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Following the postponement of the Cornish Pirates v Hartpury RFC British &Irish Cup Match on 20th January, due to the pitch being deemed too dangerous to play, the RFU Organising Committee stipulated that the game had to be played on the weekend 2/3/4 February.
On Friday 2 February a pitch inspection was carried out by an independent official and the condition of the pitch was considered borderline playable, however, considering the forecast of more rain for 3 February, the RFU deemed that it was unlikely that the pitch would be of the standard required to play on the 3 Feb.
Following dialogue with the RFU requesting the possibility of determining, through the pitch inspection protocol, if the pitch would be playable on Sunday or, as the weather forecast was better for Sunday and Monday, if the match could be played on Monday evening, the RFU turned down both requests. The RFU’s B&I Cup organising committee has stipulated that the game should take place at Hartpury on Saturday 3 February with kick-off at 4pm. Hartpury have offered free admission to the game.
The Cornish Pirates had requested that it should be played on the next Championship reserve/rest weekend of 23/24/25 February, over a month before the quarter finals are due to be played. This would allow more certainty of the game taking place as the forecast is that the weather will be much improved in February. The Cornish Pirates believe that we have made every effort to find a suitable alternative RFU Minimum Ground Standard pitch that would accommodate the match during the stipulated period.
We have also offered several other alternatives to have the match played at our home ground for a crucial B&I Cup fixture to determine if the Cornish Pirates could reach the quarter finals, therefore, The Cornish Pirates reluctantly have had to comply with the directive of the Organising Committee, cede home advantage and will travel to Hartpury to fulfil the fixture.
Refunds for this game will be available from the ticket office between 0900 and 1200 from Wednesday 7th February. Season ticket holders will be paid in cash irrespective of method of payment, purchases from the ticket office will also be paid in cash. On-line purchases will be automatically refunded (excluding season tickets holders as above).