Cornish Pirates: Coach Alan Paver delighted by British and Irish Cup last-eight place

Cornish Pirates will travel to Ealing in the quarter finals of the British and Irish Cup

Cornish Pirates coach Alan Paver was impressed with the mentality of his side as they booked a place in the British and Irish Cup quarter-finals.

The Pirates ran in seven tries as they beat Hartpury 41-0 in a match that was moved from Penzance to Gloucestershire at one day's notice.

The game had been called off seven days earlier due to a poor pitch.

With bad weather again forecast for Cornwall, the RFU decided to reverse the tie in order to have it played.

Paver's men needed a bonus point to secure a place in the last eight and earned it with two tries each from Alex Day and Tom Duncan and further scores from Alex O'Meara, Nicolas Coronel and Tom Cowan-Dickie.

"We knew how important it was not only for us psychologically, but also for the club, and for us to get through we needed to score four tries," Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"They put out a decent side so they respected the challenge, but emotionally we were in the right palace and it showed in the performance."

Paver was full of praise for hooker for former Fiji international Sam Matavesi, who has played three times since joining the Pirates late last year.

Sam Matavesi won three caps for Fiji in 2013

"Here's a guy who hasn't played hooker for three years since he left Plymouth," he said.

"We've obviously had our issues trying to get him up to speed and we've been grateful for the effort he's put in and the performance he put in was magnificent.

"To see such a talented player like that stay mentally with it was really good to see."