Pirates hit back after left reeling 24-0 down
CORNISH Pirates, trailing 24-0 after conceding four high-speed tries in the opening 29 minutes, hit back to get within three points of Worcester’s second-string side.
The Warriors looked to be heading for a runaway victory but the Pirates showed their resolve to battle their way back into the match on the back of a determined forward display.
“There were a lot of new combinations and there was a lot of learning out there in both attack and defence but there are some easy fixes,” said joint head of rugby Alan Paver.
The Cornish pack, with Namibian prop Patrick Schickerling, on dual-registration from Exeter Chiefs, a forceful acquisition, more than held their own before forcing a backpedalling Worcester scrum to concede three second-half penalties.
But the early damage had been done as the high-speed Warriors backs cut their defence to shreds, running in four tries inside half an hour.
Four minutes in Morgan Monks and Jack Johnson combined to create the opener for Alex Hearle.
Another slick handling move produced the second for Gareth Simpson, Hearle put Jack Forsyth,below, over in the corner and James Shillcock bounced off Alex O’Meara to cross.
Two Finn Smith conversions made it 24-0 but Pirates showed their resolve to halt what looked like becoming a rout.
O’Meara responded by marking his 100th appearance for the Cornish club by grabbing an interception and racing 55 metres for a try converted by Arwel Roberts.
Pirates struck twice more in the second half with backs Arwel Robson, Carwyn Penny, Shae Tucker and Tommy Wyatt moving the ball at speed to send left-wing AJ Cant racing in.
Then Will Gibson, in his first match at No.8 for Pirates, burst
through two tackles to put Tucker in from close range and only a couple of over-anxious knockons stopped them from snatching victory over a wilting Worcester side.