Cornish Pirates: Seven-game winning run to end season hailed by coach Alan Paver

Cornish Pirates had not finished in the Championship's top four for six years

Cornish Pirates coach Alan Paver has hailed his side after their end-of-season winning run clinched fourth place in the Championship.

The Pirates beat second-placed Ealing 39-25 after running in five tries at the Mennaye to register their seventh successive league victory.

It is their best placing since they finished third in 2012 and lost the play-off final to London Welsh.

"To win seven games in-a-row takes some doing," Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"The spirit from the guys is second-to-none, we've got a real family feel here.

"The guys will live and die for each other and we talked about what does it take to get off the floor one more time for each other."

The Pirates lost five of their first six matches this season, but have not lost in the league since a 18-17 reverse at Nottingham on 16 February.

"At the beginning of the season we lost six or seven of our more established guys so we were fighting for cohesion and on reflection the beginning of the season was tough," added Paver.

"I've learnt a lot this season, it's not all been plain sailing and some of our best learning has come from those difficult times.

"We know what it's like to be at the bottom, we know what it's like to dig deep, we know what it's like to stay on course when internally you're screaming and you don't know where to turn.

"To come out of that and get seven wins in the league, what a fantastic feeling."