Cornish Pirates Eye Five Straight Wins in Final 2024 Clash at Ampthill

Cornish Pirates Set to End the Year on a High

The Cornish Pirates are gearing up for a thrilling conclusion to their 2024 campaign as they travel to face Ampthill on Sunday. With four consecutive league wins under their belt, the team is determined to notch up a fifth victory at Dillingham Park, where kick-off is scheduled for 1:30pm.

This Round 10 fixture sees sixth-placed Cornish Pirates take on ninth-placed Ampthill in what promises to be an exciting Championship encounter. The squad has made just two changes from the side that secured a 19-14 home win against Doncaster Knights last weekend.

Team Changes and Key Player Milestone

Following an injury to Matt McNab in the previous match, Will Trewin moves from full-back to wing, while Iwan Price-Thomas is set to take on the number 15 jersey. In the pack, Josh King joins Lewis Pearson in the second row.

For flanker Will Gibson, this match marks a special milestone—his 80th appearance for the Cornish Pirates before he departs for Australia. Meanwhile, Will Rigelsford steps in as a replacement scrum half, covering for the injured Cam Jones.

Coach Highlights Challenges and Preparations

Speaking ahead of the clash, Cornish Pirates coach Joe Walsh emphasised the importance of focus amidst the festive season distractions.

“We have had a good run of results but, as ever, will be taking nothing for granted ahead of this weekend. Ampthill can be a tricky place to visit, as we have found in the past, and their side is one difficult to predict. Also, despite inevitable Christmas disruption, it has been important that we strive to prepare best can.

“For us, winning four on the bounce has certainly been a good set of results, but they haven’t come easy, and we had to work for them in different ways and in difficult conditions. We have also battled with injuries and with forced changes but having set out to achieve certain areas of our game at the beginning of the season, we have been very happy where progress has been made.”

Starting Line-Up and Replacements

The Cornish Pirates’ squad for Sunday is as follows:

Cornish Pirates:   15 Iwan Price-Thomas 14 Arthur Relton 13 Charlie McCaig 12 Harry Yates 11 Will Trewin 10 Bruce Houston 9 Dan Hiscocks; 1 Billy Young 2 Harry Hocking 3 Alfie Petch 4 Josh King 5 Lewis Pearson 6 Martin Moloney 7 Will Gibson 8 Hugh Bokenham (captain).

Replacements:   16 Sol Moody 17 Oisin Michel 18 James French 19 Matt Cannon 20 Tomi Agbongbon 21 Will Rigelsford 22 Robin Wedlake 23 Chester Ribbons.

Can They Make It Five?

The Cornish Pirates have shown resilience and adaptability in the face of injuries and challenging conditions this season. With Ampthill known to spring surprises at their home ground, fans will be eager to see if the Pirates can close out the year with another hard-fought victory.