By Dick Straughan
December 19 2006

Leeds Tykes will return home from Cornwall this evening hoping that dropped points against a surprisingly lacklustre Cornish Pirates do not cost them dearly next April. With 80 minutes played the Tykes leading 14-21 were moments from stealing the Pirates unbeaten home record, when replacement flanker Tim Cowley barged over from close range to set up an unlikely draw. Alberto Di Bernardo slotted a difficult conversion and then could have controversially won the match for the Pirates when Referee Copsey awarded a 50m penalty from the re-start. With rain teeming down upon a hushed Camborne crowd the kick was scuffed and the final whistle blown to scenes of rapturous relief amongst the Pirates players.

The match itself was a hard fought affair punctuated all too often by the whistle of Mr Copsey, which never allowed cohesive rugby from either side. Di Bernardo was the first to trouble the scorers with a long range penalty and then shortly afterwards missed with a similar attempt on goal. The Tykes responded with a flurry of counter attacks inspired by former Pirate Richard Welding. A minor altercation off the ball resulted in Sam Betty being banished from the field on the say-so of the Touch Judge and the Tykes turned up the heat. Resolute defence is always commendable but there is rarely a substitute for superior numbers and Leeds duly scored through Dunbar with Welding converting.

The Pirates clawed back to 6-7 with another Di Bernardo penalty, before an outrageous midfield dummy by Jonny Hepworth wrong-footed the entire home defence and allowed him a simple sprint home to score under the posts. Half time came shortly afterwards and the Pirates were in disarray.

Pirates Coach Jim McKay clearly imparted some blunt Aussie wisdom to his charges at the interval for the Pirates were much more aggressive after the break. Their first period of sustained pressure on the Leeds line yielded another try for the impressive Chris Cracknell and whilst the inconsistent Di Bernardo missed the conversion, the large home crowd were left more comfortable with the 11-14 deficit. The Tykes ability to disrupt the Pirates offensive patterns and their aggression in the loose soon handed them back the advantage when a deep defensive clearance from Welding set up a try for Andy Rock. A cruel infield bounce coupled with a flat-footed Pirates defence left Jonny Hylton marking four on-rushing Tykes. The score was inevitable and Leeds were suddenly rampant in pursuit of the bonus point.

The Pirates held firm and somehow repelled wave after wave of Leeds pressure. Gritty defence and individual offensive errors all combined as the tension around the Rec increased. With the mercurial Rhodri McAtee already lost to injury Pirates woes increased with the departure of skipper Gavin Cattle. Di Bernardo then found his range again with a penalty and there was but one score in it at 14-21. The Tykes rang the changes in a bid to seal the victory but never acheived the next score which would have surely killed off the home resistance.

With time up the Pirates backs inspired by Steve Winn ran helter skelter at the Leeds defence. Jonny Hylton was found in acres of space by a floated pass, and his infield run drew in the Tykes cover. Three quick-fire assaults by the supporting forwards later and Tim Cowley claimed the try as the Leeds defence stood in disbelief. Di Bernardo stood firm in the face of on-rushing Tykes to level the match.

An ensuing altercation led to the Pirates being immediately awarded a penalty at the restart much to the consternation of the Tykes players. A defeat would have been rough justice on them for they were the better side on the day. The Pirates will take the two points gratefully and now prepare for next weekends cracker against Plymouth Albion. With Doncaster`s win today at Nottingham this result has stopped Leeds from asserting their promotion credentials this side of Christmas. There are only four points between the top five teams and everything is still to play for. The Pirates will just be grateful to have have now played Leeds twice.


Pirates:- Roke, McAtee, Bell, Winn, Moore, Di Bernardo, Cattle (c), Evans, Betty, Cracknell, Beardshaw, Senekal, Heard, Ma`asi, Paver, REPS - Wells, Vinnecombe, Hylton, Cowley, Hobson, Makin, Seal