CAMBORNE head coach Tom Kessell has praised prop Tommy-Lee Southworth as the ‘heart and soul of the club’ as the Cornishman prepares to make his 200th appearance for the Cherry and Whites at Cinderford tomorrow (3pm).

Southworth, who has been at the Recreation Ground all of his career since starting in the Minis and Juniors, is regarded as one of the finest scrummagers in the Duchy, and has made a habit of putting his opposing number on the back-foot.

But while Southworth’s milestone is important, of more importance to him and the squad is picking up another five points in their title bid from their National League Two West trip to Gloucestershire.

Last time out saw Camborne see off third-placed Barnstaple, a result which means they head to the Forest of Dean four points clear of Luctonians who head to West Cornwall next Saturday.

Reflecting on the Barnstaple win, Kessell said: “I think they came down and thought they’d be able to give us a hard time up front like they have a lot of other teams, but as a group we knew that and dominated the first couple of scrums, and from there we went on to get the win we deserved.

“But Barnstaple are a decent side and were a bit like us a couple of years ago in that they’re hard-working and dogged who are very hard to play against.

“As for us, I thought we played pretty well. As I said, we fronted up well up front but we can’t get ahead of ourselves.

“We’ve got a massive run of games coming up, but we’ve got to take it one game at a time and work our way through the fixtures.”

Last Saturday saw all sides in the league have a second bye week of the season before a three-game schedule before Christmas.

After Luctonians, which will be the halfway point of the season, Camborne have a local derby at Redruth on December 20.

Kessell wants to ensure they start the new year top of the pile, and also feels the second team’s victory at Liskeard-Looe in Counties Two Cornwall last Saturday was important.

He continued: “We had one day off last week, but the seconds had a game up at Liskeard which they just won. That gave several boys some much-needed game time in what was a really good challenge up there as they hadn’t lost at home.”

He continued: “We’ve got three relatively serious injuries at the moment in Connor Gilbert, Oli Williams and Jack Hazleton, but that’s why we have the quality in numbers we do and the fact we’re doing well across the club. It drives standards in training which is what you want.

“This weekend gives the chance for a couple to step up who haven’t had a lot of minutes, but we’ve got a good enough, and exciting enough team to go up there and win.”

So what does Kessell expect in Gloucestershire?

He said: “Last year up there was a bit of a nightmare for us as the original game was cancelled, and with it played the next weekend which was supposed to be a weekend off, it meant we went up there with a sightly patched up side, and we lost.

“So we want to put that right this year, and with it being a 3G pitch, it shouldn’t be cancelled this time.

“It’s an exciting game for us and with the conditions set to be difficult, we need to make sure we’re ready for the challenge.

“We know that if we take our eyes off the ball, it means we’re not doing our job, and our aim is to still be top at Christmas.”

Camborne’s side has a slightly different look, even if the squad is still full of quality, a fact not lost on Kessell.

“Connor (Gilbert) suffered a bad head injury against Barnstaple which will rule him out for a little while, and AJ Hussell isn’t available this week either, he continued.

“We do have (Ben) Bubba Watson back and available for the first time this season, so I’m excited to see how he goes in the second-row, and we’ve also recalled Rory O’Kane from St Austell following a couple of impressive performances. He starts at 10 and like Bubba, I can’t wait to see how he goes.”

However Kessell’s final words in his pre-match briefing was to praise Southworth.

He concluded: “Tommy’s still a relatively young man, but is the heart and soul of the club, and I have a lot of respect for him. He knows what it means to play for Camborne and puts everything on the line every time he takes to the field.

“He’s been here many years, but while people say we’ve added quality which we have, he’s still one of the ones here who has shown his personality to still be earning his spot. But the boys love him and the squad have a little surprise for him over the next couple of weekends to show how much they appreciate him.”

CAMBORNE: Kyle Moyle; Harry Larkins, Will Hennessy, Josh Matavesi, Alex Ducker; Rory O’Kane, CJ Boyce; Tommy-Lee Southworth, Ben Priddey; Adam Hughes, Ben Watson; Sam Matavesi (capt), Jordan Nicholls, Shaun Buzza. Replacements: Kye Beasley, Sam Rodman, Chris Fuca, Robin Wedlake, Will Tanswell.