Cornish Pirates

On a wet and miserable afternoon the conditions of the day were reflected in the Pirates performance, it a bleak day at the Butts where they ultimately went down 16-0, to return home with their booty bag disappointingly empty.

The Pirates squad showed minimal changes from the one that won the opener against Newbury. Paul Devlin made a return from injury, taking the outside centre berth in place of an injured Mark Ireland, and Nick Griffiths was selected at scrum-half, him swapping places with Ed Fairhurst, who was named on the bench.

In the first half the Pirates were sound at the line-out, it an area where locks Heino Senekal and former Coventry star Ben Gulliver ruled, and they were also solid at the scrummage. Indeed, there was every justification to presume that the visitors would provide platforms from where they could get points on the board, but the script doesn't always work out like that. Yes, chances were created, with scrum-half Nick Griffiths always lively, but sadly none were taken.

After Coventry centre Ronnie McLean-Dents opened the scoring with a successful penalty strike, the Pirates had a nopportunity to immediately hit back with one of their own, but fly-half Doug Sanft's effort missed.

McLean-Dents punished the Cornish team with a further three points when they strayed off-side, and there were worrying signs also when No. 8 Laurence McGlone threatened with a powerful and galloping run, showing due reason why he ended last season as Coventry's top try-scorer. The Pirates, however, held out, and were unlucky not to have registered some points of their own before the break after Senekal and prop Sam Heard had made good yardage.

The Pirates showed two changes in personnel for the start of the second period, with Dan Seal and Jimmy Moore entering the fray in place of Heard and wing Rhodri McAtee, both of whom appeared to have picked up injuries before the interval.

When the next penalty chance at goal came, the opportunity was handed to Moore, it remembered that in 2005-06, when a Coventry player, he was the league's top scorer on 251. On this day, however, with conditions less than ideal, he was unable to punish his former colleagues.

On the hour mark Devlin looked close to scoring for a second time in the match, this surely the time when the Pirates would raise the tempo and impose themselves further to give them the chance to turn things around. Unfortunately, it did not happen, and when McLean-Dents kicked his third penalty the result was a foregone conclusion.

The Pirates were forced to 'chase the game' on a field that now resembled a mid-winter mire, it leading to them gifting Coventry an interception opportunity which Aussie fly-half Myles Dorrian took, scoring the only try of the game, and it one that McLean-Dents duly converted. For the home team it was a great result, and a just reward for their faithful supporters who had given money from their own pockets midway through the close season when they were called upon to raise a bond by the RFU to give their club a lifeline to continue playing in National One for the 2008-09 season.

As for the Pirates, at a venue where they had got out of jail to snatch a 17-16 points victory 12 months previously, there were no excuses. The set piece had worked well, and chances were created which, if taken, might have painted a different picture. They had failed to register a single point on the board for the first time in over four years, that a 56-0 loss away to Plymouth Albion in April, 2004.

In sport, as in life, there are times when we all have to 'take it on the chin', and this was one of those occasions, but with there an immediate chance to bounce back. The visit of Exeter Chiefs to the Recreation Ground, Camborne, this coming Sunday (ko 3pm), now has added significance, with it promising to be a truly intriguing contest.

Coventry:
B. Russell, L. Parry, R. McLean-Dents, O. Winter, T. Slater, M. Dorrian, N. Jones (M. Walls 78)
L. McGlone, J. Miller (D. Clayton 61), H. Venter (capt), R. Walton (C. Burgess 76), S. Herrington
R. Brits (R. Dugard 61), C. Whitehead (S. Pearl 64), D. Maddocks.

Replacements (not used): S. Montague, R. Whitehall.

Cornish Pirates:
A. Winnan (capt), R. McAtee (J. Moore h/t), P. Devlin, S. Winn (T. Luke 53), M. Vakacegu, D. Sanft
N. Griffiths (E. Fairhurst 60), B. Bedes, C. Morgan, B. Cumming (I. Motusaga 60), B. Gulliver
H. Senekal, S. Heard (D. Seal h/t), R. Elloway (D. Dawidiuk 68), A. Paver.

Replacement (not used): M. Burak.

Scorers
Coventry - try: Dorrian; con: McLean-Dents; pens: McLean-Dents (3).

Referee: Mark Wilson (RFU)

Attendance: 1,500