Cornish Pirates 22 Coventry Rugby 12 - Mennaye Field remains a black spot for Cov as Pirates take the spoils

[PIRATES]

Shiver my timbers, shiver my soul

Yo ho heave ho

There are men whose hearts are as black as coal

Yo ho heave ho

[MUSSELS]

And they sailed their ship cross the ocean blue

A blood-thirsty captain and a cut-throat crew

[CROCODILE]

It's as dark a tale as was ever told

Of the lust for treasure and the love of gold

Shiver My Timbers - The Muppets

Give us a 'P'

Give us an 'I'

Give us an...

Ahhh...

...so we fell a bit short in the end, then, despite giving it our best shot.

Although leading at half time, Coventry never really looked comfortable and as the game wore on and the Pirates forwards took more and more control, it became increasingly likely that this was going to be one game too far for a Cov side that gave it their all, despite a couple of key injuries that saw Theo Mannion having to come on for the injured Tyas for the last 15 minutes and Martin packing down at 6.

It galls me to say it, but we got what we deserved really.

Pirates earned their win, sticking to a game plan that for 70 minutes saw the ball seldom get beyond their fly half. They kicked effectively and despite Cov enjoying far more of both ball and territory in the first 55 minutes or so, defensively Pirates were well organised and far better disciplined. Coventry, on the other hand, gave away too many penalties and when they did, Pirates' approach was to kick for the points rather than play for position.

There have been a number of occasions this season when Cov supporters have been critical of on-field decisions to squander the three points in favour of a potential five or seven, sometimes justly, on other occasions, less so. On Saturday though, the Pirates showed just how important it is to put points on the board. To be fair, it was a masterclass in how to stifle the opposition by living off scraps early doors.

Having had little in the way of decent possession in our half, let alone our 22, at the break they were only down 9-12, this despite Cov having scored two well worked tries. Indeed, Cov opted for the kick to the corner 3 times in succession at one point but the Pirates' defence held out and eventually Cov were turned over and the home side were able to clear their lines with Coventry having nothing to show for their efforts.

Brilliant as Pellegrini is, the inconsistency in his place-kicking makes it a slightly harder decision as to whether to take the points or kick for the corner - there's never a 'guarantee' that a penalty attempt will result in three points. He's just as capable of converting a penalty from the touchline 45 metres out as he is from missing one just to the right or left from just 30, which makes the decision to kick for points that little bit harder.

We saw an example of this on Saturday when he kicked a stonker from wide out close to the touchline to convert Martin's try but missed a relatively straight forward one after Trinder's. For me, it's the one side of his game that will need improving if he is to secure a step-up to the next level, something that surely can't be too far away. (Incidentally, he looked as if he was still struggling with his infected knee a little and didn't appear to be fully fit? It was certainly well strapped).

Cov had further opportunities to add to their total in the first half, as they did again at times in the second half, but Pirates managed to keep the gap close enough to ensure the contest never ran away from them. It wasn't a pretty game to watch and for Cov fans used to seeing their side play an open and attacking game, it was doubly frustrating but the home side did exactly what they needed to do whereas Cov just weren't able to cope with the dominant Pirate pack as it began to have more and more influence the longer the game went on.

James Tyas hobbling on crutches post-match

For much of the game, the Cornish crowd were relatively quiet, only really sparking into life 10 minutes from the end when Pirates scored the first of their two tries. Cov were on their knees by then, Tyas had come off with what looked a potentially serious ankle injury and Nairau was clearly struggling. Although he received plenty of attention from the physios, the young Coventry prop stayed on and, much to his credit, he put in a couple of rampaging runs that caused real problems in the heart of the Pirates defence.

With Coventry clearly tiring and the Pirates' pack very much in the ascendency, suddenly the noise levels increased dramatically. A crowd of 2308 (about 800 up on the average gate) sounded twice the size and all the momentum was with Pirates.

Pirates players warm-up as the crowd builds in minutes before kick off

Mennaye Field a real old-fashioned rugby ground, smaller than, but similar in many respects to, Goldington Road. And the Cornish supporters are as passionate as any in the Championship. When it's as noisy as it was for those final few minutes, it's an intimidating place to play. Cov had managed to silence the crowd for much of the first 60 or so minutes but in the end the visitors paid the price for their indiscipline and their inability to play the referee.

Some of the players looked bemused by a few of the decisions that went against them but when it quickly becomes apparent that the opposition is going to kick anything that is remotely in range, and they've got a kicker who can do just that, then you know you've got to be careful not to get on the wrong side of the ref.

Both teams lost a player to the sin bin but whereas Pirates were able to hold out whilst down to 14, a tiring Coventry conceded 7 points (it might well have been 14, I'm not sure whether Owen was back on by the time Pirates scored their second?).

In the end, Pirates deserved the win; Cov just didn't do quite enough to take the points and will rue the opportunities they had in the first sixty minutes or so to put a bit more daylight between themselves and home side. it might not have been enough but it would certainly have given them a better chance of the win. To lose twice to Cornish Pirates this season, the only team to do the double over us, is all the more disappointing, especially as in both games Cov had moments when they could have changed the outcomes.

That said, on Saturday Pirates showed why they are such a tough team to beat and why Mennaye Field is one of, if not the, toughest place to play in the league.

Coventry has yet to win there so next time we play Pirates away, it might be worth checking the referee's coin before the toss to ensure there's no black spot on one side or message of doom on the other. And if, perchance, the referee is visually impaired and his surname is Pugh, well there would be good reason just to get back on the coach and head home even before the kick off.

There certainly seems to be some sort of Pirates' curse placed on us every time we venture into Cornwall.

Ioan Evans and Alex Schwartz at the Seas in Penzance on Sunday

The news that Cornish Pirates' players are being offered contracts for next season that include a break clause in January illustrates just how precarious the finances of most Championship clubs currently are. I'm sure everyone wishes the club well and hopes that sufficient funds will be found to ensure the players are there for the whole season and beyond.

By chance, we (Sue and I) happened to dine at a nearby Chinese restaurant in Penzance on the evening after the game. Sitting on the table next to us were two Penzance players, one of whom was Alex Schwartz, the starting 9. The other was Ioan Evans who is on loan (that's confusing) from Cardiff but currently out injured. I hadn't realised who they were until Alex S asked if we'd come up for the rugby (he must have overheard something we'd said previously) - there then ensued a really interesting few minutes of rugby-related conversation.

Both players were very philosophical about the situation Cornish Pirates currently finds itself in and only had complimentary things to say about the club and about Dicky Evans (Life President) in particular; both were especially grateful for the club's honesty and openness. They felt that because of the possible problems with contracts in January, it is unlikely the club will be quite as competitive next season as it currently is which makes sense - with a number of key players retiring or moving on, it's unlikely that the club will be able to bring in the same sort of quality if the financial security of the club is in doubt.

Amongst a number of other things, we chatted about the possible inclusion of teams like Wasps, Worcester and London Irish into a restructured Championship. AS's view was an interesting take really in that, as a player, he wants to pit himself against the very best players in the biggest stadia, as possible. He quite sees why supporters might have a very different viewpoint but because he has a relatively short career as a professional rugby player, for him, games against the likes of Wasps and Irish are especially important (he was at Wasps for a while!).

I guess it's an obvious reaction but being rather blinkered about it all, it's not one that I'd really considered. And, further, I imagine that despite all the positive comments coming from what might appear a 'united' Championship, there will be members of the various boards across the Championship clubs that will hold a similar view, if only for the financial benefits rather than the personal challenges. All of which makes a new Championship/Prem 2 based purely on meritocracy and promotion/relegation rather harder to achieve.

Both were extremely friendly, happy to give up a few minutes of their meal to talk rugby and a real credit to their club. It was all rather refreshing and in stark contrast to Friday night when we sat next to a senior member of the Coventry Board and not a word was spoken :).

Before we left, they wanted to know what our Fortune Cookies predicted for us and whilst I shall decline in revealing exactly what the prophecies were, they did create a good deal of laughter.

So, a disappointing result all-in-all. But it's a result that really shouldn't be taken in isolation. Looking back over the season, Coventry has achieved much and it says a lot about the quality of the team that there is a real sense of frustration in finishing third. There's always going to be the 'ifs and buts' when looking back, particularly when Ealing have proved fallible on occasions over the course of the season and we contrived to lose games against three of the lower and middle order clubs (Caldy, Ampthill and Hartpury) that we really should have won.

And as with last season, success will again bring about its own difficulties. There are rumours of a number of key players moving on (we already know of Ryan and Nicol - as well as Chudley's retirement of course, a 'ledge' according to Schwartz!) and the likelihood is there will be a good few more, so there will have to be a mini rebuild as players are brought in to cover the departures. It will take time to bed the new recruits in and time at this level is one thing that's in particularly short supply. Cov has shown for long periods of this season that even on a relatively tight budget for a professional club, certainly in comparison to Ealing and probably Doncaster, it can be just as competitive.

But the fact that players are moving to bigger clubs is evidence in itself of the fantastic work that the coaches are doing and how well the players are responding to the challenges of being at a club like Cov. I guess the obvious corollary to this is that at some point we have to keep hold of the players who are currently attracting the attentions of the Premiership and equivalent clubs so that we eventually lose the tag of being a 'feeder' club and become a Premiership club in our own right.

And therein lies the challenge.

There's no easy answer as to how to achieve this - as supporters all we can do is put our faith in the Board and the coaches to continue to move the club forward as it has over the past few seasons.

Up the Cov!

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