THE Pirates picked up a potentially crucial bonus point in their quest for the play-offs as they ran the runaway league leaders close in South West London.

The Cornishmen started the day sixth in the table with just three games remaining, but were forced to make a number of changes from their victory over Chinnor with Tomi Agbongbon, Matt Cannon and Harry Yates with not permitted to play against their parent club.

Exeter Chiefs loanees – centre Harry Ascherl and lock Oscar Beckerleg came into the starting XV, while fly-half Ben Coen, like Beckerleg an England Under 20s international, who also arrived from Sandy Park during the week, was named on a bench which also included a return for scrum-half Orson James.

On a fine April afternoon at the Sports Ground, it was the home side who opened the scoring in the fourth minute. From a scrum the ball was moved swiftly right to enable explosive winger Toby Cousins to dive and score in the corner.

Both sides made errors, but the Pirates were sound defensively, with hooker Morgan Nelson making a stand-out thumper of a tackle.

When an opening score for the Cornish side came, it followed a penalty award and a kick to the left corner by fly-half Arwel Robson. The obvious choice was a ‘catch and drive’ which concluded when lock Milo Hallam scored a try that was converted by Robson.

Another Pirates’ player standing out at this stage was flanker Rory Suttor, who was doing much good work as he and his colleagues comfortably matched their opponents who went in at the break 7-5 behind.

The Trailfinders were still not looking like table-toppers after the restart, and they soon lost the services for 10 minutes of their South African hooker Mike Willemse. It was a chance for the Pirates to extend their lead, and after replacement hooker Matt Pritchard directed his line-out throw to former Penzance & Newlyn youth graduate Beckerleg, and the backs then joined forwards on a speedy advance to the line, it was Pritchard who scored an unconverted try.

There was a setback for the Pirates when Robson was shown a yellow card, and on the hour mark Collins scored wide out on the left. It was as if the home side had lit a spark to brighten up their play.

Further tries followed for Irishman Conor Oliver, lock Sean Lonsdale and Willemse, the second of which Scannell converted, before Pirates’ Sol Moody registered his 15th try of the season. Fellow replacement Coen added the extras.

Cousins next scored his second try of the afternoon for the Trailfinders, which was converted by replacement George Worboys, and this was followed by Pirates’ fourth try, scored by wing Matty Ward after he made an interception some 70 metres out. Coen once again landed the conversion.

With time all but up, it was Trailfinders’ back-rower David Douglas Bridge, who made two appearances for the Pirates a couple of years back, who scored the game’s final try at the posts. Worboys’ conversion made it 41-26.

CORNISH PIRATES: Price-Thomas; Relton, Ribbons, Ascherl, Ward; Robson, Becconsall; Young, Nelson, Petch; Hallam, Beckerleg; Suttor, Forsythe, Everett (capt). Replacements: Pritchard, Andrews, Woodmansey, Stevens, Moody, James, Coen, Mawson.

Tries: Hallam, Pritchard, Moody, Ward; Convs: Robson, Coen (2); Pens: N/A.