There has been a change of hands at Falmouth Rugby Club. Long serving Director Of Rugby, Graham Whitmore, who is a level four coach and on his CV has coached England U18s, has stepped back from his role after eight years’ service but will still be involved at the Club.

The side has appointed Josh Lord as their new Head Coach. The new man in the job is Cornish born and bred and has a vast amount of experience in a playing career that saw him feature for Truro, Bath, Cornish Pirates and the Cornish All Blacks. He also boasts coaching experience with Truro and Cornwall U20s.

Josh explained how he was relishing the role and the challenges that lay ahead for him and the Club, he said: "It is going to be an exciting time here, it is almost like a sleeping giant, there is a lot of potential here. It is a fantastic Club with fantastic facilities, it is being pushed in the right direction and has the potential to do very very well’’.

"The biggest challenge will be keeping the core of players, making sure everyone is here and buying into what we want to do and working hard to do that every week. The aim is to have fun, I think there is already a good group of players, we could do with a few more players but the style of rugby and the things we want to do in training, I think will attract more as we go along as well."

The new management is one of a few alterations to the structure of the Club. Former Chairman, James Instance, will now become the Club's Head of Rugby. In an effort to ‘grow their own’, Senior players, Tom Spiller and Rob Coote will step up to become player coaches.

Falmouth Packet: New Player Coaches Rob Coote (Left) and Tom Spiller (right)New Player Coaches Rob Coote (Left) and Tom Spiller (right)

Interestingly, Tom has played all his rugby at Falmouth and has appeared in every age group from U6 to Club Captain, a real feat of endurance and can play almost any position on the pitch (he played in 8 different positions in one season!).

Rob played at Truro College, was a member of Exeter Chief Academy with the likes of Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie, played in the Hong Kong Sevens as part of Great Britain Students side and also at Pirates, a real pedigree. Graham Whitmore, who for eight years has managed the rugby at the Club, will, along with Dan Sanderson, an ex-Worcester player, remain as one of the coaches at Falmouth.

Chairman, John Bullock, was quick to praise the hard work and determination Graham showed during his tenure as Director Of Rugby during a covid friendly squad meeting. He said: "You have set the tone of this Club, you have set the moral standards. You have set the way that we play rugby. You have just improved the Club beyond belief, you probably don't see it yourself but you have done an incredible amount for the Club and I personally thank you, and the Club thanks you, for all of that." John added that the aim with the new set up remains the same – to enjoy playing rugby, have fun, build friendships and be a leading part of the Falmouth Community.

Falmouth Packet: Departing Director of Rugby Graham WhitmoreDeparting Director of Rugby Graham Whitmore

Over the past few years Falmouth Rugby Club have strived to serve the community as much as possible. During the pandemic, the Club became a testing centre for covid 19 and set up School Immunisation clinics.

The Club hosted security services during the G7 summit by allowing a temporary village to be built at the ground. They have also invested a lot of money and efforts into the Clubhouse and the Recreational Ground itself and are currently hosting the fair, and later in the summer, both the circus and the Falmouth town Carnival will be there.

This means that the hall can be hired out for locals who wish to use it. Moreover, as they have both Sky and BT Sports, during events like the Lions Tour, the Six Nations and currently the Euros, the Club are able to use the venue to showcase big matches on their three wide screen TV's and wall projector. Continuing to be the premier sports Bar in Falmouth.

On the pitch the Club are continuing to prepare for the new season, they have announced three home pre-season games on August 14 versus Swindon Old Boys. August 21 against Canton RFC and August 28 against Veor. This will stand them in good stead for their opening Western Counties League game at home to Tiverton on Saturday September 4.

With the RFU planning to restructure the leagues next season, Head Coach, Josh Lord stated that the ambitions of the Club are very much governed by the players. He said: "All I want from you (the players) is to give everything you have got on a Saturday. If we do that the results will take care of themselves and we will do well in the league. I don't want to set a target to win promotion or win the league because actually, if we set a target of having fun and playing a brand of rugby that is really really exciting, and each week we take each game as it comes, and we set performance targets for each match, the results will take care of themselves without actually thinking about it and we will already be pushing the top half of the league."

"That being said, if you do want to have the target of the promotion then I expect players available and at training every week in order to be able to achieve that goal.”

If you would like to join the Rugby Club who run Senior Rugby with the Eagles and One & All sides, Colts Rugby (16-19), the Falmouth Rugby Youth Academy (U6 to U16) and O2 Touch Rugby, get in touch via the Club’s Facebook page or on Twitter @falmouth_eagles.

Falmouth Rugby Club are on the hunt for memories and volunteer historians as they prepare for their 150th Anniversary. The club is looking to collate written stories and photos for an exhibition beginning in August 2022. They have set up a Facebook page for people to get in contact and discuss - search for 'Falmouth Rugby Club History' on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/849751605963672). We'd also really love some help collating our history from various archives - contact communications@falmouthrugbyclub.co.uk for more information.