Thank you to our friends at Pirates for providing us with Wolls match report and photo. Cornish Pirates 14 Leeds Carnegie 14
RFU Championship Play-Offs Round 1
Saturday 10th March 2012
Woll's Match Report
Despite the fine, spring like conditions providing the ideal back drop for this first round of the play offs; the feeling at the end of proceedings was one of disappointment in the Pirate camp.
The significance of having parked themselves into a second spot berth with their fourth draw of the season was lost as a rule. A feeling confirmed post match, by an underwhelmed Chris Stirling who was clearly un-impressed with just about every aspect of his side’s overall performance.
The prospect of heading up to Goldington Road in the immediate aftermath consequently looks rather daunting. Throw in yet another back, in the shape of Tom Cooper, booked in to the treatment room after his 55 th minute withdrawal for what appears to be knee ligament damage; and suddenly that hill in Bedford suddenly takes on Matterhorn proportions.
We knew it would be tough today and deal closer than when the sides last clashed here in Cornwall back in September. The narrow loss at Headingley in December further backed this pre match assessment; but with the Pirates unable to really function anywhere near their best, Leeds were in no small way let off the hook.
And yet it was the Yorkshiremen who were out of the blocks quickest with the first of Ford’s three penalties, handing them the opening score with less than two minutes on the clock.
The Pirates quickly responded and threatened from the restart to redress this early setback. Kessell’s impeding off the ball was spotted by touch judge, Mr Parker-Sedgemore, who alerted Mr Knowles immediately of the indiscretion.
Bizarrely, Penberthy had to await finding touch, whilst the eagle eye man on the side-line rather sheepishly trotted back towards the end that the Pirates were playing towards; intent as he was to check out the Old Western National Corner instead.
It mattered little however as Pointer then stormed into the Scoreboard Corner shortly after to get the Pirates on the board. Cook duly made it seven with his conversion, from the exact same spot he’d missed from with a penalty attempt just before.
The lead didn’t last for long however as, with errors creeping into both sides’ performances, Leeds pounced after some good work by the impressive Barrow created the space for McColl to canter in at the Newlyn Gate Corner, for what was to be their only try of the afternoon.
Ford’s sighting this time wasn’t in gear and so a point in it was how it was to remain until the break. This due mainly to a catalogue of poor decision making by the home side and this regardless of their pack’s overwhelming superiority at the scrum.
Leeds’ insistence on slowing down play that was already at a snail’s pace, didn’t help either. But then with points on the road likely to be a deciding factor; why not?
Just as well then that Pointer’s sliced kick directly into touch finally brought a frustrating half to its natural and apt conclusion.
At the resumption, it was the hosts who this time began the most sprightly winning as they did a string of penalties that put them well into the visitors 22 on a couple of occasions.
The Yorkshire pack wobbled in tandem, but with Burrows bailing them out on more than one occasion, they survived this spell with their lead intact. Penberthy’s deflected drop goal attempt being the nearest the Cornishmen got to taking the initiative back.
To their credit the Pirates didn’t let heads drop and having remained without any points for the thick end of fifty minutes; the momentum finally fell into their hands.
Kessell came agonisingly close with a piercing run that fell a couple of metres short and the next spell of pressure had begun.
Up stepped the forwards who then battered their opposite numbers with a succession of scrums that finally wore Mr Knowles’s patience thin.
The recently introduced Denton invitation to get straight back off, was the first sign of the officials impatience. The penalty try was the next, and with the one man advantage the game was surely for the taking.
If only. No sooner were their noses in front and the scent of an important win up the proverbial nostrils, then Ford had levelled things with his side’s only real other contribution to the game.
Level pegging it had to be then, and so it remained as the Pirates huffed and puffed before finally creating one last chance for Pointer to win it from 53 metres out.
It wasn’t to be and perhaps given some of the inaccuracy on display this was perhaps the fitting way to end a below par game all round.
Maybe Ward’s and Young’s post match exchange of words bodes at least for a much more up to scratch return at Headingley next month. We certainly hope so although as the cliché bangs on about: ”there’s an awful lot of rugby to be played before then”. More perhaps than was on display today!
Cornish Pirates
15 R. Cook 14 T. Kessell 13 G. Pointer 12 T. Cooper (22 A. Suniula 55mins) 11 M. Evans 10 A. Penberthy (21 C. Thomas 74mins) 9 G. Cattle (capt) 8 K. Marriott (19 B. Maidment 50mins) 7 C. Morgan 6 D. Ewers (20 P. Burgess 50mins) 5 I. Nimmo 4 M. Smith 3 A. Paver (L. Fairbrother 67mins) 2 D. Ward 1 C. Rimmer(18 P. Andrew 65mins)
Replacements: un-used 17 T. Cowan-Dickie
Tries: Pointer, Penalty
Cons: Cook 2
Leeds Carnegie
15 S. McColl 14 M. Stephenson (22 J. Davies 20mins) 13 I. Thornley 12 S. Barrow 11 P. Lucock 10 J. Ford 9 W. Cliff 1 S. Lockwood (18 D. Young 49mins)( 3 H. Aulika 78min) 2 A. Titterrell (c) (16 P. Nilsen 44mins) 3 H. Aulika (17 G. Denman 55mins) 4 J. Pendlebury (20 D. Paul 61mins) 5 D. Hemingway (19 T. Denton 45mins) 6 E. Williamson 7 J. Rowan 8. R. Burrows
Replacements: un-used 21 C. Hampson
Tries: McColl
Pens: Ford 3
Yellow: Denton
Match Officials
Referee: Paul Knowles
Assistants: Richard Parker- Sedgemore, Michael Tutty
Official 4: Andy Bickle
Assessor: Jerry Wallis
Attendance: 1953
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