Penryn RFC ended a three-year stay in the Tribute Cornwall/Devon League at the weekend after romping to a 79-0 victory at Plymouth Argaum to secure promotion.

Victory for the Borough in Saturday’s match in Plymouth, coupled with Bude’s defeat at South Molton, ensured promotion back to the Tribute Western Counties West division next season after a three-year absence.

The Borough’s promotion also sees the return of an exciting double-header of derby fixtures against Falmouth, with the two teams to meet in the league in 2019/20 for the first time in three seasons.

The promotion is a welcome upturn in fortunes for the Borough, who have been in the doldrums in recent years. Penryn were in the South West 1 league – now South West Premier, three divisions above Cornwall/Devon – as recently as 2006 but have suffered five relegations in the 11 years that followed.

The last of which was in 2016 when they dropped into the Cornwall/Devon League, with the Borough finishing fifth in their first season back in the eighth tier of national rugby in 2017.

They agonisingly missed out on promotion last season, finishing third behind runaway champions Wellington and second-placed Saltash, after losing to the Ashes in a huge winner-takes-all clash towards the end of the season.

But the Borough have bounced back in superb style to stroll to promotion this time around, losing just two of their 23 games this term.

One of those was on the first weekend of the season back in early September when they were turned over by this weekend’s opponents Plymstock Albion Oaks, but shrugged that defeat off to go on and win 11 of their next 12 games, with the only blemish in that time being a 29-17 defeat at Bude.

A 10-10 draw at newly-promoted South Molton followed to round off the 2018 fixtures, but they roared back to form in the new year, winning their first six games, including a massive 28-20 win at title rivals Honiton in which victory was sealed in the final few minutes.

That was followed by another 10-10 draw, this time at home to Bude, but the Borough showed their nerve to pick up a maximum 20 points from their four matches since then to get over the line and seal promotion.

Penryn can bow out of the Cornwall/Devon league in style by being crowned league champions with a win at home to Plymstock Albion Oaks in their final match of the season on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).

The Borough know that a win of any kind against Albion Oaks on Saturday will see them crowned champions, but a draw or defeat will open up the chance for Honiton, who host Topsham, to snatch it on the final day.

Penryn will be wary of their opponents, having lost to them in the reverse fixture on the opening day of the season, when the Plymothians ran out 25-20 winners at their Horsham Fields home.