Scrum half Mitch Spencer’s man of the match performance was hugely instrumental in inspiring this hard fought victory over the Cherry and Whites. His awareness, energy and determination led to one of his finest matches over many season for the club.

Within a minute of the kick off Spencer had sniped over the line to open the account which culminated in a hat trick of tries for him. New recruit fly half Nathan Chamberlain kicked the first of his four conversions and added a try himself from a kick and chase.

Following the long trek to Cornwall and facing a sizeable partisan crowd, Clifton raced to a try bonus point inside the first half. However, league newcomers this season, Camborne have established themselves in the top section of National 2 West and were never going to let up the pressure, especially when their visitors were reduced to thirteen players after technical offences.

Experience and sheer determination saw Clifton able to run the clock down under strong Camborne pressure in the closing stages. Clifton's backs were in fine form with Freddie Owsley much to the fore. Facing a strong pack ,ever dependable Brad Talbot, and the entire scrum stood up to their opponents.

Returning from a long term injury, full back Alex Howman was in good shape in crossing for a try in the corner before Talbot produced a trademark effort to set up a twelve point interval lead.

The Clifton yellow cards allowed the home team a way back into the contest. On returning to a full complement of players Clifton faced a strong response from the Cornishmen backed by their loyal fans. During that time Camborne lost veteran former Redruth flanker Chris Fuca with a red card. Spencer’s third try and Chamberlain’s contribution extended their lead and a memorable win on their first outing in 2024.

Player/Coach Luke Cozens commented, “Another cracker between the 2 teams. We came out strong and scored some quality tries but we always knew Camborne would come back at us down the slope second half. I was very pleased with the fight and spirit we showed to hold onto the game with 2 in the sin bin playing with 13. We weathered the storm and found a way to grab a couple of scores and that proved to be the difference. We spoke at the end about how we all had a buy in and how it feels when we play as a team. We will need more of the same next week when we make our second trip to Cornwall in 7 days at Redruth”.

Roger Opie