Cornish Pirates Aaron Penberthy ready to unleash full range of skills
Penberthy, hailed as one of the county‘s most promising young players, signed for the Pirates last season but was dual registered back to Redruth, where his father, David, was in his final campaign as director of rugby.
However injuries gave him his Pirates chance sooner than expected and he followed up a try-scoring debut against Esher with a composed display in the Championship play-off final second leg against London Welsh.
And having taken a year to acclimatise to full-time rugby, Penberthy is confident of filling the void left by playmakers Rob Cook and Ceiron Thomas. He said: “The coaches said this is a massive, massive year for me.
“Finishing with a good performance against Welsh, I’ve given myself a benchmark on which to build.
“After a year’s experience I’m looking to really push on. I feel I still have a lot more to give and I can improve
“I like to think I have a good kicking game and I like to play as flat and as fast as possible. I enjoy throwing the ball around and having a dart when I think it’s on – although that often gets me in trouble with the coaches.
“We’re going to have a really exciting team next season with Alex Cheesman and Kieran Hallett arriving and hopefully I’ll be a part of it.”
Twenty Pirates players have come and gone since the London Welsh match, which was in effect a dead rubber after the council decided not to back a Stadium for Cornwall.
Even if Premiership rugby is off limits for now, Cornish born-and-bred Penberthy will not take his talents elsewhere. He said: “It means a lot to play for the Pirates, as the only professional club in Cornwall.”
DANIEL SCHOFIELD
