Impressing
in this victory at sun-glazed Old Deer Park on Saturday, wing Brian Tuohy scored
a hat-trick as the Pirates cast aside the frustration and disappointment of defeat
suffered at Plymouth Albion just seven days earlier.
The bounce back win was also, to their obvious delight, one which saw them reclaim
seventh spot in the league by leap-frogging the boys from the Brickfields once
more. Right from the start the Pirates set their stall,
with their forwards setting a position from where the ball was fed to fly-half
Simon Whatling who duly opened the scoring in the third minute with a drop goal.  Full-back
Marika Vakacegu | In
an enterprising opening period, the Pirates were certainly more dominant, with
centre Mark Ireland and full-back Marika Vakacegu going close to creating an opening
try, which acted as a riposte to a threatening run made by London Welsh wing Michael
Tagicakibau. From a line-out close to the Pirates line,
London Welsh prop Aaron Liffchak looked to have scored, but was deemed to have
been held up. It was a set back for the home side, but
only a brief one, as in the fourteenth minute 'The Welsh' were without hesitation
awarded a penalty try when referee Mr. Garner spotted something illegal when the
two packs engaged at scrum time. Fly-half Aled Thomas duly added the extras . |
The
Pirates soon had a chance to pull back three points, but centre Tom Luke's effort
rebounded fof a post. However, by maintaining pressure on their opponents, and
with sudden improved handling, it was not long before the Pirates regained the
lead. Good play initially by Paul Devlin, who was selected on the wing for this
game, saw him evade several tackles before Ireland gave support to score a try
near the posts which Luke converted. From the restart, London
Welsh had an opportunity to hit right back after flanker Jonathan Mills, who has
played for Llanelli Scarlets, carried the ball in rampaging style. Forcing his
way deep into the Pirates half, a penalty was awarded and kicked by Thomas to
draw the scores level. With just over half an hour gone
, the Pirates needed to maintain their belief, with wing Brian Tuohy about to
set the example needed. Chasing what some might have thought to have been a lost
cause, his determination to beam in on a sloppily defended loose ball was admirably
rewarded as he pounced to score an unconverted try out wide. The
home team responded once more, this time with a drop goal kicked by Thomas, but
the resilient Pirates struck again before the break to thus underline their general
overall dominance. In the pack, back-rowers Chris Morgan and Bertrand Bedes reacted
to skipper Ben Gulliver's demands, and a fine passage of play, when Devlin was
again well involved, ended with Tuohy crossing for his second try of the afternoon.
Jimmy Moore, now on the field as a temporary replacement for Mark Ireland, kicked
the conversion perfectly to give the Cornish visitors a deserved 22-13 half-time
lead. When a forward pass initially wasted an opportunity
for the Pirates to go further ahead right at the start of the second half, they
then settled for a second drop goal of the match kicked comfortably by Whatling. London
Welsh were desperate to hit back and score next, and were understandably frustrated
when their choice of kicking for the corner, rather than at goal, saw the ball
go 'dead'. They did manage to hold possession for longer periods, but the Pirates
defence held firm. Moore and Thomas were on target with
penalty chances offered each team, but the Pirates proceeded to take control again
in the last quarter. Scrum-half Ed Fairhurst and hooker Darren Dawidiuk asked
questions of the opposition, and after Moore was bundled into to touch it was
not long before he put Tuohy in for a bonus point providing fourth try, and it
one that also doubled as his hat-trick. Now the club's top try-scorer this season
with eight, the Ireland 'A' man is perhaps playing his best rugby for the Pirates
in his second season playing for the club.  Fairhurst
sprinted thirty metres to the line. | With
replacements now playing their part, including young National One debutant Paul
Andrew, the Pirates added one more score when from a line-out ploy Fairhurst sprinted
thirty metres to the line. Fellow 'Canuck' and former Pirates
back-rower Stan McKeen, who was watching the game, would have been suitably impressed,
with Stan also receiving the best wishes of all about on his selection to play
for Oxford in this week's 'Varsity' match. London Welsh
did manage one late try, it scored by former Newbury No. 8 Tom Brown, but it was
little consolation for an ambitious team that had suffered its third defeat on
the trot. |
For the Pirates,
to bounce back saw them come through another test of character, and especially
for a squad that is being tested to the limit with injuries and unavoidable unavailbility
at present. London Welsh:
M. Harris, P. Sampson, T. Rock ((P.
Murchie 57), P. Mackey, M. Tagicakibau,(E. Lewis-Pratt 47), A. Thomas, A. Chilten
(A. Walker 47), T. Brown, D. Ball (T. Audley 53), J. Mills, M. Powell (capt -
W. Lewatavu 69), M. Corker, A. Liffchak, S. Vuli (G. O'Meara 65), P. Doran-Jones,
(S. Ruwers 65). Cornish Pirates:
M. Vakacegu (R. Bright 75),
P. Devlin, M. Ireland (J. Moore 34-40), T. Luke (P. Cook 73), B. Tuohy, S. Whatling
(R. Jones 53), E. Fairhurst, M. Evans (M. Burak 36), C. Morgan (J. Moore 53),
B. Bedes, B. Gulliver (capt), H. Senekal, S. Heard (D. Seal 57), D. Dawidiuk,
A. Paver (P. Andrew 62). Scorers: London Welsh
Tries: Brown, penalty try
Cons: Thomas (2)
Pens: Thomas (3) Cornish
Pirates -
Tries: Touhy (3), Ireland, Fairhurst
Cons: Luke, Moore
Pen:
Moore
Drop goals: Whatling (2). Referee: Greg Garner (RFU).
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