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Cornish Pirates - Review of 2007
By Dick Straughan
December 31 2007
2007 has been arguably the most successful year in the history of the Cornish Pirates. The team formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn RFC has fought back from the brink of financial oblivion at the advent of the professional league structure, and now competes as one of the leading contenders in National Division One for a place in the Premiership. They also hold the EDF National Trophy to boot!

For the statto`s amongst you the Pirates record during 2007 in all competitions reads like this - Played 33, Won 26, Lost 7, Drawn 1, Points For 812, Points Against 567. Not a bad return in anyone`s book.

The year began unforgettably in the mud and horizontal sleet of a raging Camborne gale against Coventry. The team dug deep that day to win late on and in doing so showed the first signs of a dogged team spirit that would serve them so well in games to come. Newbury were dispatched a week later in the dying seconds as the travelling support roared home a fifteen man driving maul, and before we knew it the EDF CTrophy was underway with a 48-0 hammering of a Moseley second-string.

February was forgettable for a narrow defeat at Exeter`s new stadium but utterly memorable for the fantastic victory at Headingley in the next round of the cup. As blizzards brought the country to a predictable standstill, the Pirates and their fans braved a sub-zero Leeds on a Friday night to witness one of the greatest performances in the history of the club. The lead changed hands twice in second half stoppage time before Alan Paver scored a try and Alberto Di Bernardo broke home hearts with his last gasp conversion, edging the Pirates home by 18-17. Some fans were so cold and exhausted afterwards that they rested their faces in plates of hot curry!

Having survived their live debut on Sky Sports against Rotherham Titans and won another memorable cup tie at Doncaster, a place at Twickenham  was secured for the Trophy final following a nervy semi-final at home to Plymouth Albion. Graham Dawe`s boys led 8-9 with twenty minutes to go before a Jimmy Moore penalty and two  booming drop goals from Di Bernardo brought the house down.

Injuries piled up for Jim McKay as he prepared for the big day at HQ, and league form suffered as the Australian was forced to use every last player and permutation at his disposal. Albion gained revenge in the league and defeats also followed at Old Deer Park and on a Wednesday night at Bedford when Jonny Hylton scored THAT try!

Twickenham and the EDF Trophy Final was a truly special day for everyone connected with the Pirates. On a glorious day of unseasonal early April heat, the Pirates faced deadly rivals Exeter Chiefs in a midday kick-off. Excitement had reached fever pitch in Cornwall during the days building up to the match, and a large and vocal army of supporters had assembled from throughout the land.

Once again the Pirates staged another epic "Great Escape" as Exeter, leading 16-6, wilted during a ferocious final quarter. The metronomic boot of Di Bernardo and a fine try from Vili "the Mole" Ma`asi turned the tie on its head and claimed the silverware for Cornwall. The post-match party lasted weeks.

The season finished with two fine wins against Pertemps Bees and Coventry before the exhausted and bedraggled Pirates squad packed up for the summer break. Some favourite Pirates departed during the close season including the ever popular Vili Ma`asi and Alberto Di Bernardo (both Leeds Carnegie), and inspirational club captain Gavin Cattle (Scarlets).

Jim McKay and Dicky Evans were busy men as they recruited heavily for the new campaign, and the Pirates of 2007-2008 looked very different as they took the field for the season opener at Polson Bridge on September 1st. The Pirates were far too strong on the day for ND1 new-comers, the Cornish All Blacks, winning 26-12, but some in the crowd were unconvinced by the performance.

A huge match against Northampton followed a week later with a record crowd of 6,487 turning out to see the Pirates surrender a 19-10 half-time advantage eventually going down 26-35. The match was a cracker but a dismal performance at Coventry a week later had the critics out in force once again.

Despite comfortable wins against the Bees and Newbury a worrying lack of cohesion was apparent as the new squad took time to gel. Exeter were defeated in the battle of Camborne (30-23) as a spectacular late try from Jimmy Moore denied the best efforts of the Fatialofa brothers to fill the local Casualty department with broken Pirates.

A last gasp win against Bedford and a last ditch defeat to Nottingham re-ignited the inconsistencies within the squad as the Fans Forum hummed with discontent. The problems faced by Jim McKay and his boys were perfectly normal and understandable as they fought to find their form in an increasingly difficult league. The problem was that a bit of silverware had raised expectations enormously amongst those who paid to watch!  

November brought three wins from four with another epic at Doncaster`s Castle Park before a narrow 6-9 defeat in front of a huge crowd at Brickfields. Graham Dawe, that great nemesis of the Pirates, had struck again.

Yet as 2007 has drawn to its natural end there have been vastly encouraging signs from the new class of Pirates. A point echoed by McKay and his coaching staff.

After the tedium of watching a Moseley side who played for a nil-nil draw and went home empty handed, the Pirates flexed their muscles in the win at London Welsh. They cut loose against the Cornish All Blacks (43-12) and for twenty minutes at Franklins Gardens had Northampton firmly on the ropes. A record ND1 crowd of 12,868 went home largely happy as the Saints fought back to win 26-10, but the Pirates were not far off. An extra 10% of self-belief and ruthlessness may have laid waste the best plans of the Premiership wannabees.

And so the year fittingly concluded with an entertaining 36-21 home win against the team who started it all, Coventry. With a pack of forwards capable of dominating any opponent and lock Heino Senekal and skipper Tim Cowley in majestic form there are no problems in that department. The backs too are now starting to shine and McKay will be hoping for no repeats of the early season injury crisis as he aims to develop the levels of performance and consistency he craves.

Jim McKay has recently gone on record stating that he believes second place behind Northampton to still be a viable target for the Pirates. There is no reason to doubt him for the Pirates squad clearly have the ability to achieve this.

With plans to develop a purpose-built stadium already announced and an openly stated determination to have a serious crack at promotion to the Premiership next season, 2008 promises to be even more exciting for Pirates everywhere.

Happy New Year! 

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