CORNWALL boss Graham Dawe admits ‘winning the game is the most important thing’ as the Duchy prepare for the first leg of their Bill Beaumont County Championship semi-final with holders Kent at Camborne on Saturday (2pm).

The Black and Golds have been beaten by their visitors in the last two years, but have a far stronger squad this time around, boosted by a plethora of Camborne’s stars who won the National League Two West crown, including former Fijian internationals Sam and Josh Matavesi, former Exeter Chiefs back Max Bodilly and ex-Cornish Pirates and Gloucester full-back Kyle Moyle.

Cornwall have had some warm-up games in recent months, beating Welsh representative side Crawshays, as well as cross-Tamar rivals Devon, before putting on a fine display last Saturday in a 36-33 defeat at a young Exeter Chiefs side on Saturday.

Reflecting on last Saturday which saw Cornwall score tries via Shaun Buzza, Max Bodilly, Jack Statton, Harry Larkins and Archie Rolls, Dawe said: “It’s unfortunate for a lot of the guys that did so well last weekend that they’re not in the squad, the likes of Charlie Tummon, Joe Cummins and Jack Statton, they put in great performances.

“It’s tough on them but the strength in the squad is not just about the 23 but also the boys on the fringes as well.”

Dawe said he was impressed by a number of things in his side’s performance, adding: “We were very good in the contact area, the tackle and the maul and were able to more often than not, get on the right side of the referee. Our defence was really good against a good side and our tackles stuck, so there was a lot to be pleased with.”

However, what happens on Saturday in Camborne is of far more importance as Cornwall look to set up a final with Lancashire – who beat neighbours Yorkshire – at Twickenham in June.

On Kent, Dawe said: “They’ve got the better of us over the last couple of years although there’s not been a lot in it, often by just one score. We’ve shown up well, but just come up short. We’ve got to try and build up a momentum early on and use home advantage - and the home crowd - to try and exploit that.

“We know they have some talented players, but if we can hold our defensive line well and not let them play how they want to, we should be okay. We need to be organised because we know they’re quite inventive and a powerful team, so we’ll need to be at our best.”

Kent’s side is slightly different to usual due to club rugby play-offs taking priority which means there are plenty of notable absentees, including from Blackheath who are aiming to return to the Championship.

Dawe continued: “We’ve had some good warm-up games with the likes of Devon, Crawshay’s and last weekend against the Chiefs, so selection was hard as a lot of boys really put their hand up.

“A lot of the boys picked for Saturday weren’t involved last weekend, but the pressure is now on them to make sure they match what the boys did last week.

“Both teams are comfortable at Step Four and higher and now Step Three level in Camborne’s case, so it’ll be interesting, as will be how Kent cope with the pitch which is quite unique.”

Cornwall are always well-backed by the famous Trelawny’s Army, and Dawe hopes they can inspire again this weekend.

“Like Redruth, Camborne have hosted some great Cornwall games over the years, so we’re really looking forward to it. We only get one game at home, but we always really appreciate the build-up and it’ll be lovely to see them.

“Hopefully, we can get the win for them and see many of them again next week in Kent. For us, winning the game is the most important thing at this moment in time.

“We’ll be concentrating on making sure we start well, our set-piece, carrying and defensive stuff and making sure we stay in the game, and what comes of that is written in the stars.”

CORNWALL (Camborne unless stated): Kyle Moyle; Matt Shepherd (St Austell), Max Bodilly (London Welsh), Josh Matavesi, Alex Ducker; Dean Wills (Redruth), CJ Boyce; Kye Beasley, Tom Cowan-Dickie (Redruth), Ben Watson; Mawgan Osborne (Redruth), Edd Pascoe (Redruth), Shaun Buzza, Sam Matavesi (capt), Herbie Stupple.

Replacements: Archie Rolls, Ben Priddey, Sam Rodman, Pat Walton (Barnes), Ben Hancock (Launceston), Jordan Nicholls, Will Hennessy, Harry Larkins.

KENT: George Hawkins (Bromley), Sebastian Ellison (Sidcup), Jonathan Ilori (Old Albanians), Samuel Begbie (capt, Sevenoaks), Jacob Ivell (Sevenoaks); Harvey Young (Bromley), Thomas Williams (Canterbury); Cameron MacMillian (Canterbury), Taine Wagstaff (Westcombe Park), Max Wheeler (Blackheath); David Irvine (Sevenoaks), Pete Cole (Medway); Muhammad Shreef Pangarker (Canterbury), Matthew Engelbrecht (Sevenoaks), Maciu Nabogi (Rossendale).

Replacements: Harry Large (Sidcup), Joshua Watson (Sidcup), Teddy Gibbons (Blackheath), Lucas Hutton (Sevenoaks), Kieran Elliott (Bromley), Thomas MacKenzie (Canterbury), Jonathon Griffiths (Bromley), Ethan Jones (Sevenoaks).