Heady days at Falmouth when Jackett boys wore the jersey
CORNWALL has always been a rugby stronghold in England and Falmouth – now Falmouth Eagles – have been part of that story since 1873 and a series of celebratory 150th anniversary events are planned for the forthcoming season while a 150-mile bike ride around the area was completed this month.
Initially rugby in the old Naval town was the brainchild of wealthy ‘blow in' families with second homes in the area but very quickly the locals took over, especially when the arrival of the railway opened up the area economically. In no time at all there were five other pop up local clubs – Docks, Albion, Church Institute, Working Men's Club and an open club as well as Falmouth – before they all merged under the Falmouth banner and funds were found by local benefactors to buy the Recreation Ground for the town's sports teams to play on.
The Rec has always been a hub of activity while on at least three occasions the RFU have taken advantage of Falmouth's famously mild climate to stage an England trial in the depths of mid-winter either side of New Year. Just last year the club benefited from a useful earner by becoming a control centre and tented village for the various security forces connected with the G7 summit nearby. It is also a well established watering hole for the Cornish Sages club, a monthly get together of old Cornish “caps” who arrange to meet at one of the country's bigger club houses once a month to relive their glory days and put the world to rights.
The Falmouth Marine Band meanwhile became an almost permanent fixture at all Cornwall games over the decades.
Even amid the competitive Cornwall scene, Falmouth quickly made a mark and by 1884 had four players in the Cornwall XV and the club built steadily before the emergence of their first superstar and indeed still the biggest personality in the club's history. Edward “Johnny” Jackett was a formidable full-back at the start of the 20th century who had led a racy bohemian life that would see him on the front and back pages these days.
In his time he was both a Lions star, a County Championship winner and Olympic silver medallist with as indeed was his brother Dick. They grew up swimming, sculling and sailing around the Fal estuary where their father worked as a ship builder.
Cornwall, a nude model for Cornwall's rather louche painting school and a cycling champion while he was also involved in a celebrated and very rare breach-of-promise legal case. A local woman successfully sued Jackett, who insisted he had promised marriage after fathering her child.
Later still he once dived into Auckland harbour to rescue a Lions colleague who had fallen into the water boarding the ship back home and after a short but successful Rugby League career he ran the Empire theatre in Dewsbury before his death from cancer 1935.
Jackett was born on July 4, 1878 and such is his stature down Falmouth way that the club, knowing they were founded in 1873 but not having a precise date to hand, have adopted Jackett's birthday as their foundation day. Well it beats sticking a pin in the calendar.
Jackett was a phenomenal athlete,
CLUB 0F THE WEEK
FALMOUTH RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB
Founded: 1873
Nickname: Eagles
Home Ground: The Recreation Ground (Capacity: 3,000)
Chairman: John Bullock
Coach: Josh Lord
Captain: Tom Spiller
League: Western Counties West
Last season: 13th
Honours: Cornwall Club Champions: 1899–1900; Cornwall Cup winners (2): 1973–74, 1976–77; CRFU Official Merit Table champions: 1976–77; Cornwall Clubs Cup winners (2): 1991–92, 2002–03; Cornwall League 1 champions (2): 1996–97, 2002–03; Tribute Cornwall/Devon champions: 2016–17
Notable players: Johnny Jackett, Dick Jackett, Raphael Jago, Jimmy Tricks Jose, Jim George, Bill Bishop, Graham Bate, Barry Trevaskis
Did you know: The Rec Falmouth was the venue for Cornwall's 6-3 defeat against New Zealand Māori in 1926
Dick – another Falmouth legend – played 70 times for Cornwall and was so strong he reportedly carried his small skiff home from Penryn one evening after it was damaged in a regatta.
In the modern parlance John Jackett was absolutely ripped and with his film star good looks both he and his brother attracted the attention of noted artist Henry Scott Tuke, an openly gay painter who had two painting passions – sailing boats of all descriptions and the nude male body, in the best possible taste it should be added. He considered both miracles of architecture and painted them obsessively.
That's where the Jackett brothers come in and they were unquestionably the body models for a number of Tuke's best known ‘bathing paintings' while Tuke also painted at least two portraits of John Jackett. They weren't thought to be “involved” in any way but at various times Jackett gave Tuke's address as his place of residence and later in life was a frequent visitor with his wife.
The well-reported legal case made headlines nationally and was heard at Falmouth county court on February 8, 1901 for non-payment of damages to Caroline Amelia Oliver of Portscatho, for a breach-of-promise of marriage. He had been ordered in the High Court, the previous February, to pay £150 damages and £39 costs – considerable cash sum 120 years ago – obligations he was clearly unable or unwilling to meet. He was eventually ordered to pay a more realistic five shillings a month maintenance.
Jackett decided to make himself scarce for a while soon after and with two rugby colleague from the Falmouth club – Will Christophers and Frederick Toy – he disappeared to South Africa for a couple of years which included a spell in the Cape Mounted Police while he was in Johannesburg in 1903 and played for Transvaal in their first win over the Lions tourists.
On returning to Britain later that year there was time to become the Cornish cycling champion and to pick up his rugby career with Leicester although he remained fiercely loyal to Cornwall in the County Championship. He made his England debut against the 1905 All Blacks and a couple of years ago the New Zealand jersey presented to him after the game by his opposite number fetched £29,000 at auction.
There was almost too much to take in during 1908. First he skippered Cornwall to their first ever County championship with a crushing 17-3 win over perennial winners Durham alongside his brother Dick and Jimmy “Tricks” Jose from the Falmouth club while Cornwall then got a late invitation to play Australia at the 1908 Olympics at the White City Stadium. Cornwall made the most of their trip to the big smoke and didn't really do themselves justice against the Aussies losing 32-3 although all concerned collected an Olympic silver medal.
Soon after Jackett was on the boat to New Zealand where he played in all three Tests and was one of the few who stood up to the Kiwi onslaught during a shambolic tour when drinking and womanising seemed to eclipse the rugby.
Their chaotic departure from Auckland harbour after a riotous lunch was probably the nadir with Bristol forward Percy Down falling into the harbour as he lurched over the ship railing to say farewell to friends. Luckily for Down, Jackett had spent a life jumping in and out of boats in the Fal estuary and dived in and rescued his colleague in a trice.
Jackett may have been a lively customer, but he was a class act and on his return there was one more county final with Cornwall before, on moving to Dewsbury to run a theatre and music hall, he turned professional with Dewsbury where he won a Challenge Cup final in 1912 when they defeated Oldham 8-5.
Little at the club has matched the heady days of the Jackett brothers but Falmouth continue to be stalwarts on the Cornish scene and produced another England international in Jim George soon after World War 2 while Falmouth was one of the clubs Bill Bishop played for before he became a great mover and shaker in Cornish Rugby and then President of the RFU.
There was a strong mini golden era in the 1970s, more of which anon while when league rugby was introduced in 1987, Falmouth were initially placed in the Cornwall/Devon League. Following the club's relegation at the end of the 1989–90 season they spent much of the next decade playing in Cornwall League 1 but a second promotion at the start of the millennium saw Falmouth consolidate their position in the Cornwall/Devon League, with 14 uninterrupted seasons in Tier 8. At the end of the 2017–18 season Falmouth won the Cornwall/ Devon league title and, with it, promotion to Western Counties West, the highest level the club had reached so far in its history.
