Cornwall, 1990-91

A shirt made famous as much by the ‘Trelawney Army’ that flooded into Twickenham for the, as the 1991 County Championship-winning side that wore it on the field.

“Forty thousand people travelled to Twickenham that day,” explains proud Cornishman Phil Westren, who made 550 appearances for Penzance. “It was a celebration of Cornwall. Those who went weren’t all big rugby followers, but they were passionate people of Cornwall, they just wanted to celebrate the best of Cornwall and play their part in what proved to be a memorable win.”

 This long-sleeved, thick cotton, Cotton Oxford classic is synonymous with one of the most famous days in County Championship history, when it seemed as if all the people of Cornwall left their homes and made the long journey to England’s rugby HQ to watch them face mighty Yorkshire.

 They went in hope that Cornwall would end an 83-year wait for a county title since their first (and at that time only) win in 1908 against Durham. “It was difficult to even get out of the south west group (Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Gloucester) in those days,” says Phil, who now works for Cornish Pirates. “Gloucester were traditionally very strong, but Cornwall had a very strong side in 1991. The passion was built up in the games played in the build-up into the final. The Press got right behind them, the crowd responded.”

The 40,000 Cornish men and women (from a county of just 550,000) dominated the 56,000-strong crowd on 20th April 1991 – an increase of 49,000 on the previous final between Lancashire and Middlesex – and they were rewarded with a 29-20 victory for a side featuring England and Bath hooker Graham Dawe, who would later coach the side to back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016 and more recently in 2019 and 2022, and still coaches the side today.

Today, the shirt design endures, but the 1991 classic will forever be the shirt synonymous with Cornish rugby’s greatest day.