REDRUTH director of rugby Richie Kevern admits improved away form will be key if they are to climb up the table in the 2026/27 National League Two (West) season which gets underway tomorrow afternoon with a visit from promoted Bournville (3pm).

While the Reds were never in serious danger of losing their Step Four status – nine wins from a possible 13 at the Recreation Ground ensured no late drama in an ultra-competitive division as they finished tenth.

Kevern saw his side win just once and draw once on their travels and over the summer recruited former Cornwall and Launceston centre Ryan Westren as the new backs coach having left his head coach role at Polson Bridge as they look to push towards mid-table.

Kevern said: “Last season we played some really good stuff, our attack started to flow nicely but we just made little errors in the wrong areas of the pitch which ultimately cost us points and the result in close games. We lost two games within a point and a number of others within seven points, so we weren’t massively far away from getting those results.”

Kevern wants the Reds to be that bit more ruthless.

He continued: “We have worked hard and tried to develop areas where we were lacking. We have just looked at being more clinical and efficient in key areas so we have a clear understanding of our aims in certain areas.”

Being based down in the far South West of the country has its pros and cons, however the Reds have been able to keep their squad together with the exception of prop Luke Barnes who has joined neighbours Camborne, while centre Connor Gilbert has made the opposite move and is one of five new faces, including the returns of prop Beau Danks and second-row Todd Prisk.

“There’s not been a huge amount of traffic to be honest, we lost Luke Barnes which was a shame but he wanted to test himself at a higher level and you can’t criticise that. On the other side of things we welcome Todd Prisk back to the club after a couple of seasons out. His experience and knowledge is a great influence in the squad.

“Back-rower Will Symons has joined us from Wadebridge and has really impressed us with his work-rate and ability, while we’ve also welcomed Beau Danks back after getting exposure with Newquay. Finally, Joe Cummins has signed with us full-time after his loan spell from Rotherham last season and he will play with us and continue his development in a full-time environment with the Cornish Pirates.”

From last year, neighbours Camborne have gone up with Bristol-based Clifton coming back down, while new boys to the division are Devonport Services and Bournville, the latter who head down from the outskirts of Birmingham for the opener. Chester have switched back to the equivalent North division.

Kevern expects another strong league, but admits picking up points away from the Recreation Ground will be key to enjoying a more comfortable campaign.

He said: “There’s no easy weeks in this league, each team and can get a result over each other on their day so I’m sure there will be interesting results each way!

“The league offers such a variety of playing styles with the mixture of uni sides who are very expansive and fast but then Luctonians, Hinckley and Clifton offer a different style of threat.

“But for us I think it’s about being competitive every single week and try and get results on the road. We didn’t travel well last season so we need to work on areas like this if we wish to push up in this league.”

Like the rest of Cornwall’s bigger clubs, Redruth are well-supported, and Kevern hopes they can give them something to shout about come 4.45pm tomorrow.

He concluded: “It’s exciting to be back although it’s always hard to judge where you’re at until you’ve played a league game, but it’s nice to be starting at home with our home crowd behind us.

“Bournville are never easy opponents and will be a tough task. They return to the league after a year away and by all accounts cruised their division, so they will be confident being back up amongst this league.

“We know our performance will need to be at the top end of our scale to ensure we are amongst it to get a result.”

The Reds are far from full-strength tomorrow. Last year’s skipper Edd Pascoe is busy with work commitments, while back-rower Sam Stevens and versatile full-back/fly-half Dean Wills are both injured and Connor Gilbert is unavailable.

Young props Rohan Ewels and Cam Leigh start either side of veteran hooker Tom Cowan-Dickie, while Prisk and Symons start in the second-row and at flanker respectively. Luke Johnson takes Wills’ position at full-back.

REDRUTH v Bournville: Luke Johnson; Noah Clifford, Jack Simmons (capt), Sam James, Jack Counter; Joe Cummins, Sam Bray; Rohan Ewels; Tom Cowan-Dickie, Cam Leigh; Todd Prisk, Luke Hattam; Mawgan Osborne, Will Symons, Finn Wolstencroft. Replacements: Jarrod Hambly, Tyler Gendall, Kaiden Carne, Rob Baragwanath, Adam Hall.