Once again the Pirates only have themselves to blame for failing to put an opponent to the sword. They were never at their best but turning around at the break only 13-8 ahead after dominating so much of the first half was always likely to cause them problems, and so it came to pass.

In a frantic finale the home side were forced to endure ten minutes of desperate defence deep within their own twenty-two as Nottingham softened them up for the killer blow. When possession was stolen back the normally reliable boot of Gareth Steenson all too often kicked it straight back into the clutches of Rohaan Nirmalendran, and thus the masochistic process began again.

With eight minutes of stoppage time played and a series of 5m penalties awarded against the Pirates, Mr Spreadbury had had enough. Having warned the home side for the final time for persistent foul play, a thirteen man driving maul drove home beneath the Pirates posts and as Tonks converted the final whistle was blown on Nottingham`s epic smash and grab.

It should however have been so very different. When full-back Ollie Thomas opened the Pirates account with a converted try after just three minutes, the much changed visitors looked destined for a tough afternoon in Cornwall. The early cushion lasted just two minutes.

Having struggled with the restart the Pirates were forced to defend a lateral Nottingham attack. The intervention, at pace, of Nirmalendran down the left flank straightened the move and he provided the scoring pass for Dodge in the Clubhouse Corner.

The Pirates were straight back on the offensive and penalties from Steenson and Barlow nudged the score up to 10-8 before the visitors were forced to withstand a period of heavy pressure.

However, the Pirates were too ponderous in their execution, too predictable and consistently failed to punch meaningful holes in the Nottingham defence. Nick Buckley was guilty of ignoring a three man overlap with the try line beckoning when he turned back into heavy traffic, and then Thomas narrowly missed a touchdown after a mercurial chip ahead from Jimmy Moore.

Despite the Pirates dominance in the line-out where Cumming stole ball at will, and determined open play from Cracknell and Cowley, it was the boot of Steenson who finally extended the lead in the 40th minutes with a long range penalty.

The Pirates threatened first after the break when Cowley slipped a tackle on half way and rampaged through thirty metres of flailing cover, but Nottingham quickly regained their composure. The Pirates had struggled with fleeting glimpses of their driving maul and they now decided it was time to bring it to bear.

Five minutes later Nigel Hall was driven over from close range and Barlow converted to edge Nottingham 13-15 ahead. A brief flurry from the Pirates resulted in an unconverted try for Chris Cracknell in the scoreboard corner, his fifth of the season, but Nottingham sensed victory in the air.

Sustained pressure yielded nothing other than a further penalty for Steenson but with the Pirates leading by only 21-15 and incapable of closing out the game, Nottingham rallied for their big finale. Their last gasp try was just reward for their sheer determination as the Pirates were left to reflect on a defeat that many here felt has been coming for some time.

It is said that the scoreboard never lies. If so, it painfully screamed out the truth at the end of the game today. 

Cornish Pirates

Thomas, McAtee (Parsons 73), Devlin, Buckley, Moore, Steenson, Fairhurst, Cook, Elloway (Dawidiuk 75), Seal (Heard 42, Seal 57), Beardshaw, Cumming, Cracknell (Betty 66), Motusaga, Cowley (capt) (Evans 49),

Replacements (not used) - Hobson, Bolt.

Tries - Thomas, Cracknell

Con  -  Steenson

Pens -   Steenson (3)

Nottingham

Nirmalendran, Savage, Tonks, Molenaar (capt), Dodge, Barlow (Thompson 49), Usasz (Pilgrim 63), Parr (Hopkins 52), Duffey, Hall, Morley, Rouse, Larsen (Loney 51), Raven, Montagu

Replacements (not used) -Rhodes, Wilcox, Sandhu

Tries - Dodge, Hall, Raven

Con - Barlow, Tonks

Pens - Barlow

Referee - Tony Spreadbury (RFU)  

Attendance - 2655

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