Cornish Pirates

Cornish Pirates captain Gavin Cattle praised the Kenwyn crowd for the part they played in helping his side claim a last-gasp 29-28 victory over near neighbours Plymouth Albion.

“They were fantastic today and the loudest I’ve heard them,” said the Welshman at the final whistle. “When we lost Paves to the sin-bin they really got behind us and really spurred the boys on. I’m just so glad we got the try at the end.”

Cattle, who recently pledged his future to the Pirates for another year, admitted that it was a ‘fantastic’ game to play in and that the success was another step in the right direction as the Cornish club look to seal their best-ever finish in the National Leagues.

He added: “It’s about time we had a bit of luck, we’ve lost a few close games this season, but today we kept going right to the end and got the win, which was great. We showed real good team spirit and a bit of grit and determination.”

Victory at Coventry this weekend will ensure the Pirates of third spot in National One and Cattle is delighted to see yet more progress at the club. He said: “To finish third would be a great achievement, obviously you’d like to finish higher, but there are a lot of good teams around like Harlequins, Bedford and Plymouth.

“It’s good to have that progress, but obviously it slows down the higher you go. It’s good for Jim [McKay] as well. He gives us confidence and a structure to go out and play, but we’ve let him down at times this season, so I’m glad we are coming good towards the end of the season.”