Cornish Pirates

Mark Stevens talks with Alberto Di Bernardo

SUMMER signing Alberto Di Bernardo has called on his Cornish Pirates team-mates to build on Sunday's impressive victory over Otley with more of the same at Waterloo this weekend. The overseas fly-half was instrumental in guiding the Pirates to an impressive 39-0 opening weekend success over the visiting Yorkshiremen in National League One. Experiencing league rugby in England for the very first time, the Argentinian-born Italian wasted little time in settling into his new surroundings at Camborne's Recreation Ground. Two penalties inside the opening six minutes certainly helped settle any early season jitters, while the 25-year-old further underlined his impressive goalkicking prowess by converting four of the five tries scored by the Pirates.

That said, Di Bernardo's man-of-the-match display was not all about his kicks at goal. His tactical awareness, combined with his eagerness to get the Pirates backline moving at every opportunity, certainly won him many admirers among the home faithful.

And, as the player emerged from the dressing rooms under the Camborne grandstand following the final whistle, the broad grin across his face signalled his own quiet note of satisfaction at a job well done.

"I really enjoyed the game," said Di Bernardo, who has represented both Argentina and Italy at A level. "It was my first go at English rugby, so it was nice to start with a win. We played very well, but it was tough out there. The wind was very, very strong, so it was difficult for kicking, and the game was very quick and physical. It's a lot different to playing in Italy! "But I'm happy that we played well. It was a good start for us and hopefully we can win again next week. I don't know too much about the other teams at the moment, but I'm looking forward to playing in all the games."

Certainly Di Bernardo's half-back partnership with skipper Gavin Cattle looks promising, but the latter - who missed all the pre-season through injury - knows tougher tests lie in wait for the Pirates over the course of the coming season

Cattle said: "Today was a good start for us, but we're not going to get carried away just yet. It's still early doors and maybe with Otley being part-time they've not had as much time as us to prepare. Our aim for the day was simply to win and that's what we've done, so it's all good.

"I think we had eight or nine new boys out there today, so it's going to take time for everything to click into place. That said, I don't think we could have asked for anything more first up - to keep any side to nil is always good."

Newly-promoted Waterloo - who have former Pirate Peter Ince in their ranks - kicked off their league campaign with a disappointing 45-9 home defeat to Graham Dawe's Plymouth Albion.

Frenchman Nic Sestaret did much of the damage for the Devonians, scoring three of Albion's seven tries.