During the summer, we will aim to produce a few ‘National League Rugby Newsletters’ to bring you up to speed with some of the headlines which stand out to us from across National One and National Two. (Photo Credit: Garteh Lyons)

Home is where the heart is for Matavesi Bros

After returning to Camborne two years ago, Josh Matavesi has loved being back at the place he calls home. The Cherry and Whites have performed strongly since promotion to National Two West in 2023 and, of course, took last season’s National Two West title race to the wire.

Whilst taking the step into National One might have evaded them, Steve Larkins’ side aren’t prepared to sit still. In fact, at the beginning of the week, they made their intentions clear by announcing the signing of Josh’s brother Sam from Top 14 side Lyon.

The Premiership-winning hooker made 14 appearances in France’s top-flight in 2024/25, and now the Cornwall-born Fijian international has followed his older brother back to his family roots.

 

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Speaking to the club’s channels, Matavesi – who represented Fiji at the 2023 World Cup – said: “The idea of playing alongside my brother Josh, and having my wife and family settle back into life in Cornwall with close friends and loved ones, it was too good to turn down.

“At this stage in my career, family is the most important thing. They’ve sacrificed so much, leaving friends, learning a new language, and now it’s my turn to give back. Being an active member of the Royal Navy, I’ve been fortunate to have their support in pursuing my dream of playing at the highest level. I’m looking forward to getting back into Navy life while also giving back to the club that shaped me.”

Matavesi will also take on the role of ‘Player Pathway Director’, overseeing Camborne’s mini, juniors, and Colts set-up.

Some standout signings

Since the final whistle sounded on the 2024/25 National League Rugby campaign, there have been swathes of re-signings and new signings announced by clubs.

This week, Rams RFC, Blackheath and Bury St Edmunds caught the eye with exciting talent and shrewd operators moving to Berkshire, South East London and Suffolk, respectively.

In terms of Rams, Seb Reynolds and the team at Old Bath Road aren’t hanging about. So far, they have brought in seven new faces, including promising youngster Luke Graham on a permanent basis.

The South-African winger had a loan spell at the National One club from Bath last season, but will be a fully-fledged Ram in 2025/26. The move also got the seal of approval from Premiership finalist Tom Dunn, who reacted to the news with an ‘applauding emoji’ when National League Rugby shared Rams’ post on our Instagram story.

 

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Blackheath, who finished one place behind Rams last term, have recruited Sam Morley, Alex Earnshaw and Ed Dunford.

Morley joins from Esher and has a reputation for being one of the most skilful fly-halves in recent years across National League Rugby, while former Cardiff University No.10 Dunford also arrives at The Utilita.

As for Earnshaw, he has swapped National Two East and Bury St Edmunds for the third tier. The speedster scored 21 tries for the Wolfpack last season.

And speaking of Bury St Edmunds, new boss James Shanahan is already making his presence felt with some eye-catching signings. Cambridge duo Matt Hema and George Bretag-Norris – who gained promotion to the Championship with the ‘Blood and Sand’ in 2022/23 – have moved to The GK IPA Haberden while fly-half/full-back Dan Powell has also joined from Bishop’s Stortford.

And lastly, keep an eye on the social media channels of National Two North’s Darlington Mowden Park as they are certainly reshaping and rebuilding their squad after relegation from National One.

Coaching changes

A couple of coaching changes to bring you.

Back in April, National Two West’s Redruth announced Director of Rugby Nigel Hambly would be standing down from his position at the end of the season.

The Reds have now named his successor as Richie Kevern, who will take over the reins at The Recreation Ground. The former Redruth centre had spent two seasons as head coach under Hambly but will now be the man to take the club forward.

In National Two North, Jack Howieson has moved from his role as Director of Rugby of Sheffield Tigers to General Manager, with Tom Calladine continuing as first team coach alongside his playing commitments. Young coach Stephen Roberts will make the step up to National Two to be part of the Tigers’ backroom staff while second-row Eddy Simmons continues as forwards coach.

No rest for Scunthorpe!

It has been less than seven weeks since the conclusion of the 2024/25 National League Rugby season, but newly-promoted Scunthorpe are already back in pre-season training…well their front five players are!

The National Two North club – who will be back in the fourth tier for the first time in five years following promotion from Regional 1 North East – posted a video on their ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) channel of some of their players being put through their paces. They mean business!

England Under-20s representation

Across the course of the next month, England’s Under-20s will be aiming to defend their World Championship title in Italy, and a cluster of players in the current wider squad gained valuable experience in National League Rugby in 2024/25.

Featured on our website this week was an interview with hooker Alfie Longstaff, the Sale Sharks youngster spending time on loan at Sale FC and Preston Grasshoppers last season.

The 19-year-old is set to start England’s final World Championship warm-up game against Georgia on Saturday with Jonny Weimann (Leicester Lions/Northampton Saints), Ralph McEachran + Seb Kelly (Lymm/Sale Sharks), Oli Scola (Hinckley/Northampton Saints), Ollie Streeter (Worthing/Harlequins), Jos Gilmore (Sale FC/Sale Sharks), Reggie Hammick (Bishop’s Stortford/Saracens) and Tye Raymont (Sedgley Park/Sale Sharks) some of the other notable inclusions in the squad.

For those enquiring about fixture news, please contact your clubs.

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