01/06/2026
Kent’s Courage Cannot Halt Cornwall Charge
Kent 19 Cornwall 56. (Report by Graham Cox)
It was always unlikely Kent would overturn the 59-point deficit conceded in the Duchy a week earlier, but Cornwall arrived at Charlton Park on another hot spring afternoon determined not to leave anything to chance in their quest for a first Bill Beaumont County Championship final appearance for four years.
With a side built primarily around National League Two West champions Camborne, they simply continued where they had left off at The Recreation Ground deep down in the south-west peninsula, adding a further eight tries to the eleven amassed on home soil.
The first came with just five minutes played, as a penalty to touch saw ball moved into midfield where some intricate handling allowed fly-half Dean Wills to slip across for a converted try
Kent responded by creating space to send Jacob Ivell down the left flank, the Sevenoaks wing breaking a tackle to score, but a neat dummy from Cornish inside-centre Josh Matevesi had Ivell’s opposite number Alex Ducker flying down his wing, and although the hosts strung phases together, they struggled to make inroads.
In contrast, Cornwall dominated the breakdown, always making ground, and with number-eight Herbie Stupple crossing from a tap-and-go, and Wills cutting inside off a ruck to cross, the visitors moved to a commanding 28-5 lead at the break.
Ho**er Ben Priddey went over in the corner for a fifth try for the visitors, quickly cancelled out as Tom Williams intercepted during another Cornish attack, the scrum half sprinting 80-metres to score.
However, made up from no less than ten clubs spread across the county (and a couple beyond), the hosts lacked the accuracy and fluency of the visitors, and soon Stupple barged over for his second try, soon followed by another for Priddey scoring off lineout ball.
Nevertheless, a moment of enterprise and sharp thinking, saw Harvey Young gather a quickly taken penalty chipped out of defence, the Bromley fly-half finding Williams on hand to claim a brace for the Canterbury player.
The last word though, would fall to the Cornishmen, as Stupple completed a hat-trick off scrum ball, Kyle Moyle adding an eighth conversion in a faultless place-kicking display from the full-back.
Despite the lopsided look of the final scoreline, Kent Director of Rugby Taff Gwilliam remained positive.
‘It was pleasing to see we remained competitive and kept fighting throughout,’ he said.
‘With a new coaching set up, and limited player availability due to the league playoffs, the coaches and team have done Kent proud and we couldn’t have asked more of them.’
Cornwall will now meet Lancashire in the County Championship Final at Twickenham next weekend.
Photos by Peta Nash.
