Cornish Pirates: Late disappointment against Cambridge

It was Cambridge’s co-captain Lewis Grimoldby who kicked the game off.

Skipper Hugh Bokenham opened the scoring, converted by fly-half Bruce Houston, and against the run of play - 7-0 to the Pirates.

Sadly, it was a lead that did not last long, as Cambridge levelled matters thanks to a try by centre Sam Hanks and a conversion kicked by Grimoldby.

To add to the Pirates' woes, Everett departed the field injured, replaced by Tomi Agbongbon.

Morgan Nelson in action against Cambridge (Image: Brian Tempest) Cambridge applied sound pressure at scrum time, and with Ruaridh Dawson directing matters they looked to threaten once more.

Hema had been denied a score early on, but he made it to the line for an unconverted try.

Thankfully, the Pirates managed to level the scores at 12-all before the break, thanks to an unconverted try by Will Gibson.

Into the second period, an early defensive error by the Pirates gifted the hosts a penalty opportunity, to which Grimoldby stepped forward to successfully kick and give his team the lead.

The Pirates responded well, as after play was taken inside Cambridge’s 22, it was another converted try of the match for Bokenham.

Play was evenly contested for a spell, but into the last quarter, good play from Cam Jones and Joe Elderkin led to the Pirates opening up a seven-point lead thanks to a penalty by Iwan Jenkins.

Hopes were high to hold out for victory but, after Agbongbon was shown a yellow card, it wasn’t to be.

Firstly, a converted try for Seb Brownhill drew the scores level, and then, in the 80th minute, replacement hooker Archie Vanes’ converted try delivered a buoyant Cambridge side their bonus point win.

For the deflated Pirates, they had to settle for a losing bonus point.

Speaking at the end of the match, Cornish Pirates’ joint head coach Gavin Cattle said: "We unfortunately pressed the self-destruct button near the end and it’s all about fine margins, though I felt Cambridge deserved their win regardless."