DEJECTED players from Redruth Rugby Club returned to their dressing room at half time, while losing 30-nil away to Cambridge, only to find that their personal possessions had been stolen.

Players were so upset by what they found that they decided not to return to the pitch for the second half and the match was abandoned.

Director of rugby David Penberthy said in a statement that several Redruth players had lost wedding rings and other personal possessions and were too upset to continue the match.

"I went into the dressing room and there were clothes all over the floor," he said. "Our fourth official, David Ricketts, said his bag had been interfered with then the players came in and found their bags had also been interfered with.

"This did not bode well for a half-time team talk when you are 30 points down! The general feeling was one of upset and concern. A number of the guys had left personal possessions, such as wedding rings, in their bags that had gone. We do hand in valuables before a game, but there are certain items the player keeps with them until the last minute and unfortunately someone has gone in there and invaded our privacy.

"The general feeling around the squad was that we were not too happy with the situation. We were given the option to take the pitch for the second half, but feelings were high and the best thing was for us not to take the field in the second half. The referee fully understood our feelings. I cannot say any more until we go through an internalinvestigation to find out exactly what is missing.

"To be fair, the Cambridge officials have been very understanding and their players, although upset, were very understanding and I hope we can move forward. Until we hear if there will be any repercussions from the RFU, that is all I have to say."

Cambridge chairman Jerry Otter gave a sincere apology to Redruth president Derek Collins and David Penberthy for what had happened.

Referee Terry Hall took advice from RFU officials present - David Ford (referee assessor), Peter Wakefield (referee coach) and Murray Felstead (touch judge coach) - during an extended interval when there were discussion between officials of both clubs.

Eventually, after about 20 minutes, Hall and the Cambridge team took to the pitch for the second half, after waiting for a few minutes for Redruth to appear, before blowing for no side and abandoning the game.

Hall will be required to send in a report with his reasons for abandoning the game to the RFU and Mr Penberthy indicated he expected to be called to a hearing with the National Clubs Association (NCA), who are responsible for the organisation of this league.

Cambridgeshire police said by the time they arrived on the scene the Redruth rugby players had already gone and it was left to the people at Cambridge Rugby Club to explain what had happened.

Neil Franklin, from Cambridge police, said the thefts had occurred sometime during the first half of the game at Cambridge Rugby Club's ground in Granchester Road. Up to 600 people were attending the match and nobody was watching the changing rooms. There were no CCTV cameras and no security.

He added: "Somebody has entered the changing rooms and stolen money. The changing rooms were open to everybody. There was no security or locks. There were about 600 people at the venue. The police were called but the players had all gone by the time the police had arrived. Investigations are still ongoing and anyone with any information about what happened should contact Cambridgeshire police."

In a bad week for the Reds, Nathan Pascoe, who made the number six shirt his own last season with a series of impressive delays, broke his ankle in an accident at training on Thursday.