A LETTER arrived on the Packet sportsdesk this week which, rather appropriately, takes up the subject of local rugby and the future that may lie in wait for the two local senior clubs. It comes at a time when the plans for the Falmouth Rugby Club have been the subject of much discussion and the results of an on-line poll revealed over whether the Recreation Ground should remain an open space or should be built on (see page 10).
The writer of the letter offers much food for thought although a great deal of what has been suggested has been so before and summararily dismissed by factions within each club. However, the author, who does not want his identity revealed, penned the following: "There has been much discussion in recent months regarding the proposed sale of the Recreation Ground at Falmouth. May I suggest an alternative that would hopefully put rugby back on the map again in the Penryn-Falmouth area.
" It should be noted that both clubs have, during the season, sustained heavy defeats. Penryn are struggling to maintain amateur status, and it is understood that Falmouth wished to maintain this status also.
"Is it not time for these two old and well-respected clubs to combine under a new name completely? The history of the new club's forebears need not be lost. In this context, the future of the "rec" is paramount. This is acknowledged by many to have the best rugby pitch in Cornwall. It is certainly the flattest!
"Penryn has its own excellent infrastructure and, of course, is adjacent to the Penryn Sports College. Is it beyond the wit of the local authorities and the clubs concerned to realise that to combine and to use both facilities, upgraded, of course, with funds from various available sources, would place the Falmouth area once again to the forefront of Cornish rugby.
"There should be two centres of excellence.
"The first at the Recreation Ground, Falmouth, to stage first and 2nd XV games with the dressing rooms and viewing facilities to go with it.
"Penryn could be the centre of Youth Development with the colts and all junior XVs playing in tandem with the Camborne School of Mines, who are already domiciled at the Memorial Ground, Penryn. Improved floodlighting at both grounds could mean that mid-week games could be played, particularly at colts and junior level, for so many young players who appear to be unavailable at weekends because of other commitments.
"This the writer feels would retain many more young and emerging young players from the area. With the aforementioned sports college adjacent, why could not the Penryn Centre of Excellence have and under 16 RFU Academy? All these things are possible in my view, but as the game moves into the 21st century, it is imperative that old enmities, jealousies and plain local cussedness(!) should be set aside. "What has been stated is, I appreciate, simply a framework, but it would retain two valuable and green recreational areas within the Falmouth-Penryn district..
"I am hopeful that this letter will provoke discussion amongst administrators of both clubs, rugby supporters and the public in general. I do hope that reactions will be positive, with the aim to preserve the great rugby tradition in this area and preserve the two great sporting venues that we have at present."
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