PIRATES GO IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE HAVING been ambushed on their last visit to Park Lane, the Cornish Pirates will be hoping a similar fate does not befall them tomorrow when they travel to the suburbs of Manchester to face lowly Sedgley Park. A late converted try from former Park winger Richard Welding - himself now an established favourite within the Cornish camp - condemned the travelling Pirates to a 28-27 defeat that day.
It was a result that not only dented the Pirates' ambitions in National One last term, but it was a setback that signalled the end of Kevin Moseley's four-year reign as the club's Director of Rugby. Some 15 months on from that fixture and it is a much different prospect facing Jim McKay - the man who replaced Moseley as head coach - and his Pirates side, who know victory is imperative if they are to realise their dream of a top two finish this season. Last weekend's home win over the Pertemps Bees certainly helped get the Pirates back on track after their defeat at Nottingham, but McKay knows tomorrow's opponents will be anything but pushovers. The Australian coach said: "We're in a pretty similar scenario to last week with Birmingham. They are down at the wrong end of the table, they desperately need points, and they are fast running out of games. "It's going to be tough going up there. They have some very good players, people like Phil Jones. He is a very good goalkicker and he knows how to control a game. Also, they are traditionally a lot stronger at home. "We know from our last experience going up there that they are a team that can cause you problems. Thankfully Richard Welding is on our side this time, so that's one less worry to think about. But, like I said, we're under no illusions about how tough it is going to be." Certainly having Welding in his ranks is music to McKay's ears ahead of the game. The 25-year-old picked up his 16th try of the season in last weekend's 21-13 victory over the Bees. It was also a score that continued to keep Welding top of the National One try-scoring charts and a few more this weekend would certainly not go amiss. Having endured a barren spell since the turn of the year, the former Orrell and Sedgley Park speedster has returned to his rousing best in recent weeks, including a try double against Nottingham. His efforts have not gone unnoticed by McKay, who added: "I think Richard's tries are a reflection of the way we've been trying to play again recently. Our aim has been to keep our hands on the ball a lot more and be more positive in games. We were doing that a lot at the start of the season and we've been doing it again in recent weeks, which is good." Certainly McKay - who welcomes back Peter Ince and Matt Jess into his starting line-up tomorrow in place of Nick Makin and Shaun James - has been heartened by his side's endeavours in recent games. "I didn't think we got as many points for our toils last week," he added. "The effort the boys put in was excellent. Having looked at the video this week there was a lot of good stuff in there and we showed some real glimpses of top quality rugby. We now need to build on that again this week and in the remaining games of the season." One man who enjoyed last weekend's victory was McKay's compatriot Wade Kelly, who was making his first competitive start since the Pirates lost to Harlequins in November. Speaking after the game, the centre said: "It was nice to get back out on the pitch again. It's been a while and I'm absolutely knackered now. It was a good win for the boys, it's always tough against Birmingham and we knew what type of game they would try and play. "Getting the try in the first half helped us and then in the second half our pressure kind of told on them. Perhaps we could have scored a few more points, but that's the way it goes. We're happy with the win." Kelly is hoping to produce more of the same this weekend, but knows Sedgley Park will be a tough nut to crack. I know we beat them quite comfortably down here [53-8], but up there it will be a much tougher game for us," said Kelly, who was part of the Pirates side to come unstuck at Park Lane last season. Sedgley Park, meanwhile, will be without prop Huw Thomas, who is currently serving a 10-week suspension following his second red card of the season. Thomas was sent off for striking in the home match against Bedford and will be out of action until April 2. Earlier this season Thomas was hit with a six-week ban for stamping in October's game against Rotherham. Pirates: W Davies; R Welding, K James, W Kelly, M Jess; T Barlow, G Cattle (capt); A Paver, P Ince, N Adams; H Senekal, J Beardshaw; J Bearman, S Betty, T Cowley. Replacements: D Seal, N Makin, S Hockings, M Evans, N Chivers, L Jarvis, S James. |
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