The Cornish Pirates have had a tricky few weeks with recent defeats
costing them a real shot at the top four play offs this season writes James Hewlett. A cracking start
that saw them win seven of their first nine matches, before a memorable finish
by Jersey at St Peter giving the Islanders a much needed four points, gave the Pirates’
supporters false hope that they could challenge for the top spots once again.
Head Coach Ian Davies has been quite pragmatic about the whole
situation. ‘It's where we are as squad’, he said. He continued, ‘I said at the
start of the year it would be a roller coaster. People look at the results and
see four defeats but they need to be taken in the context of where they are in
the season, all four of them on the road, and one in the British and Irish Cup
when we had already qualified for the Quarter Finals. Long term injuries to
senior players hasn't helped, but has meant more game time for younger
players.’
Davies believed that whilst he has a good side, this was not to be a
stellar season for the Cornishmen. ‘We were never realistically going to finish
in the top four this year. It is easy for people to get carried away after a
few early season results. We are a mid-table squad that on it's day can beat
anyone else in this league.’
With the play-offs out of the question, the focus has switched to other
avenues. Davies has controversially stated, ‘I've publicly said that the
British and Irish Cup is now our priority. This has upset some supporters but
they are not looking at the season as a whole, the stages of development (through
the cup campaign) that this squad need so they can flourish and prosper in
future years will be invaluable.’
This will be the fourth time the sides have clashed this season,
with the Pirates having held the upper hand for much of the three previous
games. Davies does not believe this is now relevant, and rates Jersey as a much
better side than their lowly league position suggests, especially with a new
Head Coach settling in. Davies said, ‘Well of course Harvey Biljon was
assistant coach here at the Pirates for four years so will know a lot about us.
I'm sure he is constructing a game plan to trouble us as he strives to stave
off the threat of relegation. With the squad Jersey has relegation should not
be a worry really. For us, we have two wins and a defeat (against Jersey) but we
really have only played 100 minutes of decent rugby over those three matches.’
Plenty then for both coaches to work on, both before, during and
after this game, and Davies highlighted several Jersey players he will instruct
his charges to keep a close eye on. ‘Dai Bishop has been consistently good,’ he
said. ‘(Niall) O'Connor is a very good goal kicker, (Mark) McCrea is a
dangerous runner and Tom Brown is a very strong ball carrier. It goes without
saying we know how good the former Pirates in the Jersey squad can be – Drew Locke,
Grant Pointer, Nicky Griffiths, Aaron Penberthy, Ben Maidment and Joe Buckle.’
It is unlikely that all the former players will be given a chance on Saturday,
but those who do will be anxious to do well on their old stamping ground, and
give Jersey a much needed buffer over Ealing Trailfinders at the bottom.
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