The Cornish All Blacks came into the fixture propping up the league table and on a miserable run of six successive league defeats. An exercise in damage limitation would have been understandable but the men from Polson Bridge were having none of it.

They attacked the Pirates line from the outset showing great endeavour and enterprise, but Jim McKay`s Pirates have a reputation for being able to soak up pressure and did so again here, standing firm and biding their time. When increasingly desperate offensive play finally yielded turnover ball, the Pirates broke deep into All Blacks territory courtesy of Evans, Fairhurst and Tuohy. The home side maintained the intensity and broke the deadlock after just eight minutes.

Lock Joe Beardshaw claimed good line out ball and fed Skipper Tim Cowley who set up a driving maul. With the visitors` defence suddenly missing the maul powered home almost unopposed with prop Peter Cook taking the score. Stand-in fly-half, Ollie Thomas, narrowly missed the conversion.

The All Blacks, however, were not about to succumb lightly to any notion of early home supremacy. Steve Perry, Matt Jess and Jon Fabian were much to the fore as the visitors took the fight back to the Pirates with a display of admirable pace and width on their game. Still they were thwarted by the Pirates and the frustration led to several running battles and off the ball incidents ignored by the officials.

During this furious period the Pirates lost Joe Beardshaw to a worrying knee injury before further mayhem broke out. This time, as the All Blacks defence downed tools to fight, the Pirates marched through to within feet of an unopposed second try only to be denied by the whistle of Mr Kitt. Spurning the advantage to the home side he yellow carded All Blacks Number 8, Tinus Du Plessis, and awarded the Pirates a penalty.

Mercifully the Pirates saw that justice was done as they repeated the move and hooker Nathan Kemp scored. Thomas converted before another mass brawl broke out.

Just minutes later with the All Blacks reeling, the Pirates landed the killer blow. Birkett`s counter-attacking chip ahead was snaffled by Pirates scrum-half Ed Fairhurst, whose mercurial off-load to Tuohy led the Irishman on a blistering 60 metre dash through the entire All Blacks cover before swallow-diving across the line in the corner.

With the Pirates comfortably ahead by 17-0, the Cornish All Blacks fought back for the final act of the half. With Richard Liddington having been denied a score for what Mr Kitt deemed to have been a double movement, they tried again on their next attack. This time clean, fast ball through the backs fed Jon Fabian who out-flanked the Pirates cover and touched down in the Clubhouse Corner. His conversion left an entertaining half nicely poised at 17-7.

Hopes of a recovery for the All Blacks were extinguished just four minutes after the break, when turnover ball deep in the visitors` half allowed Heino Senekal to seal the bonus point following a splendid off-load from debutant Mark Ireland. Thomas added the extras and after a ponderous few minutes the Pirates began to cut loose.

With the Pirates pack dominant at the set-piece and in the loose, the half-back pairing of Ed Fairhurst and Ollie Thomas enjoyed freedom to play. Solidity in the Centres and the ever willing runners of Tuohy, McAtee and Winnan all made for a hugely uncomfortable spell for the visitors who, for their part, harmed their cause terribly with repeated turn-overs.

Unable to build momentum and largely penned in their own half another score seemed imminent. It followed just sixty seconds after a rare All Blacks attack had seen a five metre scrum shunted backwards at an alarming rate of knots by an indignant Pirates defence.

This time Thomas was the provider as his thirty metre midfield break and deft angled chip into space allowed Adryan Winnan to gather and score. Thomas then instigated the move which was to see Rhodri McAtee eventually burrow his way over the line for the Pirates sixth try, before former Pirate Matt Jess responded for the All Blacks. He finished off a sniping break from fellow ex-Pirate Ryan Westren with an extravagant and unplanned somersault in the Hubert Hill Corner, though on this occasion Fabian was unable to add the extras.

Confusion from the restart led to the final Pirates try of the afternoon as Paul Devlin danced through the cover. With Mr Kitt penalising the All Blacks just short of their own line the Pirates opted for a scrum. Their physical supremacy and the destructive capabilities of Alan Paver saw the popular loosehead charge over for a rare try. Some wonderful late fade on Thomas` conversion put the final gloss on a commendable Pirates performance.

Still the home side attacked and following good work from Tuohy and Dawiduik, Mark Ireland did everything but score - a lone All Blacks hand keeping the ball off the deck as he crashed over the line.

For the Pirates this was the perfect preparation for bigger battles ahead. For the Cornish All Blacks it was a telling reminder that a bigger, stronger pack is a must when Santa comes visiting on the 25th.

TEAMS - 

Cornish Pirates

A Winnan; R McAtee, M Ireland, S Winn (Devlin 66), B Tuohy, O Thomas, E Fairhurst (J Moore 77), P Cook (A Paver 55), N Kemp (D Dawiduik 51), S Heard (D Seal 51), H Senekal, J Beardshaw (S Hobson 20), T Cowley (capt), C Cracknell, M Evans (I Motusaga 61).

Replacements: (all used)

Tries - Cook, Kemp, Tuohy, Senekal, Winnan, McAtee, Paver

Cons - Thomas (4)

 Cornish All Blacks

A Birkett (M Dibble 40) ,  M Jess, R Westren, S Perry, J Fabian; M Scrivener (Fisher 58), S Alford; J Bolt (L Ovens 47), N Clark (O Hambly 66), R Liddington (D Manns 47) S Pape, T Parker (S Hocking 66), J Lord (capt), T Rawlings (M Myerscough 51), T du Plessis (sin bin 25-35).

Replacements: (all used)

Tries - Fabian, Jess

Con -  Fabian

Yellow Cards - Du Plessis

Referee - R. Kitt (RFU)                       

Attendance -  4937

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