The home team, containing two former Pirates in the shape of scrum-half Neil Chivers and centre Nick Buckley, made a solid start, it no surprise that Rotherham opened the scoring in just the sixth minute when fly-half Jonny West, who was to amass 21 points in the match, slotted with ease a penalty chance offered.

Immediately from the restart, however, the Pirates stunned all about as possession was won on the left, when in a blink of an eyelid lock Ben Gulliver fed James Doherty who darted in for a try at the corner.

Ben Gulliver fed James Doherty who darted in for a try at the corner

Making his first Championship start, the young scrum-half along with his comrades couldn't have asked for a better response, and fly-half Jimmy Moore even made light of the conversion to put the Pirates 7-3 up.

West kicked a second penalty and shortly after had a chance to put the Titans in front with another, but his attempt missed. It was a let off, but one that mattered little, as after the Pirates were pushed off their own ball at scrum time, Chivers restored the home team's lead with an unconverted try.

The Pirates were guilty of making mistakes and giving penalties away – regularly being caught off-side, although a number of decisions being made by Scottish referee Mr. McMenemy were politely questioned by Pirates' skipper Blair Cowan.

Struggling to take play into Rotherham's half, the ball in hand running efforts of front-rowers Rob Elloway and Alan Paver, and then a break from wing Rhodri McAtee, suddenly raised morale, which was boosted still higher when Moore landed a well-struck penalty from over forty metres out on the right.

Moore landed a well-struck penalty from over forty metres out on the righ

Another run from McAtee, followed by a catch and drive on the left, gave every chance for the Pirates to score again, but Cowan nudged the ball forward as the pack drove over the line.

Chivers kicked the ball to safety, Buckley chased, and the home team were soon piling the pressure back upon their opponents once more .No. 8 Sam Dickinson, centre Luther Burrell and wing Jon Feeley all threatened, concentrating the Pirates defence. Flanker Sam Betty was as committed as ever to the cause, but when centre Steve Winn was yellow-carded, West kicked his third penalty in the match to make it 14-10 at the break.

There was no argument with the half-time scoreline, and the gap could indeed have been wider because the Titans had dominated possession and held territorial advantage for most of the game.

Starting the second half with just 14 men would not help the Pirates cause, but that is not to say that they weren't still very much in with a chance for what would also be a test both for individual and collective character. The conditions on the day were good, so if they could reduce their error count and not give away penalties, then they could surely create more fluency in their play.

West and Moore were each on target with penalty chances offered, and with Winn returning and the scoreboard reading 17-13, it was very much a case of 'game on'.

The Pirates made the changes midway through the second half, but they still struggled to gain territory and were punished for their deficiencies. In the space of just a few minutes Rotherham's impressive skipper, full-back Mike Whitehead, along with West, landed a drop goal apiece, to open up a 10 points gap. What had a few minutes earlier been game on, now looked game over.

If they stayed positive, there was still time though for the Pirates to get back into the match, which they were about to do with just less than a quarter an hour of the match remaining.

Some might have questioned Cowan's choice of opting for a catch and drive when a kickable penalty was on offer, but his decision was rewarded when one or two extra bodies added their weight to a moving mass which forced Rotherham back over their line. Cowan, deservedly atoning for his previous 'mistake', was identified as the try-scorer, and Moore converted magnificently from the left touchline - his judgement again as perfect as it had been at Camborne six days earlier.

Fresh legs had provided extra impact for the Pirates, but from the restart it was a case of basic errors letting them down again and handing the initiative back to the Titans.

Two more penalties at the end from West, the first kicked after securing a turnover and the second after destroying the Pirates at a scrummage, extended Rotherham's lead to nine points and robbed the Pirates of a bonus point.

As the final whistle blew, what appeared an unsavoury incident involving former Redruth centre and Rotherham replacement 'PJ' Petala Gidlow, gave concern, with Doherty and Pirates full-back Wes Davies looking innocent victims. Whether any complaint arises time will tell, but on the day the Pirates could have no complaints with the match result

Rotherham Titans:
M. Whitehead (capt), J. Feeley, L. Burrell (PJ Gidlow 57), N. Buckley, M.Farmer, J. West,
N. Chivers (M. Rhodes 78), S. Dickinson, T. Du Plessis, S. Swindall (R. Burrows 43), G. Hayter
M. Challinor, B. Prescott (C. Voisey 79). R. Batty (S. Jenkins 79), N. Conroy (C. Quigley 72),

Replacements (not used): P. Swatkins.

Cornish Pirates:
W. Davies, R. McAtee (A. Havili 57), N. Jackson (M. Ireland 54), S. Winn, R. Cook, J. Moore
J. Doherty, B. Cowan (capt), T. Holmes, S. Betty, B. Gulliver (M. Evans 59), L. McGlone
R. Brits (C. Rimmer 54, P. Andrew 72), R. Elloway (D. Ward 67), A. Paver (R. Brits 76).

Replacement (not used): G. Cattle.

Yellow card: Winn.

Scorers:-

Rotherham – try: Chivers; pens: West (6); drop goals: Whitehead, West.

Cornish Pirates – tries: Doherty, Cowan; cons: (2); pens: Moore (2).

Referee: Mr. Andrew McMenemy (SRFU)

Attendance: 1,287