Bedford Blues vs Cornish Pirates

Posted on Apr 13, 2012 in Bedford, Championship, Cornish Pirates, English Rugby

When the Pirates take on Bedford Blues at home on Sunday (ko 3pm), they will have much to play for.

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

British & Irish Cup semi-final preview

Posted on Apr 3, 2012 in British and Irish Cup, Cornish Pirates

Three of the four home nations are represented in this year’s British & Irish Cup semi-finals, with competition newcomers Cross Keys flying the flag for Wales against English outfit Cornish Pirates (pictured), while Leinster and Munster kick off the weekend with an all-Irish tie at the RDS.

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

Titans v Pirates – A Contest Not For The Faint Hearted

Posted on Mar 30, 2012 in Championship, Cornish Pirates, English Rugby, Rotherham Titans

With three of six scheduled games in the RFU Championship Pool B play-offs completed, and with a record of having drawn one, lost one and won one, the second placed Cornish Pirates will be fully focused on achieving another victory away to Rotherham on Saturday (ko 2pm).

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.

Bester: We must win…if we want to keep the dream alive!

Posted on Mar 30, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Titans head coach Andre Bester freely admits, anything other than a win against Cornish Pirates this weekend will end the Clifton Lane outfit’s dream of Premiership rugby.

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.

Titans ready for ‘Toughest Challenge in the Championship’

Posted on Mar 22, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, Rotherham Titans

Rotherham Titans are ready for what head coach Andre Bester believes is the “Toughest Challenge in the Championship,” when they travel to Cornwall to face Cornish Pirates on Sunday, kick-off 3pm at the Mennaye Field.

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.