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The history of Devon & Cornwall Police RFC
The club was formed in 1967 following the amalgamation of the three Constabulary rugby teams, Devon,Cornwall and Plymouth. A few midweek and Sunday games were played and players were encouraged to play for club sides on Saturdays. Over the years the Force games increased as did our successes and it was in 1979 that the then Deputy Chief Constable David EAST and Brian BATEMAN discussed the possibility of creating a rugby club that would play regularly Saturday fixtures against junior teams in the two counties.
By the early 1980's the fixture list included all the top teams in Devon and Cornwall, including Plymouth Albion, Exeter, Camborne and Redruth. We reached the Devon cup final in 1983 and 1984 losing in close encounters on both occasions with Plymouth Albion. Other successes in those early years included winning the Devon Sevens in 1982.
1987 saw the formation of the league system to English rugby and we were selected to play in South West division 2. This was as a result of some excellent performances during the previous seasons although it did mean a rearrangement of fixtures to accommodate teams such as Reading, Henley and Berry Hill. Our home matches were played at Middlemoor. That first season produced a record of 22 wins from 43 games played.
It was in 1988 that the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary R.F.C. reached the final of the National Police Knock Out Cup losing to Merseyside 16-11 in a closely contested game played at Pontypool in Wales. Another established feat was completed in 1991 when the club remained undefeated in the league season to gain promotion to the Western Counties League.
However despite our ability to perform well against teams in the Western Counties League the decision was made to disband the Saturday team in May 1995. This decision was reached due to operational commitments and player availability despite continued support from the then Chief Constable Sir John EVANS and A.C.C. John ESSERY.
Rugby still thrives within our Force with many players playing for divisional teams and representing many local teams on a Saturday basis at different levels ranging from National League to Junior levels. The Devon and Cornwall Constabulary R.F.C. still has a rich vein of players to call upon to represent the Force in the National Police Competition in which we are considered a serious threat to the better Welsh teams that have dominated the Competition over the past 33 years having won the cup on no less than 25 times between them.
The club has engaged in numerous successful tours to different areas such as Wales, Guernsey, Jersey and most notably the U.S.A. We have produced during our history a number of players who have gone on to represent the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary at the very highest of levels. Grant CHAMPION represented our Force playing for the Barbarians and British Police as well as being the Captain of the Cornwall County side for several seasons. Tony COOK is the most capped Cornwall County player and there are numerous other players past and present with representative honours.
A player worth a mention is Andy MATTHEWS who played for the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary for many years as Captain and was a source of amusement. However his playing ability did the talking for him on occasions as he holds the record for the most tries scored by a player representing the Force as he scored 9 tries and a total of 60 points against Newton Abbot in a Devon Merit game in 1986.
A stalwart of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary was Ian MAIN who before joining the Force was a professional footballer with Exeter where he kept goal. He was known to his colleagues as "iron man" and played a total of 282 games for the club. He was the influential captain between 1986-1989, the Secretary from 1989-1992 and the Coach from 1992-1998 until his untimely death from a rare heart condition.
The force also has a female representative rugby player in Alex PILKINGTON who has played for England on a number of occasions as a forward travelling abroad to play in foreign countries such as Spain.
The Devon and Cornwall Constabulary R.F.C. plays each year in the National Cup Competition playing its home games at Torquay R.F.C. and is keen to hear from any players who have recently joined our Force as we are always looking to strengthen the squad, with a view to one day winning the Competition.
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