Esher though have equipped themselves pretty well since their step up a level despite only registering only a single win over London Welsh so far. Their last outing at Rotherham had produced a thrilling comeback from 0-29 down to nab two bonus points in an eventual 24-29 loss; no mean feat in itself at Clifton Lane.

The feeling then on the terraces was that Esher would need to be ground down and then kept there with some ruthless decision making and execution, something no-one has achieved so far this season.

Encouragingly, this appeared to be on the cards as the Pirates kicked off and immediately had Esher under pressure. Such was their early dominance, most if not all of the play was spent in the Esher half. It was physical too as an injury to Esher's tight head, Jeff Smith meant an early introduction for replacement Andy Alexander. And yet the three points from Jimmy Moore's penalty on 6 minutes seemed scant reward.

To emphasise this point, Esher benefitted from the next ten minutes of rugby chess that followed, and won a penalty on their first serious venture into Pirate territory. Hallett slotted his kick well and so the first quarter was completed all square, quite against the run of play overall.

The Pirates desparately needed a spark, and right on cue it duly came five minutes later. A lovely flick from Devlin to Ollie Thomas, gave the full back space on the wing which he exploited with a brilliant dummy to scamper over in the corner having completely wrong footed the defence.

Moore missed the extras but the Pirates seemed to be up and running at last. The screw appeared to tighten further a couple of minutes later when a second James Moore penalty made it 11-3.

Beardshaw by now was disrupting Esher's lineout single-handedly as the home side struggled to get their set piece working as an effective weapon.

Esher to their credit responded well and for the first time took the game to the Pirates and at times looked quite dangerous. The Cornish defence remained solid though with Thomas in particular looking very safe under the high ball. A second Hallett penalty reduced arrears to 11-6 although this was as much as they were going to get.

It was the Cornishman who finished the half strongest and should have added to their try count but for one or two knock ons in contact that undid all the good work beforehand.

Even so with Mr McPherson poised to reach for his whistle, the Pirates forced matters with an attacking 5m scrum that needed resetting more than once as the Esher pack waivered. On it's final engage, and with the Pirates moving forwards strongly, Paver was adjudged to have collapsed the scrum. Quite how that makes sense is open to debate, but it perhaps summed up matters perfectly as the players went in for their tea and oranges.

With Kemp struggling with a foot injury which he later acknowledged to being "tender", the Pirates made one change and introduced Elloway.

Esher resumed with renewed resolve but had to settle for an exchange of penalties as the Pirates still struggled to find any real rhythm when in possession in the opening 15 minutes or so. Hopes for better things did seem possible though when some excellent pressure on the ball carrier created a mix up which Moore pounced on. Thomas's conversion was good and at 21-9 surely now the Pirates would open up and strive for the two more tries they could really do with to get complete the task.

The home side wouldn't lie down and read the script, but it came at a price as they met a solid defensive wall. Cowley's tackle on George Robson epitomised this resolute rearguard and even attracted the attention of the two bobbies on duty, who sensed a mountain of paperwork may spoil their afternoon off..... err...afternoon's work.

A home try though did seem inevitable but had to wait until ten minutes from time. A textbook catch and drive from a 5m lineout allowed Esher skipper Duncan Cormack to burrow over from close range. The conversion was missed by Hallett, but at 21-14 in the visitors favour anything was possible.

Sniffing at least a draw, Esher pressed but didn't trouble the Pirates defence again as the visitors closed the game out. A penalty from Ollie Thomas with only 2 minutes left secured an unconvincing win for the Pirates in a game that if truth be known was there for the taking.

This was by no means a performance as dire as at Coventry, but it did lack an edge that the Pirates really need to discover soon if they are to be in the mix come season's end.

It is though worth remembering that four points gained in such a manner is far better than a couple of bonus points gained in a cavalier display ending in defeat. But this is the Pirates and expectations do grow as each game passes for bigger and better things. The club if it is serious has to demand more of itself on and off the pitch, week in week out and regardless of the opposition in front of them. The fayre on offer today wasn't inspiring but it really needed a little more sparkle to get the travelling fans exercising their vocal chords more; something that was strangely muted by usual standards.

The Pirates won today without having to play at full speed but there is a risk of letting this gloss over potential flaws. Most areas look pretty much covered with the exception of the centres channel which still hasn't found an ideal combination. Crack that one and the World will be their Oyster; well at least in National One.

Cornish Pirates 24
15 Ollie Thomas, 14 Rhodri McAtee, 13 Paul Devlin, 12 Nick Buckley, 11 Brian Tuohy, 10 Jimmy Moore,
9 Ed Fairhurst, 8 Tim Cowley (capt), 7 Iva Motusaga, 6 Bruce Cumming, 5 Scott Hobson (Betty 72), 4 Joe Beardshaw,
3 Dan Seal (Heard 53), 2 Nathan Kemp (Elloway 40min), 1 Alan Paver (Cook 72).

Replacements:
16 Sam Heard, 17 Peter Cook, 18 Rob Elloway, 19 Matt Evans, 20 Sam Betty, 21 Richard Bolt, 22 Sam Parsons.

Tries: Thomas, Moore
Cons: Thomas
Pens: Moore 3 Thomas

Esher 14
15 Neil Hallett (Bauberge 50), 14 Matt Moore, 13 Bevon Armitage, 12 Rob Henderson, 11 Dougie Flockhart, 10 Dave Hewitt,
9 Graham Barr (Clouston 74), 8 Mike Blakeburn, 7 Lee Starling (Goldsmith 74), 6 George Robson, 5 Paul Barker, 4 James Inglis,
3 Jeff Smith (Alexander 3), 2 James Cambell, 1 Duncan Cormack (capt).

Replacements:
16 Andy Alexander, 17 Simon Goldsmith, 18 Mark Butterworth, 19 Don Barrell, 20 Chuck Baumberge, 21 Toby Clouston, 22 Llyr Lane.

Try: Cormack
Pens: Hallett 3

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