A
late try scored by Esher wing Doug Flockhart duly floored the Pirates five minutes
from the end of this match and gave the Surrey men a win they richly deserved.
 |
The
visitors had flown into Cornwall on the morning of the game keen to upset their
Cornish hosts, and they did just that. Following
the disappointment of the previous Sunday's weather, spring had suddenly arrived
at a sun-soaked Recreation Ground, where the Pirates welcomed back Rugby World
Cup Sevens competitors Rhodri McAtee and Brian Tuohy to their line-up. Moving
the ball with pace and width, the Pirates looked to stretch and overwhelm Esher
right from the kick-off, which was an approach that brought all but immediate
benefit. With just two minutes
on the clock a position was set from where fly-half Simon Whatling chose to purposefully
ponder rather than pass, and with worthy effect, as he then suddenly dummied and
jinked his way to score a try at the posts which he also converted. | | "Spring
had suddenly arrived at a sun-soaked Rec" | |
Quickly
7-0 up, the Pirates immediately looked to add to their tally, but it was not long
before the visitors, whose strength has been boosted by a number of on-loan signings
from Harlequins, showed that they were up for the challenge to play a little rugby
themselves.  |
 |
Centre
Seb Jewell was a particularly potent performer, along with his midfield partner
Charlie Amesbury, and he twice made yardage from where Esher now looked to open
their account. Good work also from flanker James Waterhouse,
firstly at line-out time and then in broken play further, boosted a chance to
register points, and it taken when full-back Sam Ulph joined play and crossed
at the scoreboard corner. The former London Welsh man,
who took over the kicking duties in place of absent leading points scorer Neil
Hallett, was unable to convert his well-taken try. It was
not long before Esher threatened to score again, the half-back pairing of Robbie
Shaw and skipper David Slemen orchestrating events, and Jewell a danger once more.
Taking play to the Pirates line, it looked as if Esher
were about to take the lead, but the ball was knocked on. Ulph
missed with a penalty attempt soon after, it signalling a time when the Pirates
came back into the match. Ed Fairhurst and Whatling looked
an efficient partnership with their initial distribution, and Tuohy twice determinedly
took off down the left wing. However, the passing out wide was too |  |
| Simon
Whatling suddenly dummied and jinked his way to score a try at the posts which
he also converted. | | |
This
match was always expected to be closely fought, and so it was proving, with the
Pirates then grateful to No. 8 Matt Evans for winning a chase back that prevented
Flockhart from registering Esher's second try of the game. The
tempo of this particular contest was played at panting pace, and it showed in
the faces of both set of players, who were certainly not lacking for effort. It
also looked likely that the Pirates would arrive at half-time holding on to a
narrow two points lead, but it was Esher who would be ahead at the break thanks
to a late penalty kicked by Ulph. At the start of the second
half the Pirates looked to play with more control, but their passing again let
them down, with another penalty soon struck by Ulph adding to their woes.  |
|
A
break from centre Mark Ireland unfortunately came to nothing on the right, and
the Pirates suffered yet another set back when Fairhurst was sent to the sin bin. On
what was beautiful sunny afternoon, everything was now going wrong for the Pirates,
who needed to dig deep and give themselves a boost. Rhys
Jones, who had just replaced Simon Whatling, was off target with a penalty attempt,
but there was still hope when old heads in the shape of prop Alan Paver and lock
Heino Senekal took play deep into Esher's '22'. | | "A
break from centre Mark Ireland unfortunately came to nothing" | | |
Senekal
was held just short of the line, but from that moment on Esher proceeded to monopolise
possession and totally frustrate the Pirates and their supporters. Even worse,
with time running down Flockhart scored what was in reality his match winning
score, a try secured through his own kick and chase on the right.. The
conversion attempt from Ulph missed, but with a nine points gap, everyone knew
that for the Pirates there was now no way back. Esher had arrived on a mission,
and it was one accomplished, the win sought giving them a huge boost as they seek
a place in next season's Championship. Speaking on the Pirates performance,
coach Brett Davey did not hide his disappointment, commenting:
"I could
handle the defeat by Bedford last week because we played well despite the conditions,
but this was so far away from where we should be." Cornish
Pirates:
A. Winnan, R. McAtee, M. Ireland (P. Devlin 59), S. Winn, B.
Tuohy
S. Whatling (R. Jones 53), E. Fairhurst (N. Griffiths 70), M. Evans,
S. Betty, B. Cowan
B. Gulliver (capt), H. Senekal, S. Franklin (S. Heard 62),
D. Dawidiuk (R. Elloway 53), A. Paver. Replacements (not used): M. Burak,
S. Raven. Yellow card: Fairhurst. Esher:
S. Ulph, D. Flockhart,
C. Amesbury, S. Jewell (T. Clouston 65), T. Lozides (T. Clouston 37-42)
D.
Slemen (capt), R. Shaw (I. Barnes 65), S. Renwick (L. Starling 44), S. Stitcher,
J. Waterhouse (S. Gaynor 76),
A. Ayling (M. Blakeburn 65), P. Barker, I. Elosu,
K. Corrigan (S. Goldsmith 79), A. Rogers (T. Tunnicliffe 76).
Scorers:- Cornish
Pirates try: Whatling; con: Whatling. Esher - tries: Ulph, Flockhart; pens:
Ulph (2). Referee: David Rose (RFU) Man of the Match: Adryan Winnan. Attendance:
1,874. |
