You'd be forgiven for thinking so in normal circumstance. But then with the visitors' priorities understandably lying elsewhere and the underlying notion that this was a 'Lite' side in white on the park; normality, whatever that is, was a difficult concept to grasp.

Quite what those deemed as 'second string' thought of this tag, as always, is impossible to guage. But with less than half an hour remaining they were on the cusp of something to further enhance their own personal stock value; let alone increasing the bragging rights of their supporters.

Recovering as they had from a first minute Cook penalty and despite being generally out-gunned at the set piece, the Chiefs would no doubt have felt the Gods were with them by the break with things all square.

With neither side truly finding any rhythm, it was the Pirates with most to feel disappointed about. The previously mentioned edge that their Eight were working hard for, all too often saw good field position wasted with the odd un-forced error.

Good chances from eventual man of the match Bentley, Davies and McAtee also drew no reward, whilst Exeter quietly went about their business. A point illustrated with Gray at least slotting two penalties to give his side a slender 3-6 lead as the half hour mark passed without greater note.

The status quo was finally broken with the kettles in the changing rooms begining to boil and the Pirates pressing the Chiefs whitewash at the Scoreboard End for a sustained period at last. Hopes were raised as Mr Sharp's arm signalled a Cornish advantage with play now in front of the posts and the visitors' defence creaking at the seams.

Holmes spotted a gap and dashed over for what seemed a perfectly reasonable score as the home support roared it's approval, more in relief than belief, that maybe a corner had been turned. Mr Sharp, however called everyone back to the earlier infringement leaving little crumb of comfort in Cook's second successful penalty; and parity of points.

Bewilderment reigned, even when it was discovered that Sir had erased the dot down for thinking he had caused an obstruction to the defending side. Either way hasty preparations were made to find a suitable sugar substitute for the Officials' half time cuppa.

The crowd too voiced it's disapproval at the whistle, despite Gray doing the decent thing and missing a final hoof for three; no doubt in sympathy for the moment.

At resumption of play, the mood swung further towards resignation to the inevitable, as Chiefs wing Lewis cut a swathe through Pirate ranks to set up the 'opening' try of the game for his full back.

A precipice loomed. Or so it appeared. But then appearances can be deceptive as we should always remember.

Three minutes later and a promising period of play handed Cook his third penalty opportunity which he slotted sweetly to maintain his unblemished record for the day to date. 9-11.

From nowhere momentum appeared and the Pirates backline finally found that hitherto missing gear much to the relief of their pack. Didn't they just too!

In the 53rd minute Bentley found himself with options to his right and space to exploit. The White's defence moved to cover, only for Devlin to run a beautiful line on the Kiwi's inside shoulder to slice open the Chiefs with surgical precision.

Cook obliged with the extras and the onslaught continued. 16-11

Two further minutes passed before Captain Cattle had to step in to rescue a broken lineout in front of the main stand. In a flash he spotted a miniscule gap in the Exeter forwards and dashed through. A clear run quickly disappeared, but nothing was going to stop the Scrum Half who kicked through to the corner and won the race to the ball in the process.

Some breathing space between the sides grew by two more points as Cook dissected the uprights with a fine conversion from near to the touchline.

At 23-11 now, the prospect of a 'winner take all' tie a week hence with Newport, looked very much on. A four-try bonus point would be useful though, if only to end Leinster's involvment. But could they find two more tries in the remaining twenty minutes or so?

Gray's penalty soon after, did little to dampen spirits though as the Pirates were still in full flow. From the restart, the Cornishmen tore into their opponents without mercy to turn over possession within the Chiefs 22.

Nothing was forthcoming on this occasion but two further tries from Ireland and Ward within four minutes, finally nailed it for the home side, with ten minutes still to play. 37-14.

With the result now not in doubt and any pressures lifted, it was left to Exeter to finish with some kind of a flourish. The Pirates had clearly stepped off the gas, but the visitors' fortunes were perhaps best summed up with Fleming dropping & knocking on, when it seemed easier to score as he crossed over the Pirate line for admittedly only a consolation try.

It mattered not ultimately and in equal measure with any reluctance from Pirate ranks to over hype this success in the immediate aftermath. The simple fact remains, that two more wins in the British & Irish Cup and a real shot at a Pot for the Cabinet awaits. Pots = Prizes which in turn = Publicity. Throw in a good showing in the Championship Play Offs and who knows what awaits beyond?

Exciting Innit?

Cornish Pirates 37
15 R. Cook 14 R. McAtee 11 W. Davies
13 P. Devlin 12 S. Winn 10 J. Bentley 9 G. Cattle (capt)
8 M. Evans 7 T. Holmes 6 C. Morgan
5 B. Gulliver 4 M. Myerscough 3 R. Brits 2 D. Ward 1 C. Rimmer.

Replacements:
16 P. Andrew 17 R. Prosser 18 S. Franklin 19 R. Labuschagne 20 L. McGlone 21 J. Doherty 22 M. Ireland.

Tries: Devlin, Cattle Ireland, Ward
Cons: Cook 4
Pens: Cook 3

Exeter Chiefs 14
15 Sean Marsden 14 Paul McKenzie 11 Emyr Lewis
13 Tom Bedford 12 Matt Cornwell 10 Danny Gray 9 Richard Bolt
1 Ben Moon 2 Sam Blythe 3 Ruaidhri Murphy
4 Sean Tomes 5 Chris Bentley
6 Tom Johnson 7 James Scaysbrook (capt) 8 Dave Ewers

Replacements:16 Saul Nelson 17 Shane Kingsland 18 Addison Lockley 19 Michael Stupple 20 Clive Stuart-Smith 21 Steve Jones 22 Jamie Fleming

Try: Marsden
Pens: Gray 3

Ref: Chris SHARP (N Yorks)
TJ1: Philip DAVIES (Windsor)
TJ2: Eric WOODMASON (Gloucester)

Attendance 2564

Man of the Match: Jonny Bentley

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