Cornish Pirates 39 Doncaster 32: Knights close to stealing victory but Pirates are able to hang on

The Knights missed the chance to grab a draw as PJ Gidlow knocked-on over the line in the last play as the visitors, transformed from the previous week’s defeat by Bristol, rallied in a second-half performance that left the former Cornish Pirate Davey with plenty of positives to take into the Moseley match.

“The second-half performance was probably one of my proudest moments in rugby,” said the Knights’ director of rugby.

“The players took it upon themselves to work it out and they could have grabbed us a draw with the last play.

“It was tinged with a hint of sadness, but we can all be proud of what we achieved down here. We are still learning as a team and the signs are very positive.

“We need to be consistent for 80 minutes, but we are improving and the lads deserve credit for their fight. We will look at the video in the week and hopefully correct the errors we incurred and build for the future.

“Everything went wrong in the first half, but we didn’t drop our heads even though the odds were stacked against us.”

The Knights started the stronger, showing a new brand of flair in attack as Gidlow peppered the Cornish midfield. Ill-discipline at the breakdown allowed Whitehead to open the scores at a blustery Mennaye Field.

But the Pirates would not lie down as an immediate response through the boot of full-back Rob Cook equalled the scores before a blistering 50-metre dash from centre Drew Locke unlocked the Knights defence.

Doncaster held a lot of possession but lacked the cutting edge as the game became a scrappy affair with mistakes on both sides. The Knights showed glimpses of quality as Whitehead’s break nearly breached the Cornish line as Bowden was tackled just short.

Gidlow and Luke seemed an entirely different entity to last week as they orchestrated Knights’ best attacks. The pressure finally told as Burke-Flynn profited from a well-worked set-piece to roll over in the corner from a driving maul.

The Knights’ concentration again faltered as Locke scored his second try of the match as the Yorkshiremen failed to organise their defence from a quick-tap penalty. Cooke this time added the conversion for the home side.

Doncaster were proving tougher to beat than Pirates expected, as summer acquisition Michael Keating threatened with ball in hand before shooting his final pass wide of the supporting Dougie Flockhart.

The Knights did not have to wait long for their next points as Whitehead slotted a 42-metre penalty. But, yet again, the wandering Knights defence came under heavy scrutiny with second row Ian Nimmo going over in the corner as Pirates executed a two- man overlap.

The Knights lacked a decision maker in the final quarter as chances were thrown away, unlike their opposition as former Leeds flyer David Doherty raced over from the 10-metre line to push the hosts further ahead.

Michael Noone was unfortunately forced to withdraw on 38 minutes with a twisted knee, suspected to be dislocated which will rule him out for the long-term.

Pirates were quick out of the blocks moments later as another former Leeds man Ceiron Thomas finished off a glorious team try to make it 36-11 at half-time.

The interval appeared to lift the Knights as Gidlow charged down a clearance to dive over the try line shortly afterwards. A flurry of substitutions appeared to change the tide as former Cornish favourite Tom Luke stepped into the No 10 jersey and slotted the conversion.

The Knights were controlling every play by this point as Luke and Gidlow ordered the troops into actions. Doncaster did not let up with eight phases in the 22, but lost the crucial scrum yards out.

David McIlwaine then benefitted from a great set-piece move to dance his way over the line and, again, the conversion was added. in a positive second-half performance, the Pirates increased their lead again with a penalty after the visitors were penalised for a controversial offside.

As Doncaster increased the pressure, Dave Ward was sin-binned as Knights controlled the line-out, forcing the Pirates to illegally bring down a lineout.

After another, David Bradford went over the line on his debut and, once Luke had converted, the score was 39-32.

Gidlow then had a chance to level with his storming run through the middle, but dropped the ball over the line under pressure and the Pirates were able to hold on.

Cornish Pirates: R Cook, R McAtee, G Pointer, D Locke, D Doherty, C Thomas, J Doherty (capt), B Cowan, P Burgess, D Ewers, I Nimmo, L McGlone, A Paver, R Elloway, R Storer. Replacements: L. Fairbrother (Storer 64), D Ward (Elloway 70), M Myerscough (McGlone 62), C Walker-Blair (Ewers 70), G Cattle (J. Doherty 66), T Cooper (Locke 62), W Davies.

Doncaster Knights: D McIlwaine, D Flockhart, T Luke, P Gidlow, M Keating, M. Whitehead, L Audis, M Noone, D Bradford, A Boyde, G Kenworthy, M Challinor (capt), R Burke-Flynn, S Boden, S Corsar. Replacements: Andy Brown (Corsar 66), Alex Brown (Burke-Flynn 60), J Yeandle (Boden 57), D Parsons (Noone 38), Z Farivarz, C Hallam (Audis 40), O Goss (Whitehead 40).

Referee: D Gamage (RFU).