Prior to kick off and with the rain clouds gathering from the Atlantic, chatter at the bar wondered if a certain chap from across the Tamar may be considering a place on the bench for a cameo. It wouldn't have surprised anyone, as with the Albion smarting from a 1 point reverse to Bedford the week before, they must have fancied their chances of a swift backlash as each minute passed. And what better occasion to so do!

Just as well he didn't.

His charges proceeded to hog all the stats but could not apply that killer touch. Worse from their standpoint was that they looked increasingly unable as the Pirates pack repelled everything with quantifiable ease.

Time and again the men from Devonia flung themselves in with commendable gusto. At the breakdown everything would appear hunky dory even with Mr Roberts' extra 'blessing' and yet those blaggards Ward, McGlone and Morgan always seemed to be doing enough to thwart any Albion advancement.

Come Maul Time and the Pirates rarely needed to commit as many bodies to the fray; with 2-3 bigguns able to 'stand by'. Just in case. An observation best highlighted in the opening ten minutes of the second period as Plymouth desparately tried to out shove their way back into proceedings close to the Cornish line.

Twice they were not only repelled, but on both occasions they were turned over and sent scuttling back to their own half to think things through.

By this time they were 17-0 down and the writing as they say was already on the wall.

The omens suggesested such as early as the 5th minute as the simplest of penalties for Hallett only 15m out, didn't even begin to trouble the flag wavers. How fortunes in sport can turn in such a short space of time eh? Worth remembering perhaps when things aren't going so well?

Ten minutes later and that man Cook showed the way with a penalty hack of his own to reward the Pirates' first foray into the Albion half; let alone 22! The difference being that intent was backed up with imagination and variation when intitial plans are thwarted.

Further penalties from Kingdom on 16 & 19 minutes also required no particiapation from the scoreboard operators which must have sown increasing doubt with the visitors. A feeling that must have magnified further as a second serious attack from the hosts resulted in an attacking scrum deep in the 22.

As Cowan peeled off the back of a strong and forward moving set piece; the outcome was never in doubt. Cook did the rest from the tee and with only 2 notable passages of play to their name; the Pirates now lead by ten.

A third finally came two minutes from the break with the finest move of the game which first went left, and then back over towards the opposite flank with frightening ease. Bentley however decided it didn't need to go all the way over to Ice and his cronies in acres of space, as a sidestep and dip of the shoulder was all that was required to track a course to under the posts. Cook was never going to miss from there. 17-0.

The half ended as it started with Hallett missing a second pot from 35m although whether this and the other 3 misses resulted in his and Kingdom's withdrawals later on is perhaps coincidental.

How can one sum up the second period best?

Well as the rain came down harder and the pitch became even more like an ice rink, it is perhaps wise not to go into too much detail. The fact there wasn't much anyway helps.

Albion apparently had the ball; not that we could see it or distinguish too much who was on whose side until the replacements came on. But it didn't matter as Plan B on their gameplan just didn't exist; hence some very miserable looking fellahs in white (underneath the brown) with numbers 11-15 would testify.

Even when they did recover from the shock of seeing the pill, they were usually under too much pressure to gain any pleasure from the experience.

The clock ticked by all the same and it was the Pirates with their only serious incursion towards the marquee with it's beer, pasties and penchant for a singsong that threatened any further activity on the scoreboard. Bentley's crossfield kick in Ice's vicinity caused plenty of collywobbles and earned a Pirate lineout close to the 22 in the process.

The Man in the Middle nipped that one in the bud before it could bloom and all that remained was for Man of the Match McGlone to recklessly throw himself onto Hotson's fist to rub the sodium into Albions' gaping wounds with interest. Tylers reward being an early shower, cold at that and with no soap; but relief that Sir had shown restraint with the card colour.

Mission accomplished then even if a BP would have been an ideal. The double header with Bedford then takes on a greater importance. Not that it wasn't before their win over Bristol; but a couple of positive outcomes from they suddenly opens up a very big door indeed for this young and improving Pirates side. That one by one they keep signing on the dotted line for the future only highlights exciting times ahead.

Cornish Pirates 17
15 R. Cook 14 A. Havili 11 N. Jackson
13 P. Devlin 12 M. Ireland 10 J. Bentley 9 G. Cattle (capt)
8 B. Cowan 7 S. Betty 6 C. Morgan
5 B. Gulliver 4 L. McGlone 3 A.Paver 2 D. Ward 1 C. Rimmer.

Replacements: 16 Ryan Storer 17 R. Elloway 18 S. Franklin 19 M. Evans 20 M. Myerscough 21 Tom Luke 22 R. McAtee.

Tries: Cowan, Bentley
Cons: Cook 2
Pen: Cook

REFEREE: Llyr APGERAINT ROBERTS (Nottinghamshire)
TOUCH JUDGE 1: Nigel HIGGINSON (Devon)
TOUCH JUDGE 2: Lloyd JACKSON (Taunton)
No.4: Luke PEARCE (Devon)

Man of the Match: L. McGlone

Attendance: 2849