 Despite
losing the services of red-carded prop Dan Seal, the Cornish Pirates still managed
to light up the 'Rec' with what was at times a scintillating display of rugby.
Fly-half Rhys Jones, who was making his return to the starting line-up following
injury, was in sparkling form, contributing 25 points in the match.
On
a bitterly cold day, by contrast the on field action was hot right from the start,
with it apparent that both sides were fired up for this opening game in 2009.
Immediately following the kick-off, both packs 'plus' were
at each other after visiting lock Paul Williams was injured.. Whatever the reasoning,
it was a beginning that set a tone for apparent indiscipline to rear its head
occasionally, although in every other respect this was a thoroughly entertaining
game. After both captains were spoken to, play resumed and
the Pirates proceeded to falter at the back, to thus gift Otley territorial advantage.
Williams was now able to provide quality ball from a line-out close to the Pirates
line, and keeping control of acquired possession, his skipper Dan Hyde was soon
driven over the line at the scoreboard corner. The try silenced the crowd, and
it was also well converted by fly-half Tom Rhodes. Two minutes
later, after further sloppy handling by the Pirates, Rhodes further stunned the
Pirates with a penalty goal to put the visitors 10-nil up. Keen
to bounce back from their defeat at Exeter, there appeared little doubt that the
Pirates had it in them to quickly get back into this match and play some good
rugby, which they did.  Yes,
their handling let them down still on occasions, and especially so on the left
where the glare of the sun was clearly a problem, but on the quarter of an hour
mark their endeavour was rewarded. Aisea Havili caught a high ball, moved it to
the right, and fellow wing Rhodri McAtee opened up the midfeld. Then, after the
ball was transferred through several pairs of han, fly-half Rhys Jones added support
to score and convert his own try near the posts.
Jones levelled
the scores with a well struck penalty in the nineteenth minute, as the Pirates
now looked a dominant force. However, when Otley again managed to work their way
close to the Pirates line, the discipline levels were again at a low from personnel
on both sides. Confusion reigned whilst the match officials conferred, and it
continued when prop Dan Seal and scrum-half Nicky Griffiths both left the field.
The eventual outcome, the realisation of which would be confirmed, was that Seal
had been red carded and Griffiths had been shown yellow. It
could be a testing time for the home side, but the Pirates maintained their enterprise
and were rewarded in injury-time with a try scored wide out on the left by Havili.
Jones converted superbly from the touchline, and the Pirates were now 17-13 up. Although
delighted to be back in the lead, ultimate victory was certainly not guaranteed.
The Pirates would have to play all of the second half with just 14 men, and Otley,
who had a couple of players playing out of position, were probably quietly pleased
that they were still in with a 'shout'. Jones extended the
Pirates lead with a penalty kicked two minutes into the second half, but for the
remainder of the half it would a one way try-feast, with him also impressively
adding the extras to each and every one scored.  The
first try in the second period followed a trademark break by Griffiths which put
the Pirates well and truly on the front foot. Centre Steve Winn was unlucky not
to score at the clubhouse corner, but when the ball reached replacement Rob Elloway,
the fit again hooker powered over to the left of the posts.
A
fourth try for the Pirates, it an important bonus point effort, went to man of
the match No. 8 Chris Morgan, who was playing at his very best. Throughout
the match there were a number of occasions when decisions made by the referee
were questioned, the temper of the game in this respect not perhaps helped by
various factors. The Pirates have always held close a pride that excessive abuse
of match officials, indeed abuse of match officials, will NOT be tolerated, and
although some frustration is always inevitable, there was disappointment that
at times booing was to be heard. Good sportsmanship is a
trait to cherish, as is the endeavour to play with style, and again this is something
the Pirates are renowned for. More examples of this were on show, and there was
still time for McAtee, who was lively all afternoon, to zip in and somersault
for try number five, and for replacement Jimmy Moore to run and dummy his way
to the line for one soon after. Against a now well beaten
Otley side, the chance to pass the 50 points mark looked on, and it clearly was,
with another replacement, wing Brian Tuohy, breaking tackles and running clear
from 40 metres to deliver. The Pirates will know that tougher
contests lie ahead in the remainder of the season, but there was still much to
derive from in this particular victory, with the kicking display from Jones giving
most pleasure. Cornish Pirates:
M. Vakacegu
(J. Moore 62), A. Havili (B. Tuohy 68), P. Devlin, S. Winn, R. McAtee,
R.
Jones, N. Griffiths, C. Morgan, I. Motusaga, S. Betty (S. Heard 29),
B. Gulliver
(capt), H. Senekal, D. Seal, D. Dawidiuk (R. Elloway 48), P. Cook (P. Andrew 65). Replacements
(not ued):
T. Luke, S. Whatling. Red card: D. Seal
Yellow card: N.
Griffiths. Otley:
D. McCormack, D. Roberts (T. Whitaker 36),
K. Dench, M. McComish, D. Smith,
T. Rhodes, A. Brown (T. Whitaker 21-36), R.
Baldwin, D. Hyde (capt - A. Whitter 72), L. Maxwell
P. Williams (J. Craig 50),
H. Parr, K. Fullman (R. Wederell 50), W. Kay (B. Steele 50), S. Trethewey (K.
Fullman 55). Replacement (not used): I. Shuttleworth. Scorers: Cornish
Pirates
Tries: Jones, Havili, Elloway, Morgan, McAtee, Moore, Tuohy
Cons:
Jones (7)
Ppens: Jones (2). Otley
Try: Hyde
Con: Rhodes
Ppens:
Rhodes (2). Referee: Paul Knowles (RFU). Man of the
match: Chris Morgan. Attendance: 2,073. | 
