Pirates take the points from Withycombe at Raleigh Park

Withy started well and enjoyed a decent amount of the possession, dealing with the big tackles well, but found themselves a man down after Danny Sansom was sent to the sin bin for what was judged to be a dangerous clear out from the ruck. Withy weathered the storm well though to avoid any points during that 10-minute period.

Withy’s defence stood strong until a Pirates’ catch and drive line out was set up, they used the strength of most of the side to maul the ball over the line and score. Penalties proved to be vital for the Cornishmen as they then made use of the ‘safety’ of a penalty advantage to pass long across the field six minutes later to draw open the gap and score their second for a 12-point lead on 31 minutes.

The Pirates added a third try early in the second half but Withy struck back and resumed the impressive level of play they had shown against a side who had secured promotion last week. A Withy catch and drive was well executed and with the maul inches from the whitewash, George Doughty launched forward to score in the corner.

The hosts began to tire a little and left patches of the field exposed, leading to two quick tries from Pirates Amateurs and a score-line, which now didn’t fully reflect the level of home effort.

Withycombe hadn’t finished though as with the hour mark approaching, two quick penalties for Withy in the opposing 22’ gave them a great opportunity and with the second of those penalties taken quickly, the play entered the 5m channel. Pirates attempted to strip the ball in the tackle, but it wasn’t won cleanly and with the ball landing in the hands of Mike Richards, he scored under the posts. Tom Cooke’s conversion topped up the points and improved the final score-line to 12-31.

Packs fighting for supremacy (Image: Adam Curtis)

Withycombe v Pirates (Image: Adam Curtis)

Exciting end to the rugby season (Image: Adam Curtis)