Thousands watch Camborne beat Redruth 36-29 in Cornish derby
- Published
A crowd of 2,678 came to see the first meeting between local rivals Camborne and Redruth since 1991
A crowd of 2,678 saw Camborne beat Cornish rivals Redruth 36-29 in their first competitive derby in 32 years.
Camborne's promotion to National Two West last season resurrected the derby, which had been dormant since 1991, with the clubs separated by just five miles.
Ex-Fiji centre Josh Matavesi scored two first-half tries for his hometown club as Camborne led 29-15 at half-time.
Sam Stevens got a try back for the Reds, but a penalty try extended the lead before a late score for Redruth.
The two sides will contest the return fixture at Redruth in mid-December.
"The heart and commitment from everyone was unbelievable today," Camborne director of rugby Steve Larkins told BBC Radio Cornwall.
"To see the stand full and the West Bank like it is, what an incredible day for Camborne rugby, for the town and the players.
"It was a team effort on and off the park. To get the result is pretty special."
It was a first win of the season for Camborne in National Two West, and a first loss for Redruth - who got two losing bonus points.
"We just missed the big moments and we conceded some soft tries and missed our opportunities, and second half that became costly," said Redruth boss Richie Kevern.
"You sit there and think, 'did we create enough opportunities to win the game?'. Yes. 'Did we take them?' No.
"That's where we are as a team at the moment, we've got to be better at taking those opportunities.
"But looking at it from a league point of view we've come away from home and got two league points, so the bragging rights might not be with us at the moment, but league-wise we're still up there."