Pirates Named for ‘Albion’ Encounter

To complete their pre-season the Cornish Pirates will cross the River Tamar on Saturday to face old rivals Plymouth Albion.

Thus far both sides have tasted victory in friendly matches played. The Pirates won 44-7 away to Aberavon Wizards and 29-21 at home to Exeter Chiefs, whilst Plymouth Albion followed up a 21-19 result against Bedford Blues with a 54-21 win against Exeter University.

For Saturday’s encounter Matt Evans has been named skipper of a much-changed Cornish Pirates side from the one that started against the Chiefs. Coach Gavin Cattle has commented:

We are under no illusions, this will be a tough game and one that provides a different mental challenge.

A lot of changes have been made this week, giving players a chance to fight for the shirt and selection against Doncaster Knights next weekend (see ‘Footnote’ below).

Plymouth Albion have a tight-knit group who work hard together so it is going to be physical test up front. They also apparently bullied the Bedford attack which’ll provide a challenge for us in terms of the collision area. Having said that, however, the boys are looking forward to it and will aim to build upon last week’s performance.

Footnote:

Following the match against Exeter Chiefs, Cornish Pirates’ COO Robin James said:

We would like to thank all our fans and sponsors for a terrific night last Friday. It was memorable for many reasons and we hope you all had a good time and enjoyed the great performance our team put on.

Ticket sales are going well for our first league match of the season against Doncaster Knights, so thank-you to all those who have already bought tickets. Your support made a huge difference to help our team beat the Exeter Chiefs and keep a clean sheet in the second half and we will need your support again to ensure we get our Championship season off to a flyer. Please bring a friend and help fill the Mennaye once more!