This month we’re excited to see an article all about Roseland in “Rugby Club” Magazine, you can read the article in full below…
Roseland Rugby Club – Cornwall’s Youngest Club Chairman
As Chairman of Roseland Rugby Club for the last 3 years, I’m involved in everything from player recruitment, to deciding where we go on tour, and of course giving a speech at the dinner and dance. I first got involved with the club in 1999 because my best mate John Poskus (captain at the time) persuaded me to give it a go. Although for my first game I played my only game at full back (since then always been a forward), the club was so friendly and the hospitality in the pub afterwards so good I’ve stuck around. In 2003 I started my four seasons as captain, and I still play whenever fixtures don’t clash with milking.
Going into the new season the mood in the club is really strong, we’re aiming to win the cup, do well in the League, and get at least 30 people out on tour – hopefully with plenty of the new youngsters coming along too. Pre-season we’ve been touring the villages training on everything from beaches to cricket pitches, so we’ve got several new youngsters who’ve joined the club and there’s been a healthy turnout at training every week. Roseland is a small club based in the even smaller village of Philleigh in Cornwall, since 1984/85 we’ve only fielded one side and it’s always been as much about the atmosphere in the pub afterwards as it is about the game on the field. Roseland RFC is a unique place, until 2010 everyone got changed in the village hall, we’d be separated from the opposition by a row of chairs and the ref got changed by the piano! We still have to walk 5 minutes down the road to the pitch, and every once in a while we have to get the horses off the pitch before we can play. But that’s what makes us Roseland. We’re the club that will drive 100 miles with only 12 players to honour a fixture, or turn up at a top club with a scratch team and somehow pull off a win. That’s what makes being part of this club so rewarding, it’s about the people and everyone enjoying themselves.
We are incredibly lucky to have our unusual set up, with the ongoing support of our pitch-owner Jim Pascoe and the fantastic hospitality provided by the village pub The Roseland Inn. We’re proud to provide our opposition with the best food (by far!) of the league, and every visiting club loves to visit our “clubhouse”. We have an annual Boxing Day fixture against Truro, and every year the Truro players try to persuade their club to allow all the games to played in Philleigh. Not surprising given it usually turns into a huge party.
Back in the 1990s we had a mini side, and many of those players are still playing for us now. Without a mini side or colts side player recruitment is always a challenge, and we have a long history of our players going on to play for much stronger clubs. Whilst it’s great to see them succeeding we always look forward to welcoming them back towards the end of their careers, or a few a pints in the meantime. Recent players include a trio at St Austell (Mark Martin, Ben Chenoweth, and Curtis Newbury), the Cornish Pirates props Paul Andrew and Jack Andrew (who ran a forwards session for us at training only last week), and Sam Betty – flanker at Worcester Warriors. Not forgetting our most famous old boy – Tony Blair’s spin doctor Alasdair Campbell.
Outside of rugby between the players, supporters, and old boys we get involved in a fair number of community events. From charity tug-of-wars, carnivals, and fun days, to the pub singing group (yet to be named) some of the old boys have set up who practice the same night as training. The community and fun aspect is very much at the heart of our ambitions for the future – making sure our players, ex-players, and supporters all enjoy their time at Roseland.