By Gareth Davies at the Stadium CSM

BETFRED LEAGUE ONE (ROUND 23)

North Wales Crusaders 40 Cornwall RLFC 10

CORNWALL RLFC’s 2024 league campaign ended with defeat to North Wales Crusaders in Colwyn Bay. 

The Choughs, who were soundly beaten by league champions Oldham seven days previous, were able to recall Matt Ross, Nathan Cullen and Luke Collins after they missed the trip to Boundary Park through suspension and injury respectively. 

Skipper David Weetman, who through illness could only sit on the bench against the Roughyeds, returned at lock forward.

Playing on the ground where the Choughs started their professional journey in April 2022, the game was even in the opening stages until debutant Lloyd Evans finished off a scrum move after Cornwall were forced to defend repeat sets. 

North Wales weren’t ahead for long though as Harry Aaronson, the only survivor from the aforementioned debut game, scored out wide after the Choughs opted to run the ball on the last tackle. 

Cameron Brown crashed the conversion attempt off the steelwork and the score remained locked at 4-4. 

Three tries in a seven-minute burst then swung the pendulum towards North Wales as home player/coach Carl Forster, in his last game before retiring, scored the first of Crusaders’ quick-fire treble. 

Ryan Ellis was the next man over, followed by centre Grant Reid and with the Dan Moss kicking three goals, North Wales led 22-4 at the break. 

Cornwall would have wanted to score first after the turnaround if they had any chance of turning proceedings around and they did just that when Adam Rusling jinked his way over from dummy half. Brown added two more. 

If Cornwall had scored another, they could have sent home nerves jangling, but back-to-back tries from Moss and giant prop Chris Barratt, both improved upon by the former, ensured the two competition points would be staying in North Wales. 

And when Ellis went over for his second of the game 18 minutes from time, there was real fears that the visitors would capitulate and North Wales would rack up a huge score. 

But credit to Cornwall, who dug in well to restrict the hosts to no further points and despite threatening to increase their own tally, Mike Abbott’s side didn’t trouble the scorers before the final siren sounded. 

CORNWALL: Nichol, Mitchell, Small, Ashton, Aaronson, Brown, Rusling, Ross, Collins, Dimech, Cullen, Simpson, Weetman. Interchanges (all used): Bateman, Gill, Lloyd, Conroy.

Tries: Aaronson (14), Rusling (42); Goals: Brown 1/2.

NORTH WALES: Holmes, Ah Van, Taylor, Reid, L Evans, Hughes, Moss, B Evans, Baldwin, Barratt, Oakley, Ellis, Forster. Interchanges (all used): Nash, Costello, Davies, Jenkins. 

Tries: L Evans (9), Forster (17), Ellis (21, 62), Reid (24), Barratt (49), Moss (52); Goals: Moss 6/7.

Referee: Adam Williams.

Attendance: 755.