Cornwall RLFC have 'large amount of positives' from opening game loss

Matty Turton scored Cornwall's first-ever competitive try in their loss at North Wales Crusaders

Cornwall head coach Neil Kelly said there were "a large amount of positives" to take from his side's 62-22 loss to North Wales Crusaders in their first-ever League One match.

The Choughs trailed 34-6 at half-time, with Matty Turton scoring Cornwall's first try since being formed.

Harry Aaronson, Liam Whitton, and Sam Snell's tries helped Cornwall reduce the gap to 38-22 with 12 minutes left.

But a tired Cornish side conceded five late tries for a heavy first defeat.

• Cornwall ready to make rugby league debut

• Cornish to contest Celtic Shield with Welsh sides

"When you look at the way the club's been set up and the late nature of our recruitment and having only an eight-week pre-season, I think the result was expected," Kelly told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"But that tells you one thing about the game, but there was a large amount of positives regarding our performance.

"We've learned that we need a pre-season game next year.

"We learned that for some players the transition to rugby league is going to be easier than others, the players learned about what they need to do within the game to contribute towards a win."

But Kelly said he is positive his side can get a result when they take on Midlands Hurricanes in their first home game at Penryn on Sunday.

"North Wales are in line to be amongst the front-runners in our competition," he added.

"The team we play this weekend, we should realistically aim to finish above them in the league, so there's a realistic chance of getting a win this weekend."