Hellfire Awaits
Hellfire Awaits: 150 Years of Redruth RFC is a tale of mud and blood and frequent outbreaks of violence. It’s the story of a rugby club founded in a tough and grimy mining town where the game provided a welcome outlet from the trials and tribulations of daily life for both players and spectators.
In the early years the club fought for survival as the mining industry collapsed and young men went abroad in their thousands to find work. But it went on to become Cornwall’s champion club, carving out a reputation for itself across the game of rugby as a whole. It has produced six England internationals and four Lions.
Over the years the club has played some of the biggest names in English and Welsh rugby and hosted a number of international sides, including South Africa, Japan, New Zealand and Tonga. Situated in an area that is one of the poorest in the country, it has overcome the disadvantages of geography and limited finances to find success in the professional era.
Nick Serpell is a former BBC journalist. In his early career he was the sports editor at BBC Radio Cornwall and commentated on many rugby matches, including two County Championship finals at Twickenham. He went on to work in network television and wrote extensively for the BBC website. He has been a proud, if sometimes distant, member of the Redruth club for more than 30 years.