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| Sedgley Park v Cornish
Pirates
McKay's men regrouped at the start of this week to fully examine the video nasty of last Sunday's encounter at Camborne, one which the visitors won courtesy of a converted Sam Raven try deep into injury time. With the review having been completed, the Aussie coach is now keen for himself and his team to look forward and build for the future once more. "Last Sunday was bitterly disappointing for everyone associated with the club," said McKay yesterday. "But that's gone and we have to move on. "We had a good hard look at ourselves after that game and we identified areas and issues that needed to be addressed. We've done that and, like I said, we're really looking forward to going to Sedgley Park this weekend and putting in a big performance." Although McKay saw several of his troops limp out of the action against Nottingham, only powerhouse prop Sam Heard is not available this weekend. Fellow front-row forward Dan Seal and skipper Tim Cowley have both recovered and line up in a Pirates side that shows a number of changes in personnel. In the pack, African stars Heino Senekal and Matt Evans come in for their first starts of the season, while behind Richard Bolt and Ali Koko are both recalled to the fray. Senekal, who has recovered from the knock he picked up representing Namibia in the recent Rugby World Cup, comes in for Bruce Cumming in the second-row while Evans - another who has battled his way back to full fitness following a horrific injury at Coventry in the final game of last season - comes in at No.8 with Cowley switching to the blindside flank in place of Chris Cracknell. The changes behind the scrum see Bolt get the nod over Ed Fairhurst at scrum-half, while Koko is preferred on the wing in place of Rhodri McAtee. For McKay, the return of both Senekal and Evans is a timely boost, but one that the Pirates chief is glad to accept. "It's fantastic that we have both Heino and Horse [Evans] back in the squad," he added. "They are both proven players at this level and getting them back means we now have a lot more options at our disposal. I'm delighted for Horse because that's a real success story. He's fought back really well from his injury and now he's raring to go again, which is great news." As with his changes up front, McKay is also looking forward to the contribution both Bolt and Koko can bring tomorrow. "Ed Fairhurst has played the last three games and done well, but we felt Richard needed to have a shot at the title. He's a starting nine in this division, so we needed to get him playing again. As for Ali, he's also got a good opportunity to go out there and show what he can do." However, as the Pirates know from past trips to the Manchester-based club, tomorrow's encounter has all the hallmarks of being a potential banana skin waiting to happen. "We've had a few mixed results up there over the years, but our last visit was pretty good and that's something we will take with us," added McKay, whose side triumphed 55-3 at Park Lane last season. "They've got some good players in their side, people like Phil Jones at ten. He can really mix his game up and they have one or two others who are pretty dangerous as well. They'll have nothing to lose against us this weekend, so we've got to be ready for them. As I said, our boys are pretty determined to make up for last week, so hopefully we can get the right result."
Cornish
Pirates Replacements Referee: Brian Robertson Touch judges: Ian Robinson, Steve Makinson
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