THE Cornish Pirates maintained their pursuit
of both Harlequins and Bedford at the top of National League One by trouncing
visiting Sedgley Park 53-8 at Kenwyn.
Five tries in the opening
20 minutes paved the way for Jim McKay’s to clock up their seventh league win
of the season.
Recalled winger Kevin James barged his way over inside
the opening minute, before Matt Jess, Wes Davies, James again and Gavin Cattle
all crossed to put the home side almost out of sight before the first quarter
had even been concluded.
It was a devastating opening spell from
the Pirates, who took charge from the first whistle. Arno de Jager's early spill
from Lee Jarvis' kick-off set the tone for a miserable afternoon for the men from
the North West. It was from the resultant scrum that Cattle and Jarvis combined
to send Kevin James in from 20 metres out.
Jarvis converted the early
opener before adding the extras to a try from Jess three minutes later, the left
winger applying the finish to a slick handling move down the left flank.
Sedgley fly-half Phil Jones briefly reduced the deficit with a penalty on
seven minutes, but that was all they had to cheer in a first half dominated by
the Cornish club.
Davies added try number three on 10 minutes, the
full-back exposing a yawning gap in the Park defence, before Cattle's sniping
work at the base of a scrum set-up Kevin James for his second of the afternoon.
The lively Cattle then got himself on the scoresheet, the scrum-half
diving over following a sublime chip and chase from No.8 Tim Cowley.
Cruising
at 29-3 in front, the only real surprise of the opening half was that it took
until first half stoppage time for the Pirates to register their next score.
However,
it duly arrived when another a good passing move created the space for on-loan
Bristol flanker Chris Morgan to draw in the visiting defence, before offloading
just yards from the line to skipper Joe Bearman.
It did not get any
better for the visitors after the break as the Pirates extended their hold on
proceedings just four minutes after the restart, debutant Jon Pritchard – another
on loan from Bristol - latching on to a kick over the top from Jarvis to score.
Welshmen Jarvis added the conversion to make it 41-3.
To their credit, Sedgley
refused to give up and their dogged work, particularly up front, was finally rewarded
when replacement Jon Skurr crossed on 49 minutes.
As replacements
from both sides littered much of the half, it was the Pirates who finished the
stronger and they wrapped up victory with late tries from Morgan and centre Shaun
James, the latter was converted by replacement fly-half Tom Barlow.
Cornish
Pirates 53
Tries - K James 2, Jess, Davies, Cattle, Bearman, Pritchard,
Morgan, S James; Conversions - Jarvis 3, Barlow
Sedgley Park 8
Try
- Skurr; Penalty - Jones
Pirates: W Davies; K James, S James, J Pritchard,
M Jess; L Jarvis (T Barlow 68), G Cattle (R McAtee 72); A Paver (D Parkes 50),
N Makin, N Adams (D Seal 50); W James, J Beardshaw (S Hockings 58); J Bearman
(capt), C Morgan (A Nicholls 68), T Cowley (P Ince 75).
Sedgley Park: A
de Jager; J Feeley, S Woof, C Hall (T Albinson 70), D McGee; P Jones, C Wilkinson
(D McCormack 45); P Gazzola (G Roberts 24), R Oxley (P Keys 57), G Evans (P du
Plessis 64); T Fourie, E Lund; R Senior (J Skurr 45), J Ponton (capt), S Anania
(C Rowe 45)
Referee: L Apgeraint-Roberts
