Could Richmond Halt the Pirates’ Winning Run This Saturday?

The Cornish Pirates return to the Mennaye Field on Saturday as they look to stretch their four match Championship winning run and hold on to their place in the top four. Richmond arrive for the 2.30pm kick off, with the visitors sitting tenth in the table.

The club will also welcome special guests Bill Sweeting, Chief Executive of the RFU, and Simon Gillham, Chair of the Tier 2 Board.

Richmond Back in the Championship

Richmond, known as The Mond, are back at this level after two seasons in National One. They have three wins to their name so far, including a 17-12 victory over Hartpury in their most recent outing.

Pirates Make Changes After Cambridge Win

The Pirates beat Cambridge 52-0 two weeks ago, and several changes have been made to the starting line up for this weekend.

Wing Arthur Relton, prop Alfie Petch and flanker Jack Forsythe return. Max Norey, on loan from Exeter Chiefs and already familiar to Pirates supporters after 19 previous appearances, starts at hooker.

Zack Wimbush is unavailable, but two players returning from injury, back rower Rory Suttor and centre Chester Ribbons, take places on the bench.

Coach Gavin Cattle’s Thoughts

Joint head coach Gavin Cattle said:

“It has been good to see progress on the things we have been working on, such as our kick game and line out, but we still have a lot of growth to go and need to maintain our focus, and with have a tough block of games ahead we’ll know afterwards where we are at.
“For the immediate present, after completing our first set of matches and having had a week off, we need now to be ready to go again, and we certainly won’t be taking anything for granted against a Richmond side who we respect. They are very spirited, have a set of talented backs and have worked their way back up, so credit to them. Also, having played at the Mennaye in the past, and having one or two players in their squad who have worn our shirt, they are fully aware of what to expect.
“But, importantly focusing back on us, we just need to continue improving in certain areas. The kick game has gone well and the line out is markedly better, but we need to improve in multi phasing. The exciting thing just now though is that we have boys coming back from injury and the competition for places will be hotting up, which is always a must.”

Team Line Up

Cornish Pirates Starting XV
15 Iwan Price Thomas
14 Matty Ward
13 Harry Yates
12 Joe Elderkin
11 Arthur Relton
10 Louie Sinclair
9 Dan Hiscocks (captain)
1 Billy Young
2 Max Norey
3 Alfie Petch
4 Charlie Rice
5 Alfie Bell
6 Josh King
7 Jack Forsythe
8 Tomi Agbongbon

Replacements
16 Matt Pritchard
17 Alessandro Heaney
18 James French
19 Milo Hallam
20 Rory Suttor
21 Will Rigelsford
22 Angus Mawson
23 Chester Ribbons

Officials
Referee: Ben Simpson
Assistants: Iain Kiy and Simon Adams
Official 4: Paul Box

Match Sponsors
Match Day Sponsor: Microcomms
Match Ball Sponsor: One Atlantek
Match Day Collection: The Ickle Pickles Children’s Charity

The match kicks off at 2.30pm on Saturday at the Mennaye Field.