THE Cornish Pirates made it two from two at
their new Kenwyn base as they hit back from a 13-5 half-time deficit to record
maximum points against visiting Nottingham.
Jim McKay's men turned
on the style in the second half to outgun and outmuscle their Midlands rivals
and ensure maximum points from their sixth league game of the season.
Nottingham
, however, are no mugs and they stunned their Cornish hosts with a rousing opening
quarter in which they stormed 13-0 in front.
Fly-half Ali Warnock
kicked them in front with a fourth minute penalty, then added the extras to Tim
Molenaar's score on ten minutes, the centre carving through a gap between Tom
Barlow and Shaun James to score by the posts.
It did not get any
better for the Pirates and their ever-increasing army of supporters. Although
Warnock failed with a second penalty shot, he atoned moments later with a successful
punt to increase Nottingham 's hold to 13-0.
This kind of opening
was clearly not on the agenda for the Pirates, who took the opening quarter of
this game to really settle into their stride. Against a strong wind they struggled
to clear their lines. But despite dominating the territorial battle in the opening
period, Nottingham were unable to add to their advantage.
Indeed,
it was the Pirates who slowly began to find their feet and they finally troubled
the scorers on 33 minutes when on-loan Bristol flanker Chris Morgan was at the
bottom of a catch-and-drive move.
It was the lift the Pirates needed
ahead of the interval - and it clearly revived the home side, who looked a much
different proposition after the break. Having sounded their warning with a couple
of breaks early in the second half, it took an excellent burst from home centre
Duncan Roke to create the opening for winger Richard Welding to power over for
his 11th try of the campaign - converted by Tom Barlow - on 46 minutes to leave
a point in it.
The Pirates were finally up and running. Their play,
which had looked pedestrian in the opening half, was now like a jet-propelled
engine. Shaun James and Welding both continued to cause havoc in the Nottingham
rearguard, while up front the Pirates pack was finally beginning to assert some
authority.
The pressure was clearly mounting and finally the Pirates
were able to claim the lead for the first time on the hour mark. Using a carbon
copy of the move for their opening try, it was Morgan who once again emerged from
the mass of bodies to claim his second of the afternoon.
Like the
Pirates in the first half, Nottingham were struggling to get out of their own
half as the onslaught continued aplenty. Led superbly by skipper Joe Bearman and
lock Will James, it was the latter whose storming run through the heart of the
Nottingham back division created the space for Barlow to feed Bearman to crash
over in the corner for the all-important fourth try, again converted by Barlow.
To their credit, Nottingham refused to die and with skipper Chris
Hammond a constant thorn in the Pirates side, they gained a second try with just
minutes remaining. With referee Tim Beddow appearing to allow a knock-on in midfield,
full-back Ben Thompson accepted the loose ball before lobbing a pass back inside
for Will Logan to added a second converted score.
However, any thoughts
of a late revival from Nottingham were quickly extinguished as Australian Simon
Hockings - celebrating his first start for the Pirates - finished off a sublime
move with the best try of the game late on.
Cornish Pirates 29
Tries - Morgan 2, Welding, Bearman, Hocking; Conversions - Barlow 2
Nottingham 20
Tries - Molenaar, Logan; Conversions - Warnock,
Stenhouse; Penalties - Warnock 2
Pirates: W Davies; R Welding, D
Roke, S James, M Jess; T Barlow (L Jarvis 74), G Cattle (N Chivers); A Paver (D
Parkes 74), P Ince (N Makin 60), N Adams (D Seal 47); W James, J Beardshaw; J
Bearman, C Morgan. Replacements (not ued): A Nicholls, R McAtee.
Nottingham:
B Thompson; D Jackson, T Wyles, T Molenaar (A Cook 77), W Logan; A Warnock (N
Stenhouse 67), T Richardson; P Cook (N Fowkes 40), J Duffey (A Loney 40), T Lea'aetoa;
P Arnold, D Moore; C Hammond (capt), D Wilks (G Chenoweth 57), N Fitisemanu (A
Corcoran 40). Replacement (not used): J Wilson .
Referee: T Beddow
(RFU).
