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Cornish Pirates 16 Rotherham 16 FOR some time now the Cornish Pirates have talked about showcasing their brand of rugby to a much wider audience. Yesterday at Camborne, they were given the perfect stage to deliver their grand performance.
With the Sky Sports broadcast team rumbling into the Duchy for the first time ever, the Pirates - together with visitors Rotherham - did not disappoint.
The opposing National One clubs not only served up a terrific tea-time treat for those watching on screen, but the dynamic display of both teams will again have reminded those who still hark on about ringfencing English rugby's top tier, that an exciting rugby life does still exist outside the confines of the Guinness Premiership. "It was a terrific advertisement for First Division rugby," said Pirates coach Jim McKay following his side's 16-all draw. "The game was a great spectacle and showed just what talent there is in our division. "We're disappointed we've not won the game, but you have to give some credit to Rotherham for the way they played, especially second half. They are a good side, they have some good players, and they really came at us. "We've got some boys who are hurting there in the changing rooms. Our first-half display was pretty well right up there in terms of how we want to go, but the second half it was much tougher, simply because we didn't have a great deal of ball. Rotherham kept the ball very well and when we did get it back, we didn't really look after it all that well." With a biting wind blowing straight into their face from the kick-off, it was the Pirates who were first out of the blocks. A superb burst down the right flank from winger Jon Hylton carved a huge hole in the Rotherham rearguard, but as the Pirates looked to press on further, a knock-on by Canadian international Stan McKeen saw the initial raid filter out. It was certainly an early indication that the Pirates meant business. However, the Cornish club were briefly stunned when visiting fly-half Gareth Steenson fired the visitors into an early lead with a seventh-minute penalty.
The response from the home side, though, was good and again they used a solid pick-and-go game and a series of quick tap penalties to punch their way into enemy territory. The tactic appeared to be working well, that was until referee Ashley Rowden pulled Samoan flanker Iva Motusaga back for an accidental knock-on. It allowed Rotherham to clear their lines and in turn launch their own raid into the Pirates half, their reward finally coming on 28 minutes when Steenson fired over another successful penalty. Although down, the Pirates were still ruling the roost in terms of both possession and territory. Afterwards, Rotherham coach Andre Bester remarked: "The physicality the Pirates showed in the first half was just immense." It was therefore no surprise that they finally made their dominance tell. With referee Rowden finally losing patience with Hendrie Fourie's continual infringing, he was banished to the sin-bin for ten minutes, it was left to James Moore to register the home side's first points of the afternoon with a penalty four minutes before the break. Moore's kick helped lift the home support to another decibel. However, the volume was boosted yet further in first half stoppage time when Steenson hesitancy in defence allowed a clutch of Pirates to snag him on his own line.
With the man advantage in the pack, the Pirates applied the shove, No.8 Tim Cowley picked from the base, before barging his way towards the line. As those behind the posts celebrated, Rowden briefly curtailed the joy by requesting for further proof from up above. The TV match official is common place in a lot of sports these days. This, however, was a first for Camborne. But having studied the footage, Ed Morrison agreed with the masses and Cowley's effort was duly awarded, Moore's conversion made it 10-6 at the break. With the wind now at their backs, the Pirates were duly expected to kick on in the second half. The visitors, though, had other ideas.
Rotherham regained the initiative when they made the most of Sam Heard's sin-binning to score two tries in seven minutes. Hooker Neil Hanna was first over from a line-out move in the right-hand corner, then lock Erik Lund followed suit. In between the two scores, Moore slotted a second penalty for the home side, given after Rotherham had come in from the side, and he grabbed a third successful kick to level things up with 64 minutes on the clock. With the game evenly poised heading into the final quarter, it was Rotherham who offered the greater threat. The Titans hogged possession for large periods of the second half, but were still unable to find a way through. In the end the draw was probably the fairest outcome for what really was a pulsating 'Clash of the Titans' amongst two of the division's leading contenders.
Cornish Pirates 16
Try - Cowley Pirates:
Yellow Card: Heard. Rotherham 16 Tries - Hanna, Lund
Rotherham:
Yellow Card: Fourie.
Referee: A Rowden (RFU)
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