The history of a Redruth 2nd team goes back to the 1880s when Redruth was one of the first Cornish clubs to run a second XV. In the 1908/09 season the Reserves were undefeated, in 29 games, their best win being a 71-0 drubbing of the Camborne School of Mines. The current 2nd XV emulated that unbeaten performance last season with 22 league games played and 22 won.

Promotion means they now face longer journeys in Counties 1 Tribute Western West. Seven of the 12 teams at this level play on the other side of the Tamar. Barnstaple, Bideford, Kingsbridge, Paignton, Plymstock and Tavistock all play in Devon plus Wiveliscombe in North Somerset. Bude, Penryn, Pirates Amateurs and St Ives make up the rest of the league.

The gods of the fixture lists have decided that both Redruth 1st XV and 2nd XV will play away on the same day, at least for the early part of the season. The 2nds first game at their new level takes them to South Devon where they play Kingsbridge who finished 4th in the table at the end of last season. They crowned that by lifting the Counties 1 South Plate in the Papa John’s Community Cup, beating Twickenham RFC 36-28 on the Dings Crusaders ground, despite finishing the game with 14 men. They have played one pre-season game, losing 26-14 at home to Teignmouth. Redruth 2nds won a pre-season match against Newquay Hornets 46-14.

Kingsbridge were formed in 1889 by students returning from school and university. They played at a number of grounds before moving to their present home in 1923. Over the years they added a grandstand and changing rooms, both of which have been updated and improved. Kingsbridge played originally in black and red strip but, since 1932 have adopted blue and white, in various combinations, as the club colours.

Kick off: 1500

Referee: Dr Jonathan Crabb

Team news here on Friday