For their final scheduled away game in 2023, the Cornish Pirates travelled on Saturday to play league leaders Ealing Trailfinders in Round 7 of the Championship, writes Phil Westren. 

Unfortunately, following an injury suffered midway through the second half by Cornish Pirates’ replacement Ben Grubb, after a period when both teams left the field, it was decided to abandon the game.

In what had been a closely competitive contest, despite the home side leading 12-0 at the time of the abandonment, thanks to late first-half tries from hooker Matt Cornish and his replacement Henry Walker, and the one conversion kicked by fly-half Dan Lancaster, there was no guarantee the Trailfinders would have gone on to win the match.

Cornish Pirates’ joint head coach Gavin Cattle said: “It was a disappointing end to the afternoon, but player safety is of utmost importance, the human aspect always comes first, and we wish Ben a speedy recovery.

“The conclusion with 57 or 58 minutes played meant that the game was not out of sight or mind, and we were expecting a red card to be shown an Ealing player, which would have meant we would likely play the last 20 minutes or so against 14 men.

“Looking back on the action, I thought physically we were outstanding on both sides of the ball. We had limited possession in the first half and there was a stiff breeze which made it difficult for getting up the pitch, but with the limited ball we had we should have scored with two on one early on.

“Playing with a lot of energy, the grit and determination was there in bucket loads. We did superbly well in defending six or seven driving mauls before their first clever score and, overall, I am proud of the boys.”

Gavin added: “I have said before that this group of players are great and don’t take a backward step. They certainly put their hands up for the shirt, our backs looked dangerous, and prop Jacob Morris in making his first start for us against such a strong Championship team did very well.”

Cornish Pirates have said they will update with further information once it becomes officially available, in the meantime some positive news was confirmed on Saturday evening that Ben Grubb was discharged from hospital following tests and scans coming back clear, and he was on his way back to Cornwall to continue his rehab at the club this coming week. Ben also expressed appreciation and thanks to everyone for their concern and best wishes.