The two games between the sides in the regular season produced a comfortable win for the Pirates at Mennaye Field, while three late Alex Davies penalties salvaged a 17-17 draw for Welsh at Old Deer Park.

Of course, the Pirates also came out on top, 18-10, in last year’s one-off semi-final at Mennaye Field.

“The Cornish Pirates are a very good side,” said Jones. “They don’t rely on any particular type of rugby or strength, they’ve got the ability to play all types of rugby and I would be very respectful of that.

“That’s what you’ve got to have. To have a sniff of going up you’ve got to be able to pay all types of rugby.

“They’ve got a good kicking full back, they’ve a very sound organised pack of forwards and they finished third and we finished fourth in the regular season.

“But throughout the season both teams have grown and we’re really looking forward to an opportunity to show ourselves at the highest level in this league.

“From where we were in September to where we are now is chalk and cheese. We’re a confident side with the ability to play a bit of football, and just like the Cornish Pirates we can also play all types of games as and when it suits.”

The Exiles withstood a late fight-back from the Blues to reach their first-ever Championship final, having lost in the semi-finals in 2010 as well as last year.

When Nick Scott capitalised on a mistake to touch down and Davies added his fourth penalty, the Exiles led 17-10 on the day and 30-13 on aggregate. However, converted tries from Don Barrell and Neil Cochrane ensured a tense finish at Old Deer Park on Sunday, but Welsh held on.

“This was not an 80 minute game, it was a 160 minute game, and over the 160 minutes we probably deserved it” said Jones.

“I thought the first half was excellent in intensity. We fell away in the last 20 because we weren’t strong enough. We weren’t conditioned enough to play that intensity for 80 minutes.

“That’s a big learning curve for our boys to appreciate that when they go into the gym what they’re there for.”

Jones is now preparing his side for the 1st leg of their Championship final with the Cornish Pirates at Mennaye Field on May 23, with the return game confirmed for the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, on May 30. Both games kick-off at 7:45pm and will be live on Sky Sports.

“They should be two great games. We’ve seen two cracking committed affairs between ourselves and Bedford, and we were delighted to take the spoils because they’re a very good attacking side” said Jones.

“It’s all to play for now. Going into the play-offs we had a 25 per cent of being successful, now it’s 50 per cent.”

London Welsh RFC have announced that the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, will be the venue for the ‘Home’ leg of their Championship Final against Cornish Pirates on May 30th.

Pirates will host the first leg – venue to be confirmed – on May 23rd. Both games will be televised on Sky Sports and both will kick-off at 7.45pm.

London Welsh have taken this opportunity to showcase the Kassam Stadium because it is one of the grounds where the club could play next season if they are promoted to the Aviva Premiership.

It is the home of Oxford United F.C. but the stadium was always designed for rugby as well as football. It offers high quality playing and spectator facilities plus excellent floodlighting which was a factor in the club’s decision.

London Welsh will be making special travel arrangements for its loyal band of supporters – full details will be announced in due course

The Pirates will carry a healthy 21 points lead into this return encounter, but they will be mindful that their job is not yet complete. This is, in effect, only half-time, and in the knowledge that Bristol have an unbeaten record at home in the Championship this season, it will also be noted that they have also registered some hefty victories along the way.

Recording such an emphatic result in the first leg certainly drew extra attention to the Pirates, and to the Championship competition in general, as nobody but nobody would have predicted a 45-24 outcome. Besides ‘Sky’ television, who had their best ever ratings for the Championship for this game, national press coverage was also unprecedented, not forgetting also that supporters of Newcastle Falcons quite understandably followed the match with added interest, as they will again this coming weekend.

For Sunday’s game Kyle Marriott continues at No. 8 for the Cornish Pirates, having been a second half replacement on Monday for the injured Ben Maidment, and lock Matt Smith is named on the bench. The full selection is as follows:-

Cornish Pirates: R. Cook, G. Pointer, S. Hill, A. Suniula, D. Doherty, C. Thomas, G. Cattle (capt), K. Marriott, P. Burgess, C. Morgan, I. Nimmo, L. McGlone, A. Paver, D. Ward, C. Rimmer.

Replacements: R. Storer, R. Elloway, R. Brits, M. Smith, D. Ewers, T. Kessell, M. Evans.

Bedford Blues 3 – London Welsh 13

Cornish Pirates 45 – Bristol Rugby 24

Bristol will have to overturn a 21-point deficit in the second leg of the Championship semi-finals on Sunday if they are to keep their promotion hopes alive. Liam Middleton’s men crashed to a 45-24 defeat to the Cornish Pirates in the first leg at the Mennaye Field, meaning they have conceded 95 points in two visits there this season following an earlier setback in the British & Irish Cup.

Bristol scored two early tries to get off to a fantastic start, but they now have it all to do against a Pirates side on the verge of a second successive final appearance. Pirates scored five second-half tries, Rob Cook getting one as well as kicking twenty points, with further tries coming from Carl Rimmer (2), Dave Doherty and Grant Pointer.

London Welsh took their fine away form from Stages 1 & 2 into the first leg of the Championship semi-finals, sealing a 13-3 win over Bedford at Goldington Road with a try from Hudson Tonga’uiha and eight points from Alex Davies.

Welsh won more away games (7) than any other side during the regular season and were unbeaten in three away play-off games, and Lyn Jones’ side now has one foot planted firmly in the Championship final following another fine performance on the road.

But the Blues have chalked up some noticeable scalps of their own away from home this season, including a 33-30 win against Welsh at Sunbury in the B&I Cup back in October, and they will not go down without a fight.

RFU Championship

semi-finals – second leg

• Bristol Rugby v Cornish Pirates, Sunday May 13, KO 1245 – LIVE on Sky Sports
• London Welsh v Bedford Blues, Sunday May 13, KO 1500 – LIVE on RFU.com

Following the closest league stage in the competition’s history, Bristol Rugby, Bedford Blues, Cornish Pirates and London Welsh pushed through to the knock-out stages and will now play a two-legged semi-final, with the highest aggregate score securing a place in the final on May 23 & 30.

Sky Sports HD will broadcast both legs of Bristol Rugby and Cornish Pirates encounter at The Memorial Stadium and The Mennaye, respectively, while RFU.com will show London Welsh vs Bedford Blues LIVE on Sunday May 13, KO 1500.

Adrian Battersby, Head of Technical Services at www.247.tv, who will broadcast the fixture, commented:

“We are delighted to have been asked to stream the semi-final at Old Deer Park. We have streamed a few games for RFU.com now, including England Women and England U20, but I have a feeling this could be one of the most exciting encounters we’ve been involved in! Unfortunately, due to a prior booking, we were not available to film the first leg at Goldington Road on Friday night, but I’m confident the streaming from Old Deer Park will satisfy supporters of both sides."

Joe Pecchia, Digital Project Manager for RFU.com, commented

“This is another fantastic step forward for our digital channels, and particularly for the RFU Championship. The competition has really gone from strength to strength over the past 18 months and we’ve seen a real rise in interest, particularly on Twitter. With the Bristol game kicking-off at 1245 and London Welsh available on line from 3pm, supporters can look forward to a RFU Championship marathon on May 13!”

RFU Championship semi-finals

• Bedford Blues v London Welsh, Friday May 4, KO 1945 – Updates via @RFUChampionship
• Cornish Pirates v Bristol Rugby, Monday May 7, KO 1205 – Sky Sports HD
• Bristol Rugby v Cornish Pirates, Sunday May 13, KO 1245 – Sky Sports HD
• London Welsh v Bedford Blues, Sunday May 13, KO 1500 – www.rfu.com/ChampionshipLive

RFU Championship Final

The Pirates have lost three times to the Blues this season, including a 24-34 result at the Mennaye Field last October, a 32-13 defeat at Bedford on New Year’s Day, and then a 26-25 result in the second of their Pool B play-off games played in March. What does this mean? Well, it’ll give the Pirates immense satisfaction should they win to help put the disappointment of a trio of defeats behind them, but also, of greater importance, it would see them cement a semi-final place in this season’s RFU Championship competition.

Further reason to strive hard to achieve victory is to give high performance manager Chris Stirling a happy send off before his return home to New Zealand, whilst this match will also see full-back Rob Cook make his 100th appearance for the Pirates. A fit again Drew Locke is named on the bench.

All in all, it is clear that the game against Bedford promises to be that little bit extra special, and the clear advice it to buy your ticket needs early. Season ticket holders should note that their season tickets are still valid for this match.

Cornish Pirates: R. Cook, G. Pointer, S. Hill, A. Suniula, M. Evans, C. Thomas, G. Cattle (capt), B. Maidment, C. Morgan, K. Marriott, M. Smith, L. McGlone, A. Paver, D. Ward, C. Rimmer.

Replacements: R. Brits, R. Elloway, D. Ewers, P. Burgess, T. Kessell, A. Penberthy, D. Locke.

Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU) Assistants: Keith Lewis & Darryl Chapman

4th. Official: Clare Daniels

Match Day Sponsor: The Zero Lounge Match Ball Sponsors: Cadgwith Singers

Friday evening’s semi-final sees the ‘A’ sides of Irish provinces clash for only the sixth time at this level of rugby. Munster marginally have the better head-to-head record over the last decade by three wins to two, including victory in the last meeting: 19-7 at Donnybrook on September 12, 2010.

Munster A have only been beaten once in seven outings this season, their only defeat coming against Cornish Pirates, 10-6 on November 11, 2011.

Leinster are bidding for a first-ever appearance in the final having progressed to this stage with a comprehensive 32-0 home win against Pontypridd in the quarter-finals.

A second final appearance in three years awaits Pirates if they can get past Cross Keys in Saturday’s semi-final at Pandy Park. Pirates are the only team in the line-up to have won all four of their pool matches, securing their path to the semi-finals with a win over fellow Championship contenders Nottingham.

But Cross Keys have impressed in their first season, finishing top of Pool 2 just one point ahead of Munster ‘A’ before victory against Welsh Premiership rivals Llanelli saw them through to the last four.

Pirates go into the fixture having won back-to-back games against Rotherham in the Championship play-offs, while Cross Keys have lost two of their last three games in the Welsh Premiership to sit fifth in the table.

British & Irish Cup semi-finals

• Leinster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’, Friday April 6, KO 1800
• Cross Keys v Cornish Pirates, Saturday April 7, KO 1500

British & Irish Cup Final, April 28

The winner of Semi-final 1 will host the winner of Semi-final 2, meaning that for the first time in the competition’s history, an Irish team will stage the British & Irish Cup final

Andre Bester’s Titans will also inevitably be pumped up at their Clifton Lane home, as despite propping up the Pool B table they are still in with a shout of making the semis and they will also, of course, look to avenge last Sunday’s 25-17 loss at the Mennaye Field.

The match at the ‘Mennaye’ was an entertainingly tough tussle between two evenly matched sides, and it was a great advert for Championship rugby. Similar is expected on Saturday, it a game not for the faint hearted.

Changes in the Cornish Pirates line-up from the side that started last Sunday are all in the pack. Kyle Marriott comes into the side at No. 8 and a fresh second-row pairing combines Mike Myerscough and and a fit again Laurie McGlone.

Speaking ahead of the game, Cornish Pirates high performance manager has commented:

"Clifton Lane is a very tough place to go to but we’re hoping to put in a winning performance that’ll see us make a positive stride forward in our bid to make the semis."

Cornish Pirates: R. Cook, G. Pointer, S. Hill, A. Suniula, M. Evans, C. Thomas, G. Cattle (capt), K. Marriott, P. Burgess, C. Morgan, M. Myerscough, L. McGlone, A. Paver, D. Ward, C. Rimmer.

Replacements: R. Storer, R. Elloway, R. Brits, M. Smith, B. Maidment, T. Kessell, T. Cooper.

Titans have three remaining Pool B games left and in order to secure a semi-final berth in the competition, all three are must win encounters.

Titans welcome the Penzance-based side to Clifton Lane on Saturday for a 2pm kick-off, following their 8-point reversal at The Mennaye last Sunday. That performance should give Titans some self–belief after being on top for significant periods and had individual errors not been made, a victory in Cornwall was on the cards.

Titans have made 4 changes to their side which sees Peter Homan coming back in on the wing. In the forwards Dan Baines starts at hooker, Neale Patrick gets an opportunity in the second row and Semisi Taulava returns at number 8.

Looking ahead to the crucial fixture coach Andre Bester said, “It’s always a tough game against a very physical side like Cornish Pirates.

We know we’ll have to face up to the physicality they will bring and match them in that area. There’s a lot more to them though than just being a physical side. They are also an extremely good side with tremendous experience running throughout the squad. They have given us a hard time in the past year or so and we haven’t beaten them for a while.

“We also know, in all our recent matches against them we have had long periods where we were on top of them. However their experience has seen them through and enabled them to capitalise on our mistakes. The time has come for us to set the record straight.

“We know this is a must win game if we want to keep the dream alive, that point is not even negotiable. We understand that and if we don’t win this match the dream is over and we will be working for the future.

“However, like we have said all season, if we play well we don’t worry about the opposition because we believe we are good enough to beat anyone in the division.”

Rotherham Titans: 15 Tom Foden, 14 Peter Homan, 13 Dave McCall, 12 Pale Nonu, 11 Shane Monahan, 10 Garry Law, 9 Jimmy Williams, 1 Shane Cahill, 2 Dan Baines, 3 Ben Hooper, 4 Neale Patrick, 5 Barney Maddison, 6 Robin Copeland, 7 Sean Dougall (Capt.), 8 Semisi Taulava.

Replacements: 16 Ted Stagg, 17 Jamie Kilbane, 18 Talite Vaioleti, 19 Adrian Griffiths, 20 Carl Kirwan, 21 Ed Tellwright, 22 Cliffie Hodgson.

Following Titans impressive 20-3 victory away to Leeds Carnegie last week, the Clifton Lane outfit are ready to give their all as they chase a semi-final berth in the promotion play-offs.

The only change to Andre Bester’s 22 sees Neale Patrick come in at lock forward for injured skipper Sam Dickinson. Dickinson’s season was ended prematurely in last week victory at Headingley after sustaining a broken arm.

With just 5 victories from a previous 18 encounters, Titans Andre Bester is under no illusions as to the difficulty of the challenge that lies ahead for his troops. Bester said, “I think most clubs in the Championship would agree that the toughest assignment in the division is away to Cornish Pirates. However, we have always believed our application in what we do and we are playing better and better every week. We are focused on what we have to do in the play-offs and making sure that we do the little things well.

“We are probably a little bit unlucky not be at the top with Bedford right now, but as long as we learn, we know we can compete with the top clubs in the division.

“We know Leeds probably had an off day last week, but we also know that Pirates at home won’t have an off-day. Therefore we know it will be a much closer game and if we are going to win down there, it will be very close.

“But we also know that we can back ourselves and believe in ourselves. We need to go down there and go and apply what we believe in and the result will look after itself. It’s not an insurmountable challenge and life without a challenge is a life that’s not worth living. Our challenge is to go down there and turn them over.”

Rotherham Titans: 15 Tom Foden, 14 Stephen Hamilton, 13 Dave McCall, 12 Pale Nonu, 11 Shane Monahan, 10 Garry Law, 9 Jimmy Williams, 1 Shane Cahill, 2 Dan Baines, 3 Ben Hooper, 4 Neale Patrick, 5 Barney Maddison, 6 Robin Copeland, 7 Sean Dougall (Capt.), 8 Semisi Taulava.

Replacements: 16 Ted Stagg, 17 Jamie Kilbane, 18 Talite Vaioleti, 19 Adrian Griffiths, 20 Carl Kirwan, 21 Matt Rhodes, 22 Peter Homan.