Match Preview - Cornish Pirates v Sedgley Park

By Dick Straughan
February 13 2007

The Cornish Pirates take on Sedgley Park on Sunday in a match where winning well is everything if the Pirates are to cement their top three spot in Division One. Last Sunday`s heroics against Doncaster will count for nothing if a full five point reward is not secured against the Manchester side.

Sedgley Park Tigers currently pose a much sterner challenge to the Pirates than the team they thumped 55-3 at Park Lane in mid-October. A repeat of that nine-try rout would be hugely satisfying to all at the Pirates but after failing to register a league victory until November, the Tigers have now found some form.

They currently sit 12th in Division One with 33pts from 20 games. Their abandoned match at Newbury is still to be replayed. Last Sunday they claimed a valuable bonus point in a 20-27 home defeat to Leeds Tykes. They have also lost at home to a resurgent Exeter side since Christmas but more notably have beaten fellow basement teams Otley and Waterloo notching four tries in each game. Add to that a win at Pertemps Bees and a hugely memorable 10-8 home win against Bedford in early December and you will see that Jim McKay`s men cannot take this fixture for granted.

Tigers player-coach Tim Fourie said ahead of the Leeds match, "Players shouldn`t need any motivation because its these games that they should want to play in." No doubt he will tell his squad something similar ahead of Sunday`s clash against a Pirates team buoyed by last weekends dogged comeback against Doncaster Knights. After holding a comfortable first half lead of 16-3 the Pirates conceded twenty consecutive points to the formidable Yorkshiremen before late tries for Vili Ma`asi and Rhodri McAtee edged them in front and set up a nail-biting finale.

Pirates Head Coach Jim McKay was clearly delighted with the victory but has been very keen to stress the importance of taking one game at a time, as his side look to improve on their third placed finish last season. The Pirates have reported no fresh injury worries ahead of Sunday`s match although Fijian prop Ravu Samo has left the club after failing to secure a first team place.

Other notable fixtures this weekend see Coventry take on Doncaster at the Butts Park Arena in a game where home advantage may be crucial. Plymouth Albion should win at the Bees and Leeds will be favourites to beat Bedford at Headingley. However, the sudden announcement of Andre Bester`s forthcoming departure from the Titans could feasibly have an unexpected impact as Rotherham travel to inconsistent Nottingham.

The action at Camborne between the Pirates and Sedgley Park kicks-off on Sunday at 2pm.