A TRIO of Cornish Pirates stars all featured in the Greene King IPA Championship side who beat Canada 28-23 on Sunday.

Scrum-half Tom Kessell, second row Darren Barry and fly-half Kieran Hallett all appeared in the momentous victory at Worcester’s Sixways Stadium.

The team’s coach Martin Haag included Kessell and Barry in the starting XV while Hallett came off the bench and added the conversion to James Phillip’s try with ten minutes left to secure the win.

It seemed like the Championship side would be in for a tough game at first as they went in at half-time 18-7 down with their try coming from former Redruth star Mark Bright.

However, a brilliant second half saw the side outscore their international opponents 21-5 with tries for Phillips, Jack Tovey and Marco Mama proving to be the difference.

Coach for the day Haag, who is in charge of Nottingham, the Pirates’ next opponents on Sunday at the Mennaye, said he was delighted with the performance.

Haag said: “They’ve gelled really well and to beat an international team is no mean feat.

“I’m hoping that 15 years down the line they’ll still be thinking about this game, still be friends and enjoying the experience.

“What I’m also hoping is that the people who came to the stadium enjoyed the game.”