It
was said pre-match that to play Nottingham away in Round 5 of the EDF Energy National
Trophy competition provided a difficult hurdle for the Pirates to overcome, and
so it proved. As the scoreline suggests, the Cornish side was well and truly beaten,
and there certainly no excuses. The fixture had
been postponed when snow lay about the previous weekend, but there were no such
problems this time around. Indeed, with sand spread on the ground, the Pirates
should have felt quite at home on a pitch at Meadow Lane that in places had more
of a resemblance to Marazion. Nottingham
fly-half Tim Taylor missed a sitter of a penalty chance soon after the start of
the game, but made amends in the eighth minute when he successfully slotted a
second opportunity gifted him. A well-struck penalty
from Cornish Pirates fly-half Rhys Jones then levelled the scores, the match at
least going to plan at this stage, as many had expected this to be a tough and
likely closely-fought encounter. It was not long before
Taylor was on target once more to give Nottingham back the lead, but the Pirates
responded to test the home defence with a counter attack from full-back Marika
Vakacegu, a a quick-tap penalty taken by scrum-half Ed Fairhurst, a dropped goal
attempt from Jones, and then a speculative kick out of hand that cruelly avoided
the clutches of wing Paul Devlin. From this point, however,
the 'Green & Whites' took control and started to dominate events, with No.
8 Dan Montagu again an inspirational figure, as he had been when Nottingham narrowly
prevailed when the two sides met in a league match played at the same venue just
five weeks earlier. On the half-hour mark, home centre Rohan
Nirmalendran chased a kick ahead that caused havoc in the Pirates defensive ranks.
An opportunity to clear the ball to relative safety failed miserably, and Taylor
followed up to pounce for the game's opening try, which he also converted. The
Pirates needed to score next to give them an urgently needed boost, but such hopes
were all but immediately blown when referee Mr. Wilson yellow-carded Cornish Pirates
flanker Chris Morgan. The official had spoken to skipper Ben Gulliver on a number
of occasions, seemingly warning that action would be taken for presumed persistent
infringement, and he had duly kept his word. Taylor opted for a kick at goal from
the resultant penalty, and he successfully posted from just inside the Pirates
half. Nottingham went close to notching up try number two
before the break, but were thankfully denied by a determined tackle made by Adryan
Winnan, who had been recalled to the Pirates side on the wing. However, with time
still left, Taylor shortly after kicked another penalty on offer to worryingly
make it 19-3 at the half-time whistle. Was there a way back
for the Pirates? Well, yes - but it somehow seeming most unlikely. To the their
credit Nottingham had proved a dominant force in almost all areas, and the second
forty would be a true test of character for their opponents. The
Pirates, just to get a sniff of a chance to get back into the game, had to post
some points quickly on the board when play resumed, but it was not to be. Jones
did attempt a difficult penalty kick offered after Nottingham strayed off-side,
but it was unsuccessful. It was also unfortunate that the Pirates were unable
to call upon the services of certain players that can at times provide just that
extra spark necessary to rekindle hope, as sadly Nicky Griffiths and Brian Trohy
were both out injured, and Rhodri McAtee was away on Wales Sevens duty. The
line-out especially had been a problem area for the Pirates throughout the match,
and when Montagu gratefully gathered from a visiting throw-in he drove forward
and off-loaded to lock Nic Rouse whose try, converted by Taylor, made it 26-3.
There was still half and hour to go, but supporters knew that there was no way
back, and it already game, set and match. A brief rally by the Pirates saw
Morgan go close, as their only hope to pull some points back was to now throw
caution to the wind, and play with adventure.  | After
Nottingham flanker Luke Sherriff was sin-binned , a consolation try was scored,
deservedly registered by centre Steve Winn, one Pirate who had tackled and worked
in committed fashion all afternoon. The difficult conversion attempt from replacement
Simon Whatling missed, there to be no more points scored by the visitors in this
particular game. The home side, however, were far from finished,
and to underline their dominance scored 13 more points. Taylor kicked a penalty
and followed this up with a dropped goal to thus complete his full repertoire,
he then converted a final try of the game scored by replacement Charlie Davies.
In total, Taylor contributed an impressive 29 points in the match. |
The
Merry Men had now won five games on the trot against the Pirates, who on this
particular day were sadly well below par. Nottingham will to face Mounts
Bay at the Mennaye Field, Penzance, in the quarter-finals of the competition,
the tie scheduled to take place on the 28th February. As for the bruised Pirates,
it is now vital that morale is raised and concentration given to league challenges
that lie ahead. There is still much to play for.
Nottingham:
A. Savage (B. Thompson 57), J. Cobden, R. Nirmalendran, A. Dodge (T. Molenaar
46), D. Jackson,
T. Taylor, C. Pilgrim (C. Davies 73), D. Montagu (A. Elphinston
65), L. Sherriff, C, Hammond (capt)
N. Rouse (S. McDonald 73), L. Morley, R.
Harris (J. Duffey 67), J. Duffey (A. Loney 65), N. Fowkes. Replacement
(not used): M. Parr. Yellow card: Sherriff. Cornish
Pirates:
M. Vakacegu, A. Winnan, M. Ireland, S. Winn, P. Devlin (J. Moore
69), R. Jones (S. Whatling 49)
E. Fairhurst, M. Evans, C. Morgan, B. Cowan
(I. Motusaga 49), B. Gulliver (capt)
H. Senekal (M. Burak 63), S. Heard, D.
Dawidiuk, P. Cook (A. Paver h/t). Replacements (not used): W. Davey, B.
Davey (who took a place on the bench after Scott Franklin was taken ill with suspected
food poisoning). Yellow card: Morgan. Scorers:- Nottingham
- tries: Taylor, Rouse, Davies; cons: Taylor (3); Pens: Taylor (5); drop goal:
Taylor Cornish Pirates - try: Winn; pen: Jones. Referee: Mark
Wilson (RFU). Attendance: 908.
|
