With
the a successful league season behind them, one in which they finished third in
National 1, their highest ever position, a number of Cornish Pirates have been
busy this past week continuing to support a number of community events
Last Wednesday saw them working in liaison with Mounts Bay School and Penwith
College at a Penwith Schools Gifted and Talented Physical Education Sports Event
incorporating the Physical and Mental Preparation for High Level Performance in
Sport.
The twenty pupils present at Penwith College came from Cape
Cornwall, Hayle, Humphry Davy, Mounts Bay and St. Ives Schools, them taking part
in theoretical and practical demonstration with members of the Cornwall Pirates.
Following lunch Matt Jess, a former Penwith College student, provided
a presentation on physical and mental preparation and high performance, those
gathered then taking part in a practical training session in the sports hall involving
warm up and stretching, SAQ, fitness conditioning and rugby skills, the session
taken by coaching staff members Simon Raynes, Adrian Edwards and John McKee.
Also on Wednesday, but down at a sunny Mennaye Field, a Penzance Small Schools
Tag Rugby Tournament took place, this forming part of a two day event organised
in conjunction with Penwith Sports Partnership members Jon Coleman and James Davidson.
Bolitho, Mousehole and Trythall were just the three schools involved on the Wednesday,
winners Bolitho and runners-up Trythall qualifying to go forward to the West Cornwall
Finals which will be held at Redruth on June 14. On completion of the matches
Cornish Pirates players Alan Paver and Rhodri McAtee presented certificates to
all the youngsters who taken part.
Come Thursday the weather changed
dramatically for the Penzance Large Schools Tag Tournament, the list of schools
competing being Alverton, Gulval, Heamoor, Newlyn, Pensans, St. Hilary and St.
Marys RC. In wet and muddy conditions, the girls and boys involved showed excellent
skills, the two finalists being Heamoor and Newlyn, whose game was drawn, them
both also going forward to the West Cornwall Finals. At the conclusion, once again,
Alan Paver was kindly in attendance to present certificates.
There
is every hope that the Penwith schools involved should compete well in the West
Cornwall Finals, there being a good chance for representation at a Cornwall Final
to follow, and then, perhaps, to a later National ‘CVOC’ Festival at Rugby School.
‘CVOC’ stands for ‘Child Victims of Crime’, it being the only National Police
children’s charity which is administered by the British Police Rugby Section.
