PERTEMP BEES 8pts CORNISH PIRATES 17pts

DESPERATELY disappointed after losing at home to Plymouth Albion in a match that was anything but a pre-Christmas cracker, the Cornish Pirates bounced back with a morale-boosting away win against Pertemp Bees.

Seventh-placed in the league, and satisfied with scoring four tries in their 22-16 points win against Coventry on Boxing Day, a hard fought encounter was surely likely at Sharmans Cross Road, Solihull.

The Pirates made four changes, all in the pack, from the side that started against Plymouth Albion. Tim Cowley and Iva Motusaga were slotted into the back-row alongside Stan McKeen, Nick Makin was selected at hooker, and Grant Anderson took the place of stalwart loose-head prop Alan Paver who is nursing a shoulder injury.

It was likely to be a case of hard graft all afternoon, the wet surface making it inevitable that any fluency in play would be limited.

Both sides slugged it out in the mud, Bees' fly-half Jon Higgins endeavouring to push the Pirates back with kicks to the corners, while occasionally the Pirates gave the game a risky edge by trying to spread the ball wide, perhaps in the hope that if a couple of early tries were achieved then a useful bonus point might be in their range..

Midway through the first period the first points of the match were scored, but they went to the Bees. Full-back Duncan Roke had made a vital tackle to put a halt to one rare display of enterprise from the home side, but after his opposite number John Goodridge, a gifted former Gloucester full-back, kicked over and behind the Pirates defence wing Matt Nuthall followed up to chase for a try that centre Brad Davies was unable to convert.

It was clear from the Pirates determined focus that to them this game was not to be the banana skin envisaged by some and the efforts of the Cornish side were rewarded just before the break. From a good scrummage platform the ball reached the alert Barratt who made good ground into the Pertemps Bees half, an off load finding fellow centre Duncan Bell who had No. 8 Tom Cowley in support to cross for a deserved try. Di Bernardo added the conversion and the Pirates arrived at the interval 7-3 up.

Both sides came out wearing clean shirts for the second half and it was felt that to date the Pirates had been slightly the better side with Roke an outstanding performer once more, and were deserving of their narrow lead.

The Pirates were hoping for a good start and they were in luck. A fumbled ball by Goodridge was chased down, the pack responded to seize the opportunity to apply clinical forward momentum with a driving maul that took them to the line and Cowley emerged as the try-scorer once more. Di Bernardo again added the important extras.

The Pirates kept possession for long periods, doing all they could to further breakdown the Bees defence, it looking a lost cause as time marched on in the muddied slop.

A penalty by Davies raised the stakes and the tension mighty as play entered the last quarter.

Approaching full-time the Bees mounted a final siege on the Pirates line, opting for a catch and drive to give them the chance of a seven-pointer needed for victory. A clean take and assertive nudge to the line would make it difficult to hold, but the Pirates appeared to pinch possession. But the referee awarded another penalty to the Bees, with another catch and drive just inevitable at a finitely crucial point of the game. Thankfully, and to the palpable relief of their followers on the touchlines, the Pirates not only managed to win back possession but also took play to the other end of the field where a penalty chance was now theirs, Di Bernardo's late strike securing a very worthy end of the year win on the road.

Pertemps Bees: J. Goodridge, R. Spee (F. Martin 48), D. Knight, B. Davies, M. Nuthall, J. Higgins (S. Petty 80), M. Baxter, W. Matthews (L. Halavatau 40), A. Qera (D. Miller 80), D. Tuohy, M. Cornwall , A. Davidson, E. Lewis (N. Fowkes 62), M. Miles (S. Pearl 72), M. Long. Replacement (not used): M. George.

Cornish Pirates: D. Roke, R. McAtee, H. Barratt (A. Winnan 72), D. Bell, J. Hylton, A. Di Bernardo, G. Cattle , T. Cowley (C. Cracknell 68), I. Motusaga (M. Evans 80), S. McKeen, J. Beardshaw, H. Senekal, S. Heard (D. Seal 57), N. Makin (V. Ma'asi 58), G. Anderson. Replacements (not used): J. Moore, S. Winn.

Referee: Mr. Richard Draper (RFU).

Attendance: 612.