CORNISH Pirates welcomed Doncaster Knights to the Mennaye Field for this Sunday afternoon Round Six game in the RFU Championship, writes Phil Westren. 

The Cornish Pirates team showed minimal changes in their starting XV to the one that faced Ampthill last time out. A fit again Kyle Moyle pleasingly made a return at full-back, and in the centre Tom Georgiou was named to make his first league start for the Pirates. 

This was a game when the Pirates got off to a freaky disappointing start, that made their task an inevitably difficult one.

Falmouth Packet: Under a floodlit glow man of the match Hugh Bokenham wins clean line-out ball.Under a floodlit glow man of the match Hugh Bokenham wins clean line-out ball. (Image: Brian Tempest)

The rampant Knights crossed the Pirates line for two converted tries in the first five minutes, with the opener scored all but from the start at the Penzance posts by lock Fyn Brown. Slick early play and handling then led to a second try, run in by flanker Harry Wilson. Fly-half Russell Bennett converted both.

With the floodlights already helping light up the good old Mennaye, a dominant scrum by the Pirates thankfully both brightened matters further and lifted morale. The Knights were forced to buckle, and following penalties awarded it was Tom Georgiou who ultimately scored a try to the right of the Newlyn posts. Fly-half Bruce Houston added the extra two points.

Falmouth Packet: Match action in conditions that were at times less than ideal. Match action in conditions that were at times less than ideal. (Image: Brian Tempest)

The visitors responded when Bennett was successful with a penalty attempt, but the Pirates came back strongly with an intense period of controlled forward pressure, ending with a converted try scored at the Newlyn posts by hooker Morgan Nelson.

Unfortunately, the Pirates once again faltered at the restart, gifting the to-date faultless Bennett with another penalty kick at goal opportunity, which he duly landed. Matt McNab was also sin-binned when penalised for a late charge down, and to make matters worse it was Doncaster’s long striding lock Ehize Ehizode who ran well and stretched his athletic frame to score an unconverted try that made it 14-25 at the break.

Falmouth Packet: Making his 50th appearance for the Pirates scrum-half Ruaridh Is at full stretch making a tackle.Making his 50th appearance for the Pirates scrum-half Ruaridh Is at full stretch making a tackle. (Image: Brian Tempest)

In the second half, the Knights scored two fine converted tries through their wingmen, with the first seeing popular former ‘Pirate’, Maliq Holden, squeeze over at the Newlyn gate corner, and then George Simpson then dotting the ball down wide on the left.

Although play had been stop-go at times because of injuries, efforts from the Pirates were pleasingly rewarded in the last quarter. Kyle Moyle crossed left of the Penzance posts for a try, and at the very end a determined effort finished off by scrum-half Alex Schwarz registered a four try bonus point. Both tries were converted by replacement fly-half Iwan Jenkins.