Cornish Pirates

Pirates v Moseley - Sunday 21st January Kick Off 1500

Pirates coach Jim McKay last night said his side will not underestimate the threat of National One rivals Moseley, even though they have beaten them twice already this season.

Having defeated the Midlanders 52-16 at Camborne back in September, McKay's men then secured a league double by winning 42-15 at Billesley Common some three months later.

This Sunday, however, there will be no league points on offer, instead a spot in the fifth round of this season's EDF Energy National Trophy awaits the victors.

However, as in the two previous encounters, McKay is desperate for a similar outcome from his side. "Although we've beaten Moseley twice already that will count for nothing on Sunday," warned the Australian.

"As results have shown in our division this season, any side is capable of beating another on the day. Moseley are a very good side, have a good line-out, and they have some experienced players - right across the park - who can cause you all sorts of problems." However, buoyed by last weekend's late win at Newbury, the Pirates will head into Sunday's showdown as odds-on favourites to progress into round five. "Last week was another very important win for us," added McKay. "The boys played very well, especially in the conditions which weren't great again. It was probably the best we have played in a month, but I don't think the end scoreline really reflected just how well we did. "The important thing was that we won, which we did. We've had some real arm wrestles over the last month, but on each occasion we've dug deep and we've come away with the result, which is the most important factor."

Coach 'Jim McKay'

Although McKay has yet to finalise his squad for Sunday's match, the Aussie is likely to make changes to his winning line-up. He is boosted by the return to fitness of Alan Paver, Sam Heard, James Inglis, Lewis Vinnicombe and Duncan Roke, while promising youngsters Darren Dawidiuk, Rhodri Wells and Scott Hobson have also been named in the 22-man squad.

"There maybe some changes, but it won't really affect us too much. As I've said before, we want to win every game we play and this one is no different," added McKay. "We've had a good week in training and all the boys are raring to go. It may be a week off from the league, but in the grand scheme of things it is still a very important match for us."

With a host of testing games looming on the horizon, the Pirates' coach will be delighted to see so many of his walking wounded back in contention for selection.

However, Moseley's situation is not so healthy, particularly as they have lost their last four leagues games. Last Saturday they slipped to a 36-25 defeat at local rivals Pertemps Bees.

Pirates (from):
A Winnan, D Roke, R McAtee, D Bell, S Winn, L Vinnicombe, A Di Bernardo, G Cattle, R Wells, G Anderson, A Paver, S Heard, D Seal, N Makin, D Dawidiuk, J Inglis, J Beardshaw, S Hobson, C Cracknell, I Motusaga, M Evans, T Cowley.

PIRATES officials are keen to remind spectators that Sunday's fixture is an all-pay game.

Adryan Winnan	Duncan Roke	Rhodri McAtee	Duncan Bell	Steve Winn
Lewis Vinnicombe	Alberto Di Bernardo	Gavin Cattle	Rhodri Wells	Grant Anderson
Alan Paver	Sam Heard	Dan Seal	Nick Makin	Darren Dawidiuk
James Inglis	Joe Beardshaw	Scott Hobson	Chris Cracknell	Iva Motusaga
	Matt Evans	Tim Cowley