Championship Cup: Cornish Pirates boss Alan Paver upset by semi-final loss to Ealing

Cornish Pirates had beaten Jersey Reds in Jersey in the quarter-finals to earn their place in the last four

Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Alan Paver admitted his side were not good enough in their 58-26 Championship Cup semi-final loss at Ealing Trailfinders.

Despite leading 21-5 after 20 minutes, two yellow cards at the end of the first half saw a depleted Pirates side trail 27-21 at the break before conceding five second-half tries.

"It was a terrific start," 41-year-old Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"But over 80 minutes we were pretty much beaten in every department."

He continued: "It was very bitter to swallow that we couldn't even stay in the fight right until the end.

"We lost the aerial battle early, we lost the penalty count by a long way, and the game just imploded on us and we started to leak points around our won errors, which is not easy to take."

Ealing will face London Irish in the final, which will take place over the weekend of 3-5 May, with the exact date yet to be confirmed.