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Gavin Cattle Talks To Mark Stevens CORNISH
Pirates skipper Gavin Cattle admitted lifting the EDF Energy National Trophy crown
was the "best experience of his life".
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The Welshman helped play an integral
part in guiding the Cornish club to a 19-16 victory over Westcountry rivals Exeter
Chiefs at Twickenham.
"It's still
sinking in at the moment," said Cattle at the final whistle. "We
left it a bit late, but we showed a lot of character. It was like a furnace out
there, but all the boys stepped up to the plate, especially second half, played
for the full 80 and in the end we managed to turn it round." Having
seen their league ambitions fade in the past month following defeats at London
Welsh, Bedford Blues and Plymouth Albion, Cattle admitted the Pirates were determine
to ensure their season did not peter into insignificance. "We
are bitterly disappointed our league campaign fell apart like it did,"
added Cattle. "After the recent results, our focus was to win the Trophy
and win at Twickenham, so at least we achieved something, because we do deserve
it." | | Catts
Holds The Cup At Last | | A
spirited second half showing from the Pirates saw them turn around a 16-6 deficit
to lift the crown. Cattle explained the turnaround: "I suppose it was our
spirit and character which came through in the end. It was like we realised that
was our one opportunity, our one chance. "It could have gone either
way, I am not going to deny that, Exeter play a pretty tight game, but luckily
enough they did tire towards the end and the gaps started appearing. As for the
first half we let them run too much, but in the second we got to our game plan
and thank god we came up trumps." Urged on by thousands who had
made their journey up from the Duchy, Cattle admitted the support from the stands
also helped play its part in their success story. "The support
was unbelievable," he added. "Even from waking up this
morning and leaving the hotel, you feel like a pop star. The fans have been awesome
all year. We get four or five thousand for home games and they are always loud,
but today was a different league, it's definitely my best life experience."
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| Gavin Cattle 'Catts' Arrives On The
Team Bus At Twickenham | |