Cornish Pirates v London Welsh - Preview
By Mark W-J
September 2 2010
Third in The Championship entertain fourth at the Mennaye Field on Sunday when London Welsh visit the Cornish Pirates. Our hosts have returned ‘home’ after one season at Truro and four years Camborne, but we visited Penzance as recently as March in the rearranged final round of fixtures in the pre-play-off stage of last season, recovering from a 24-6 half-time deficit to claim a 28-24 victory.
Both clubs recorded bonus-point victories last weekend, although we each left it late to score the decisive fourth try. Welsh winger Josh Drauniniu scored his second try with just five minutes remaining at Nottingham, while Doncaster whittled away at Pirates’ 20-0 half-time lead at the Mennaye until fly-half Johnny Bentley killed-off the Yorkshiremen’s fightback with a score in the 80th minute. We’re both currently level on five points with Worcester and Bedford, who thrashed Bees and Plymouth respectively – coincidentally, Rugby Times last week predicted that these would be the top four teams come the end of the first round of the season in February.
The Pirates have noticeably strengthened their squad over the summer, looking to improve on last season’s fifth-place finish. Having finished 10th of 14 in 2003-04, their first year at this level, they’ve finished in the top five in all but one of the last six seasons. But having released long-term favourites such as Aisea Havili and Mark Ireland they’ve brought-in highly-rated Plymouth No.8 and captain, Kyle Marriott, his Albion team-mate, centre Matt Hopper, and Nottingham lock, Ian Nimmo. Marriott’s impact was immediate – last weekend he started ahead of Blair Cowan, who was joint-top try scorer in the Championship last season alongside Errie Claassens and Exeter’s Matt Jess, and who was elected into Rugby Times’ Championship All-Stars alongside the two wingers. Nimmo, meanwhile, will probably gain a starting berth on Sunday after former Coventry and Plymouth lock Ben Gulliver, the man he replaced from the bench last weekend, earned himself a three-month loan spell at Leicester Tigers.
The home supporters will recognise some familiar faces in the Welsh squad on Sunday. Hooker Vili Ma’asi spent six years with our hosts, starting at Penzance & Newlyn down in National Three South in 2000-01, while centre Simon Whatling made 18 appearances for the Pirates (including 11 starts) between 2007 and 2009. Simon scored only one try in 19 league appearances last season, but that was the fourth try in our 34-10 win over his former employers at ODP in October. Other players for whom the welcome might not be quite so warm include wingers Liam Gibson and Josh Drauniniu - ex-Plymouth and Exeter respectively – and former Chiefs hooker Saul Nelson.
The league record between the clubs shows Pirates leading by eight wins to six, although Welsh have won the last three meetings and the last three played in Cornwall. The games are generally high-scoring affairs, last season’s two meetings producing a total of 96 points and 13 tries, although the very first encounter, at the Mennaye in February 204, topped the lot, with the home side claiming a 40-38 win courtesy of second row Lee Soper’s try in the ninth minute of injury time. Part of the reason for the high-scoring affairs in that both clubs are advocates of the running game – even in the wind and rain on that February afternoon six year ago – but should the game be close in the final quarter, Welsh will have to beware the boot of Pirates full-back Rob Cook, whose 75% success rate last season was bettered by only three players who attempted more than 20 shots at goal. Hopefully Welsh will have heeded the warnings of last week, when Nottingham’s New Zealand-born, Japanese international summer signing from Gwent Dragons, James Arlidge, landed seven penalties from seven, from all angles and against all prevailing weather conditions.
But it’s not just the running rugby that we both enjoy. For many Welsh fans, Pirates is the trip of the season, and many of the followers making the trek to the Duchy will be renewing their acquaintance with Redruth on Saturday, having been welcomed like long-lost friends at our last meeting in the cup in January 2008. And with the sun shining on Welsh’s smorgasbord of Islanders and sevens specialists, we look forward to another afternoon of tries, drink and song in Kernow on Sunday. What’s Welsh for smorgasbord…?