Pirates scrum Irish into the mud at Mennaye
JOINT-COACH Alan Paver revealed that the Pirates had done absolutely no pre-match analysis on London Irish before pulling off an immense shock Cup victory over the Championship leaders.
Instead the Cornish side concentrated all their efforts on curing the setpiece problems and reducing the penalty count which have plagued them recently.
It paid off big-time as a tremendous forward effort enabled the Pirates, hammered 64-17 by Irish at the Madejski Stadium in the Cup last month, impressively to turn the tables.
Both teams had already qualified for the knockout stages but Paver said: “It was a fabulous win. The guys were up for it, they were hurting and put the work in.”
He kept his entire pack on the pitch for the full match and saw them power through the Mennaye mud, conceding only eight penalties.
Paver explained: “We knew we’ve had deficiencies in our setpiece so we scrummed and mauled every day, twice a day and it’s done the trick.”
Pirates went ahead after only six minutes. A strong run by Tom Duncan created an overlap for Kyle Moyle.
The Exiles moved in front when, following a lineout catch-and-drive, Matt Williams burst through to stretch over the line, leaving Stephen Myler an easy conversion.
But the home pack were causing the Championship leaders to defend throughout the first half. Fiji hooker Sam Matavesi was stopped just short after breaking clear off the back of a maul but the forward drive continued through several more phases until prop Jack Andrew – an immense presence all match – was driven over, with Will Cargill converting.
Pirates’ pack power produced their third try with a 15-metre rolling maul taking Tom Duncan over following a lineout.
The Exiles’ task got even harder when their former Pirates and Scotland flanker Blair Cowan was sent off in the 70thminute for a late, high challenge on full-back Kyle Moyle.
Irish director of rugby Declan Kiss, praising Pirates “for their commitment and intensity”, said: “We stuck at it for 80 minutes but we’ve learnt a lesson today.”