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Cornish Pirates v London Welsh Instead of tackling London Welsh at Camborne's Recreation Ground this Sunday, Pirates forward Stan McKeen will instead face the Principality's finest in Cardiff this evening.
"Stan has been immense this season, so we'll definitely miss him," said McKay yesterday. "That said, his going away creates an opportunity for someone else to step in. We've got a lot of options in the back-row, people like Chris Cracknell, Sam Betty and Tim Cowley, all of whom will come into the reckoning for Sunday." But as the Pirates bid farewell to McKeen for the next fortnight, their ranks are again swelled with the return of Heino Senekal and Duncan Bell. Lock Senekal has spent the past fortnight away on international duty with Namibia, while hard-hitting centre Bell was absent from last Saturday's trip to Yorkshire as he returned home to New Zealand for a week. Both men have played significant roles in helping the Pirates reach the top of the table, but as McKay was quick to stress: "The guys who have come in for them have also done very well, so it's going to give us a few headaches when we come to selection." Certainly it's the kind of dilemma every coach or manager craves and whatever squad the Aussie finally opts for, visiting London Welsh know they will be in for a tough afternoon's work. As yet the Pirates have yet to taste defeat at Camborne in the league, their impressive five from five statistic is ably backed up by the fact they have claimed maximum points in all of their outings at the Rec so far this season. More of the same will be demanded this weekend, but McKay knows the Exiles will offer much more of a threat than their lowly league position shows.
"It was a very good win," added McKay. "I wouldn't single any one player out, it was a real good team effort. The boys have been working hard, not just this past fortnight, but since the summer and we're kind of getting our rewards for that. "That said, we don't want to drop our standards because if we do, even by a single per cent, that can soon amount to five or ten per cent and then you'll have problems. Our aim is to simply keep improving and see where that takes us." Pirates (from):
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