto team denied access back into Super League by the RFL and other clubs, the capital city team delayed their inaugural campaign until 2022. New high profile signings for the aces such as Tom Gilmore, Matty Fozard, Louis Jouffret, Dec O’Donnell and Sam Wilde, were allowed to join other clubs for the 2021 season with the hope that former Catalan and current France coach Laurent Frayssinous lined up to take the hot seat in O-Town.

Last month we found out that the latest expansion team had made the decision to relocate to the UK with the travelling and yearly expenditure leading Perez to abandon his vision of becoming the second Canadian-based club to join the English rugby league structure. With speculations of a new location flying around social media and the sporting press, we finally found out on November 2nd that Cornwall would have its first ever professional Rugby League team, a county with roots firmly invested in the 15 man game rather then the 13. The club, to be known as Cornwall RLFC will be based at the Memorial Ground, home to Cornwall’s oldest rugby union club Penryn.

Like most announcements in Rugby League, the news was met with immediate criticism with the main topic been the cost of travel. With the Cornish team starting off in League one, the majority of their opposition will be part-time, working lads and with the third tier predominantly playing on a Sunday at 3pm, it will be a tight and short turn around for the players who may not return home until the early hours of Monday morning when they will start work a few hours later.  Keighley have the longest commute with a 14 hour, 788-mile round trip facing the Cougars in 2022, that is of course if the journey is smooth with no traffic or diversions, something not likely with the British Motorway system! They will be joined in league one with the two Welsh clubs, West Wales Raiders and North Wales, while London Skolars, Coventry Bears and Doncaster are also outside the traditional "M62 corridor" which is so heavily associated with the sport as red and white rose outfits Oldham, Swinton, Rochdale and Hunslet complete the competition for 2022.

@TheGameCaller, a broadcasting journalist within the sport has already stated on Twitter that the club owners are demanding the decision to allow Cornwall into the league to be put to a council vote as recently it has emerged that The RFL did not consult or engage with any of the clubs in league one to admit Eric Perez's new club into the tier. The news comes after the league one clubs have seen their central funding cut from £62,000 to a disgusting and mediocre £16,000 and with clubs already struggling to kick start their finances after the past few seasons, the cut is sure to damage to lower leagues even more.  

I myself believe that this could be a good move for the sport, but after so many failed attempts and shoddy decisions been made by the governing body, it gives me no hope for the Cornish team as already, the moaning and excuses for teams not to travel has already started one day after the announcement. Let's say the cost of a coach to Cornwall including staff and players could cost up to £3000, its only once a year and the key here is to look how other sports deal with long distance travel. As Rugby League isn't blessed with the riches of the premier league and the Union top divisions, I have looked into the lower leagues of football and saw leagues that include teams from England and the Isle of Guernsey, and leagues which include teams from the bottom of England facing teams from the North East. Rugby Union also has these in the lower leagues with Plymouth Albion, a team relatively close to Cornwall RLFC, facing trips up to Darlington, Leeds and Sale (Manchester) throughout their season which shows the process and travelling can be done. 

As a sport we need to move forward and I hope the Cornish fans can catch the Rugby League bug. Rugby union is Cornwall's most popular spectator sport with a large following. There are plenty of teams based around the county including Cornish Pirates and Falmouth RU teams that accumulate around 3500 supporters between them (pre pandemic), if only a third of these supporters give Rugby League a go, it would already see Cornwall RL have more supporters and a larger attendance then most teams in the lower divisions of league. The only issue with this is that even though participation levels are high with plenty of clubs, professional sport is hardly non-existent in the area so will be a new challenge facing Cornwall.

High expectations and a long term vision have already been set by the club with Perez telling BBC Sport that "This is a long-term project, so how people feel about it on day one is of little consequence, It's how they feel about it in 10 years that will tell the story. In 10 years if they say this Cornwall thing is great, we've done the job. If they say I feel the same way about as I did on day one - negative - we haven't done the job. If it works out, we'll be right and if it doesn't then we'll be wrong. But I don't think we'll be wrong." The CEO also stated that "There are fewer sporting distractions during rugby league's peak summer months and there is an established rugby union tradition in the south west - once you can handle an oval ball, you're pretty much there," a statement i agree with. With Cornwall been a high profile tourist destination, especially during the summer holidays, if the RFL could work with the teams to provide the Kernow's with Saturday afternoon home games in the peak of summer, it could open a whole new target audience to the world of Rugby League, this been said, it is the RFL we are talking about so I highly doubt any sensible and ethical decisions will be make with the timings and dates of the league on fixtures. 

With Premier Sports showing one live game a week in the Championship, the company would be fools not to cover the Cornish team this season which will give the newbies the TV and social media exposure they desperately need to gain support and kick on as a dominant force in the game. Away fans will also be crucial to the development of the game, especially if the club manages to gain promotion to the championship and eventually the Super League which is their long term goal, maybe a free pasty on entry........

But with any stakeholders in the club, its seen as a poorly thought out call which makes the game a laughing stock and with no coach or players announced for 2022, let's hope we get to see the team bringing Cornish born players though the system with over 25 men's RU teams already based in the county, Perez will have plenty of opportunity's to scout the area and persuade the top players to cross the codes. We will wait and see how Cornwall RLFC do in the distant future, but as a fan of a team in Super League, I hope to see this adventure pay off and expand our wonderful game, but Perez, the county and the team have a huge and challenging journey ahead of them. 

Joe Appleyard