Cornish Pasties & Rugby

The Cornish are passionate about rugby, with the county team renowned for their devoted supporters. So devoted, in fact, that when Cornwall faced Yorkshire in the final of the 1991 county championships, over 40,000 supporters – ten per cent of the county’s inhabitants – travelled from Cornwall to Twickenham to cheer on their team. And, as is the tradition before all important matches, a giant Cornish pasty was paraded around the ground before being symbolically hurled over the posts.

Pasty power clearly worked in this case, as Cornwall fought back from 16-3 down to run out 29-20 winners after extra time, recording their second ever county championship title.

The use of a pasty to bring luck to the Cornish rugby team dates back to 1908 when Lakes Pottery in Truro made three ceramic pasties as mascots for the first ever appearance of a Cornish side in a rugby championship final. One pasty was hung on the goalposts but was smashed during the match. Despite this, Cornwall beat Durham 17-3 in front of a crowd of 17,000 at Redruth.