Cornish Pirates 26 Doncaster Knights 23

By Dick Straughan
February 5 2007

The Cornish Pirates hauled themselves up to third in Division One tonight after winning a pulsating contest at Camborne Rec against Yorkshire heavyweights and promotion rivals Doncaster Knights. The victory marks a well earned double over the men from Castle Park.

Both teams were at full strength and conditions for rugby good as Ben Gollings got the game underway. His kick-off failed to travel ten metres and from the resulting scrum a foul on Gavin Cattle saw the Pirates awarded a penalty. Di Bernardo stepped forward and from fully sixty metres launched an intercontinental ballistic missile of a kick which bisected the posts with room to spare. With just two minutes played and the sizeable crowd already on their feet Gollings gathered himself at the restart and promptly fluffed his kick again.

Doncaster were clearly irritated by their start and attacked their hosts ferociously. Resolute defence from the Pirates held them at bay just inches from the line, and when the pack pilfered Doncaster possession Cattle cleared his lines emphatically. Back came Doncaster and levelled the scores with a Gollings penalty only for the Pirates to assert themselves once again.

Di Bernardo making the most of the deceptive breeze at his back kept the Knights penned deep in their own territory with a series of booming touchfinders. Although solid in the set piece Doncaster were struggling to break out and the accurate refereeing of Mr Rose punished their indiscretions. With just ten minutes played their influential skipper, Jason Forster, received a yellow card as the home pack drove Doncaster back fully twenty metres to their own line. From the resulting penalty the Pirates shunted Doncaster back the remaining five and hooker Vili Ma`asi claimed the first of his two tries. Di Bernardo converted and this time Ben Gollings restarted with a kick which went straight out on the full and into the park outside.

The same Gollings restart routine was repeated moments later after Di Bernardo had stretched the lead to 16-3 following a Doncaster indiscretion on the floor. A series of promising Pirates attacks then followed but once Forster returned to the Doncaster ranks order was restored. Russell Earnshaw was driven over for a try following a five metre scrum after intense pressure on the home defence. Gollings converted and then added a penalty right on half-time as dark clouds gathered to the northwest.

The Pirates customary second half fire was slow to ignite today. It was now Di Bernardo`s turn to struggle with the breeze and Cattle`s willingness to kick away possession aided and abetted Doncaster`s second half fight-back. The Beer tent had barely emptied when Cattle fed a scrum midway inside his own half only to see the ball spat back out at a ridiculous angle in front of the marauding Doncaster defence. As the Pirates cover stood in disbelief Ben Gollings reacted sharply and darted in for the try before anyone thought to tackle him. Having slotted the conversion matters got worse for the Pirates as they struggled to secure the ball. Gollings added another penalty and trailing 16-23 the home side were in trouble. The Doncaster pack was gaining the edge, Centres Cannon and Hunt were dancing around tackles at will, and the Pirates were running down blind alleys in attack and defence. One more score would have sealed the points for Doncaster but it never came.

Instead the great beast that is the Pirates stirred and shook itself. Field position was gained deep in Doncaster territory, a penalty awarded for a misdemeanour in the loose, and from close range the Pirates pack drove Ma`asi over the line like a runaway train. Di Bernardo missed his twice taken conversion attempt and with a full twenty five minutes to play Doncaster still led by two points.

Mr Rose and his officials skilfully kept the lid on the simmering frustrations of both packs as they stood toe to toe repeatedly hammering one another. No quarter was asked or given as we entered the final instalment of the match. Pirates Stan McKeen and Alan Paver battled particularly fiercely in the loose but ith a midfield stalemate descending on proceedings the result was going to hinge on either a mistake or a moment of sublime quality.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. A lateral Pirates passing movement on halfway exploded into life as the silky running of Duncan Roke punched a hole in the Doncaster defence. His pass to Rhodri McAtee left the flying Welsh whippet a full 25m sprint to the line, but the Pirates own Mick the Miller hugged the touchline to outstrip the despairing defence and touch down the decisive score.

Both teams had enough of the ball and chances to score further in the final frantic minutes of the match. Indeed if Adrian Winnan had held a late crossfield kick as the rain swept in he would have had a clear run at the Doncaster line. Yet it was the defences of both sides that held firm. At last the Pirates were able to steal Doncaster lineout ball and when Heino Senekal leapt in stoppage time to claim a Knights put in the roar from the crowd was as loud as anything else all afternoon. Mr Rose kept the contest moving, marshalled the stoppage time well, and quickly snuffed out a petulant scrap at the final whistle.

Doncaster will go home disappointed but for the Pirates this was a huge victory against a very good side.

TEAMS:-

PIRATES:- Winnan, McAtee, Roke, Bell, Hylton, Di Bernardo, Cattle (c), Paver, Ma`asi, Seal, Senekal, Beardshaw, McKeen, Motusaga, Cowley, REPS - Moore, Vinnecombe, Winn, Evans, Inglis, Makin, Anderson

KNIGHTS:- Carter, Davies, Hunt, Cannon, Van Vuuren, Gollings, Jones, Tau, Bowden, Rawson, Kenworthy, Gross, Cock O, Forster (c), Earnshaw, REPS:- Barretto, Phillips, Cock D, Scully, Davey, Woodrow

Referee:- David Rose (RFU)