Pirates Stutter at O Deer Park
wreck on tour
By woll & woll jnr
April 1 2007
Naturally one could point to the two penalties missed by Moore that cost at least a share of the spoils, but then a plethora of knock-ons and handling errors contributed to a display that one moment of magic could have so easily transformed. No one seriously expected the Exiles to provide a gentle run out in this, the first of three fixtures on the road for the Pirates in eight days.
But with nine changes to the lineup that triumphed over Plymouth, including (now) free agent Paul Jones on the bench, and Acadamy prospect Sam Parsons making his debut at 13, one could sense the Cornishmen were in for a stiff test at the very least. The task became harder when Duncan Bell was carried off with a worrying knee injury in the opening minute, immediately raising concerns for his chances in two weeks to play at Twickenham. Afterwards though he was hopeful of being in with a shout and would need to see how the land lay in the next week. Thus regular skipper, Gavin Cattle was thrown into the fray scuppering his chances of a restful afternoon warming the bench. Moore naturally moved into the fly half spot vacated by Bell. In the meantime, the hosts had slotted a penalty through the boot of Tom Marks whilst Duncan was still receiving treatment on the pitch; a misdemeanor in the same phase of play as the injury being the cause. Playing into a gusty and brisk breeze, the Pirates at least seemed to have the answer to anything London Welsh could offer. A second Marks' penalty was missed on 7 minutes which was a let off, but Cattle began to inspire more adventure with some sniping breaks to give the Pirates some good territory. Sadly though these came to nothing as soon as the 22m line beckoned and the above problems squandered the hard earned yards. Cracknell though looked as if he was relishing his chance for pushing for a place in the Cup Final line up, whilst Inglis too made an impression, particularly at the set piece. With Welsh too starting to make basic errors, the game as a spectacle threatened to descend into a scrappy if competitive affair. The officials weren't helping matters with some strange interpretations of the rules which denied both sides some promising situations. On one occasion Vinnicombe appeared clean through only to be called back for a Pirates advantage; whilst Moore found himself taken out off the ball after a Cattle box kick on another that went unpunished. Going forwards though, it was the Pirates who looked the more dangerous and eventually their persistance was rewarded with a penalty on 36 minutes. Minutes earlier a similar chance had been passed up, in favour of a catch and drive option which was snuffed out by a wary Welsh pack. This time though, Quins' loanee Robson, found himself walking to the sidelines for his troubles though Moore missed the chance to level things. The end of half drama's didn't end there as Joe Beardshaw joined his rival four minutes later to even things up as the whistle beckoned. Marks made sure this time with the boot and so London Welsh turned round 6-0 to the good and deservedly so on balance. The Pirates' team talk took place in the bushes behind the stand, whilst the half time entertainment centred around a streaker completing two widths of the pitch as part of his 'stag do'. Surreal times being a Pirates fan these days! The Welsh flew out of the blocks at the start of the second half and within 2 minutes of the restart scored the first try of the game through centre Tosh Masson, who kept his feet well despite nearly stumbling short of the line. The conversion was successful and in an instant, the Pirates stood on the brink of the flood gates opening. The home side flanker Robson, returned to the fray, seemingly with over a minute of his sentence remaining at 45 minutes. Five minutes later and Beardshaw's term was competed in full, though Senekal came on his place just in time to see Moore miss another kickable penalty. There was still half an hour to go though and with an earned reputation for late and dramatic finishes there was still hope...wasn't there? Dan Seal then came on for Sam Heard in the front row to try and maintain our edge in the scrum. However there was a definite spring in the home side's step and it was no surprise to see them increase their lead to 16 points with a third Marks penalty. The Pirates meanwhile continued to struggle for any real cohesion, and so any comeback looked to be slipping out of reach..........or so we thought. With ten minutes or so remaining, the Welsh decided to kick away an advantage which Winnan returned and set up Hylton to burst through, only to be called back for the advantage! This seemed at last to inspire the Pirates into action. The introduction of Motusaga for Betty helped things along to as the Samoan threw himself energetically into the game to try and help salvage some semblance of normality. Consequently the Pirates seemed to find those extra couple of gears and started applying severe pressure on the London side's line. A 5 metre maul forced its way over the whitewash and Chris Cracknell was the one to emerge with the ball. Moore slotted the conversion and things suddenly got interesting; or tense depending on which side of the fence you sit on. Seeking another score to really put a doubt in the Welsh players minds, the visitors pressed time and time again but the Welsh defence was holding strong and it seemed it would all come to nothing. This was until Moore slotted a penalty to at least hopefully grab a bonus point and still leave time for one last hurrah. The Pirates gained possession from the restart and set about trying to hold on to the ball and move up the pitch. But the home side dug in once again, as their defence strangled all hopes that the Pirates had. This saw them through to a justified 16-10 win, and added another big scalp for the season along with those of Leeds and Doncaster. There can be no complaints from a Pirates point of view on the day. The old mantra of wanting it more, or less though cannot be justified. The effects of the cup run and a real shot at some silverware have come at a price. The next week; with the two tough league games at Bedford and Plymouth repsectively to be played, will be crucial as to whether everyone at the Cornish Pirates will see a tangible reward for their efforts. Perversely, it won't be the results that matter so much, as everyone hoping to come through unscathed and somehow fresher for the Big One at Twickenham on April 15th. However, if either Bedford, Plymouth, or more importantly Exeter think that today's result will have any bearing, they'd better watch out. Once our wounds have been licked......!!!!! On a lighter note, a special mention for our friends from Harlequins who came along. Honest we can play better than that :o) London Welsh 16 Try: Massoon Pirates 10 Try: Cracknell Referee: JP Doyle Article Links: Preview | Pix | Press Gang at the Park
N Taylor; J Greenwood; T Massoon; J Storery; A Cadwaller; T Marks; A Chilton
D Williams; I Ritchie; L Ward;
H Quigley; K Burke; G Robson; S Etheridge; P Cox
Conversion: Marks
Penalties: Marks 3
A Winnan; L Vinnicombe, S Parsons, S Winn, J Hylton; D Bell, J Moore;
G Anderson, N Makin (capt) S Heard;
J Inglis, J Beardshaw; C Cracknell, S Betty, M Evans.
Replacements: Cattle, Jones, Senekal, Hambly, Motusaga, Seal, Daviduk
Conversion: Moore
Penalty: Moore
Touch Judges: Steve Leyshon, Nick Clarke
Assessors: A Richardson, N Weaver