EDF Trophy SF - Pirates 17 Plymouth Albion 9
By Dick Straughan
March 25 2007
On a day of high drama and heady emotion at Camborne, The Cornish Pirates once again came from behind to steal victory and book their place in the EDF Trophy Final at Twickenham on April 15th.
March 25 2007
On a day of high drama and heady emotion at Camborne, The Cornish Pirates once again came from behind to steal victory and book their place in the EDF Trophy Final at Twickenham on April 15th.
The result hung in the balance until the 77th minute when a long range drop goal from Alberto Di Bernardo, on as a replacement for the injured Rhodri Wells, sailed between the uprights and broke Albion`s hearts. Five minutes into stoppage time he repeated the feat with an outrageous attempt from half-way, and as the band played and the crowd sang the job was done.
As a contest the match was a typical semi-final. The air thick with nervous anticipation on and off the field. Mistakes and misdemeanours from both teams littering the game and frequently punctuating the best efforts to run the ball on a day when the sun shone and spring arrived in Cornwall.
Plymouth Albion, defying persistent rumours of an injury crisis, fielded a strong starting line up with influential lock Ben Gulliver returning from injury. Graham Dawe selected himself on the bench and was the subject of much attention from the home faithful during the pre-match warm up. The Pirates, clearly exhausted at the end of last Sunday`s mammoth battle with Earth Titans, lost Tim Cowley to a back injury allowing Matt Evans to wear the Number 8 jersey, but were otherwise unchanged.
In front of a large and partisan home crowd James Moore got the Pirates underway into a bracing headwind and immediately the Cornish team took the initiative. With Albion`s set piece mis-firing a collapsed scrum after five minutes allowed Moore to fire the home side ahead. What quickly developed thereafter was a war of attrition with neither side dominant. With just twelve minutes on the clock the intense phsicality of the game claimed Duncan Roke and the Pirates were forced into a change with Steve Winn deputising.
Albion restored parity midway through the first half through a Van Eyk penalty but within seconds wilted under a fierce Pirates onslaught. From the restart Steve Winn was quicker out of the blocks than anyone else on the field, leapt high and majestically claimed possession before a bemused Albion defence, and set up an intense assault down the right hand flank. With the visitors rearguard in disarray, quick ball allowed the Pirates driving maul to crash over the line with hooker Vili Ma`asi doing the duties of team mole to score. Moore, uncharacteristically nervous with the boot, missed the conversion and Van Eyk soon reduced the arrears to 8-6 after a Pirates offence at a ruck.
On the stroke of half-time Moore again sliced his kick when presented with a drop goal attempt from close range. Mr Fox brought matters to a close with everything still to play for.
The Pirates were sluggish at the restart and paid for it. Albion sensing glory kept the ball tight and denied the home side possession. Pirates skipper Gavin Cattle was lost to injury after just five minutes and then Moore missed another kickable drop goal. It got worse for the Pirates as Albion`s pressure intensified with Duncan Bell sin-binned for an offence on the floor. Plymouth camped in the Pirates twenty-two and the signs were ominous.
Regardt Van Eyk missed three penalties in quick succession including one sliced effort from in front of the posts as the kicking yips filtered through from Moore. Albion`s driving maul tested the Pirates defence to the limit but they held firm. In a role reversal of last December`s clash between these teams Albion dominated the territory and possession but could not land the killer blow. Van Eyk`s penalty on 61 minutes may have edged them ahead for the first time but was scant reward for a third quarter they had totally dominated.
With just ten minutes to go replacement scrum-half Rhodri Wells was forced to hobble from the field. Di Bernardo slipped into the fly-half berth with the versatile Moore taking over at Number 9. Within seconds Albion`s persistent fouling earned the Pirates a penalty, and with bodies littering the field of play Moore`s unsteady boot reclaimed the slenderest of advantages.
It was time to throw caution to the wind. Albion opened up and for the first time there was space on the pitch. Chances came and went at both ends as exhausted players hurled themselves at each other. The next score would surely be the last and Plymouth were not beaten yet.
The introduction of Leeds Tykes bound Di Bernardo steadied the Pirates ship. His massive touchfinders forcing Albion to attack from ever deepening positions. Then as the pressure mounted on the visitors he turned the screw with his late drop goal. Back came Albion, and in a helter-skelter finale the Pirates tackled anything that moved as the visitors threw themselves time and again into a red and black wall. Man of the match Alan Paver disrupting and stealing at every twist and turn.
Jonny Hylton was agonisingly close to a killer try for the Pirates just losing the foot race for Di Bernardo`s chip through. Then deep into stoppage time brutal driving play from Beardshaw and Motusaga created space. Enough space for Di Bernardo. The ball found the little General on half-way and as he swung his boot at it the crowd erupted. Albion were finally beaten. The Pirates were on their way to Twickenham.
PIRATES:- Winnan, McAtee, Roke, Bell, Hylton, Moore, Cattle, Paver, Ma`asi, Heard, Senekal, Beardshaw, McKeen, Motusaga, Evans, Replacements - Wells, Di Bernardo, Winn, Cracknell, Inglis, Makin, Seal
Try - Ma`asi
Pens - Moore (2)
Drop Goals - Di Bernardo (2)
ALBION:- Saumi, Neetling, Van Eyk, Fisilau, Sestaret, Barnes, Lewsey, Mathias, Owen, Zimmerman, Gulliver, Hayes, Genoud, Thomas, Lowrie, Replacements - Newman, Arscott, Cruickshanks, Evans, Dawe, Stroud, Lewis
Pens - Van Eyk (3)
Referee:- Martin Fox (RFU)
As a contest the match was a typical semi-final. The air thick with nervous anticipation on and off the field. Mistakes and misdemeanours from both teams littering the game and frequently punctuating the best efforts to run the ball on a day when the sun shone and spring arrived in Cornwall.
Plymouth Albion, defying persistent rumours of an injury crisis, fielded a strong starting line up with influential lock Ben Gulliver returning from injury. Graham Dawe selected himself on the bench and was the subject of much attention from the home faithful during the pre-match warm up. The Pirates, clearly exhausted at the end of last Sunday`s mammoth battle with Earth Titans, lost Tim Cowley to a back injury allowing Matt Evans to wear the Number 8 jersey, but were otherwise unchanged.
In front of a large and partisan home crowd James Moore got the Pirates underway into a bracing headwind and immediately the Cornish team took the initiative. With Albion`s set piece mis-firing a collapsed scrum after five minutes allowed Moore to fire the home side ahead. What quickly developed thereafter was a war of attrition with neither side dominant. With just twelve minutes on the clock the intense phsicality of the game claimed Duncan Roke and the Pirates were forced into a change with Steve Winn deputising.
Albion restored parity midway through the first half through a Van Eyk penalty but within seconds wilted under a fierce Pirates onslaught. From the restart Steve Winn was quicker out of the blocks than anyone else on the field, leapt high and majestically claimed possession before a bemused Albion defence, and set up an intense assault down the right hand flank. With the visitors rearguard in disarray, quick ball allowed the Pirates driving maul to crash over the line with hooker Vili Ma`asi doing the duties of team mole to score. Moore, uncharacteristically nervous with the boot, missed the conversion and Van Eyk soon reduced the arrears to 8-6 after a Pirates offence at a ruck.
On the stroke of half-time Moore again sliced his kick when presented with a drop goal attempt from close range. Mr Fox brought matters to a close with everything still to play for.
The Pirates were sluggish at the restart and paid for it. Albion sensing glory kept the ball tight and denied the home side possession. Pirates skipper Gavin Cattle was lost to injury after just five minutes and then Moore missed another kickable drop goal. It got worse for the Pirates as Albion`s pressure intensified with Duncan Bell sin-binned for an offence on the floor. Plymouth camped in the Pirates twenty-two and the signs were ominous.
Regardt Van Eyk missed three penalties in quick succession including one sliced effort from in front of the posts as the kicking yips filtered through from Moore. Albion`s driving maul tested the Pirates defence to the limit but they held firm. In a role reversal of last December`s clash between these teams Albion dominated the territory and possession but could not land the killer blow. Van Eyk`s penalty on 61 minutes may have edged them ahead for the first time but was scant reward for a third quarter they had totally dominated.
With just ten minutes to go replacement scrum-half Rhodri Wells was forced to hobble from the field. Di Bernardo slipped into the fly-half berth with the versatile Moore taking over at Number 9. Within seconds Albion`s persistent fouling earned the Pirates a penalty, and with bodies littering the field of play Moore`s unsteady boot reclaimed the slenderest of advantages.
It was time to throw caution to the wind. Albion opened up and for the first time there was space on the pitch. Chances came and went at both ends as exhausted players hurled themselves at each other. The next score would surely be the last and Plymouth were not beaten yet.
The introduction of Leeds Tykes bound Di Bernardo steadied the Pirates ship. His massive touchfinders forcing Albion to attack from ever deepening positions. Then as the pressure mounted on the visitors he turned the screw with his late drop goal. Back came Albion, and in a helter-skelter finale the Pirates tackled anything that moved as the visitors threw themselves time and again into a red and black wall. Man of the match Alan Paver disrupting and stealing at every twist and turn.
Jonny Hylton was agonisingly close to a killer try for the Pirates just losing the foot race for Di Bernardo`s chip through. Then deep into stoppage time brutal driving play from Beardshaw and Motusaga created space. Enough space for Di Bernardo. The ball found the little General on half-way and as he swung his boot at it the crowd erupted. Albion were finally beaten. The Pirates were on their way to Twickenham.
PIRATES:- Winnan, McAtee, Roke, Bell, Hylton, Moore, Cattle, Paver, Ma`asi, Heard, Senekal, Beardshaw, McKeen, Motusaga, Evans, Replacements - Wells, Di Bernardo, Winn, Cracknell, Inglis, Makin, Seal
Try - Ma`asi
Pens - Moore (2)
Drop Goals - Di Bernardo (2)
ALBION:- Saumi, Neetling, Van Eyk, Fisilau, Sestaret, Barnes, Lewsey, Mathias, Owen, Zimmerman, Gulliver, Hayes, Genoud, Thomas, Lowrie, Replacements - Newman, Arscott, Cruickshanks, Evans, Dawe, Stroud, Lewis
Pens - Van Eyk (3)
Referee:- Martin Fox (RFU)
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