London Welsh 36 Cornish Pirates 15

In dry and calm conditions at Old Deer Park and with the sound of Falmouth Marine Band’s big drum booming about the Pagoda picturesque ground, the scene for this British & Irish Cup semi-final was set.

The skies might have been grey above, but the Pirates got off to a bright start when fly-half Laurence May slotted an early penalty.

There was a set-back for the visitors when they lost the services of lock Brett Beukeboom with a knee injury, however they soon extended their lead when purposeful play deep in the London Welsh half was rewarded with a try scored in the Pagoda corner by wing Matt Evans.

The home side clearly had no shortage of incentive coming into this match, and playing with recently acquired confidence they soon hit back when hooker Nathan Morris made it over the line following a well-rehearsed line-out ploy.

Now came a further set-back for the Pirates, as they lost the services of hooker Rob Elloway to the sin bin. London Welsh would make them pay.

Two tries scored by No. 8 Kieran Murphy, both of which were converted by fly-half Joe Carlisle, put the Welsh 19-8 up. Blue skies had suddenly appeared, albeit it briefly, but it was spell when they played with the sun very much on their backs.

It was suddenly important that the Pirates should score next. Thankfully, they did, live-wire scrum-half Stuart Townsend finishing off some excellent approach work for a converted try that made it 19-15 at the break.

With just four points separating the sides the Pirates were very much in this contest. Sadly, as we now know, they would though score no more points in the match. They had their chances, but they were not taken, and little things make a difference.

A converted try for prop Nathan Trevett extended the home team’s lead, whilst a successful penalty strike by Carlisle all but cemented victory for Rowland Phillips’ side.

Yellow cards for Evans and replacement Joe Atkinson added to the general disappointment and frustration felt by the Pirates and their supporters, which was only added to when conceding a converted penalty try at the death.

London Welsh deserved their victory, and they had played to a higher level, as should have been expected from them more regularly this season. For the Pirates, considering their position in late autumn, they have done very well to achieve what they have, although this defeat was still one that hurt.

To maintain a sporting perspective, prop Alan Paver‘s second half appearance off the bench proudly marked his 350th appearance for the Pirates, which is a remarkable milestone to reach for one club in the professional era.

London Welsh: 15 Chris Elder, 14 James Lewis, 13 Guy Armitage, 12 Seb Jewell, 11 Josh Drauniniu, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Rob Lewis (Josh Davies 62); 1 Nathan Trevett (Darryl Marfo 64), 2, Nathan Morris (Koree Britton 53), 3 Jack Gilding (Ben Cooper 64), 4 Matt Corker (capt, Josh McNally 62), 5 Ben West, 6 Will Skuse, 7 Ryan Hodson, 8 Kieran Murphy (Ben Pienaar 69). Replacement (not used): Olly Barkley.

Cornish Pirates: 15 Toby May, 14 Kyle Moyle (Jack Arnott 65), 13 Tom Riley (Rheon James 65), 12 Tom Hendrickson, 11 Matt Evans, 10 Laurence May, 9 Stuart Townsend (Alex Day 54); 1 Marlen Walker (Tyler Gendall 64), 2 Rob Elloway (Tom Channon 54), 3 Tyler Gendall (Alan Paver 51), 4 Jake Parker, 5 Brett Beukeboom (Will Graulich 9), 6 Alex Cheesman (capt), 7 Sam Simmonds, 8 Tom Duncan (Joe Atkinson 62).

Yellow cards: Elloway, Evans, Atkinson.

Scorers:-

London Welsh – tries: Murphy (2), Morris, Trevett, Penalty try; cons: Carlisle (4); pen: Carlisle.

Cornish Pirates – tries: Evans, Townsend; con: L. May; pens: L. May (2).