CORNISH All Blacks’ head of rugby, Jimmy Tucker, admits that he was ‘disappointed’ by Matson’s decision to concede their South West One (West) clash at Polson Bridge last Saturday.

One of the Gloucestershire-based side’s players got married on Saturday, and with most of the squad invited, the club took the decision to forfeit the game.

What made the cancellation even worse for the All Blacks was that the annual Sponsors Day, which has now been moved to Saturday, October 21, for the visit of Teignmouth, has had to be rearranged.

Tucker said: “We got an email last Thursday about 5pm saying that they couldn’t raise a side. One of their players is getting married and its very disappointing but the late notice is very poor.

“There’s an unwritten rule in rugby circles that players don’t get married during the season but there’s nothing we can do about it.

“We contacted a few people to see if we could arrange a game but it was too late. “It was also Sponsors’ Day and it’s frustrating as they’ve all invited their own customers, while the club also ordered a lot of food.”

Despite Saturday’s disappointment, it’s been an excellent start to the season for the All Blacks as they adjust to life outside of the national leagues.

Successive away victories at Bristol-based clubs Keynsham (41-29) and Thornbury (28-22) plus Saturday’s concession means they sit nicely in the early season standings.

Tucker said: “With the way the fixtures came out, with two out of two away to start, it could have been a lot easier, but to win both is very satisfying.

“Both games were very tough and very different. The first one was very open while last week was a much stiffer test of opposition where we defended really well.

“We had to be extremely dogged in defence in the last ten to 15 minutes and it wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline appears.

“There was just one try between us and they had plenty of possession but we kept tackling and tackling and managed to hang on.

“We’ve also been delighted with the contribution of Dan Pearce. He’s scored three tries in two games and his goalkicking has also been first class. We haven’t had someone like him for two or three years.

“As well as Dan, the overall desire to win the games has been impressive.

“When we go to a lot of these grounds we’ve got to find our own motivation as we’re playing in front of 50 or 60 people a lot of the time compared to 500 or 600 at home and that’s hard. But you still have to go out there and find a way to win and we’ve done that. Although that’s another reason why Saturday’s game being cancelled was so disappointing, as we were looking forward to playing our first game at home.”

The All Blacks are back on the road again this Saturday when they travel to another Gloucester-based club, Newent.

Newent finished fifth last year and have won one of their three league fixtures so far — a 17-13 victory at Drybrook.

Tucker admits he doesn’t know anything about them, he expects any trip to that part of the country to be difficult.

Tucker said: “I don’t know anything about them apart from the results they’ve got so far but we’re expecting a tough and feisty encounter.

“Teams from that area are always difficult to play against up there as they’re very proud players who don’t give you anything. We’ve got to go up there and meet fire with fire.

“We’ll continue to work hard at training this week and prepare for the game. “Only Andy Knight is unavailable as he has to work, but apart from that I think everybody’s available.”