CORNISH Pirates captain Chris Morgan will mark his 200th appearance for the club when London Irish are the visitors to the Mennaye Field tomorrow (kick-off 1pm).

His first game for the Pirates was away to Bedford in 2005/06, when on loan from Bristol. He impressed then, as he did similarly when playing for Newbury Blues for two years.

Signing full-time for the Cornish Pirates in 2008, ‘Morgs’ has been a tremendous contributor ever since. He has been presented with a number of club awards over the years, and along with Laurie McGlone played for the Barbarians against Heriot’s in 2014/15.

Cornish Pirates’ joint coach Alan Paver is expecting a real challenge against the league leaders, that will likely include former popular ‘Pirate’ Blair Cowan in its ranks.

Paver said: “There is excitement in the air building up to this contest. Supporters from both sides are looking forward to it and the Mennaye Field should provide a cracking atmosphere.

“Congratulations will be due Chris (Morgan) on reaching a magnificent milestone. He is a special guy, who gives so much of himself, and is always the first to stand up when the going gets tough.”

He added: “We know it’s going to be a challenge on Saturday, so we need to stick to task, strive to play at our highest standard, and learn from the experience of playing a team the calibre of London Irish.”

The Cornish Pirates selection is as follows: Cornish Pirates: 15 Toby May, 14 Kyle Moyle, 13 Alex Dancer, 12 Nicolas De Battista, 11 Jack Arnott, 10 Will Cargill, 9 Alex Day; 1 Marlen Walker, 2 Rob Elloway, 3 Jack Andrew, 4 Chris Morgan (capt), 5 Josh Caulfield, 6 Dan Lee, 6 Alex Cheesman, 8 Tom Duncan.

Replacements: 16 Tom Channon, 17 Tyler Gendall, 18 Jake Parker, 19 Sam Simmonds, 20 Stuart Townsend, 21 Laurence May, 22 Tom Hendrickson.

Referee: Fergus Kirby (RFU)