Cornwall season a missed opportunity - boss Abbott

Mike Abbott wants to hold open trials to recruit more players from the region

Cornwall RLFC coach Mike Abbott says his side "missed a trick" this season as they failed to build on their record of five wins from the 2023 campaign.

The Choughs lost their final game of the League One season 40-10 away to North Wales Crusaders, finishing eighth in the table with just three victories from 20 games.

Abbott told BBC Sport that despite Cornwall "recruiting really well", he believed the overall level of the league had been "so much stronger".

He added that his aim for the 2025 season will be to "put an emphasis" on recruitment in Cornwall by holding open trials and building partnerships with colleges in the region.

"When we come back early November, we'll just open that first pre-season up," Abbott said.

"We've tried to structure it and do specific trials for new players who are interested in coming down [to Cornwall].

"But what I'm trying to do this time is have players who will come back with us, and just be among the lads for our training and beach sessions."

Abbott said he wanted to show young players at colleges that "there is a pathway" if they are no longer playing rugby union.

"There's a lot of young boys who play rugby in Cornwall, who might just not make it [in union]," he added.

"I think we've got to emphasise more that there's a pathway for them in rugby league."

Cornwall lost 18-6 to Midlands Hurricanes in their final home game of the season

In Cornwall's final game of the season, Crusaders scored the first try after 10 minutes and despite the visitors pulling level soon after, the home side quickly extinguished any hopes of a win for Abbott's men.

"I don't like to make excuses but we've had injuries, and we just need players with more experience to get us over the line," Abbott added.

"I think we recruited really well this season and the team is pretty much a play-off team.

"It pretty much forced other teams to recruit better and as we've seen, the league has been so much stronger.

"Honestly, I think we missed a trick this year, especially with the back-to-back [wins] against London Skolars and Midlands Hurricanes last season, and then beating Rochdale on the final day."

Abbott also praised the club's supporters for their efforts during the campaign.

"Cornwall is a long way away [from opposition teams] and we had some fans who travelled everywhere," he added. "I just want to thank them, as they were always so loud with their support."