Cornish Pirates battle Storm Ciara to beat Doncaster 27-10 in the Championship

Callum Patterson has scored three tries in his last two games for the Cornish Pirates

Cornish Pirates coach Alan Paver hailed his side's first-half showing as they battled the effects of Storm Ciara to beat Doncaster 27-10 at the Mennaye.

Despite playing into a gale-force wind in the first half, Callum Patterson scored two tries and Alex O'Meara added a third as the Pirates established a 17-3 lead at the interval.

And Patterson and O'Meara crossed again after the break to seal the win.

"In the early exchanges we just blew them out on their feet," Paver said.

"I thought there was a lot of control, in there, a lot of discipline.

"I think the game plan was executed relatively well and there was a lot of energy in there, so all in all I'm very pleased."

The win kept the Pirates in third place in the Championship, a point behind second-placed Ealing but 13 off runaway leaders Newcastle.

"It did get a little bit fragmented towards the end, but that's to be expected," Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"But I thought we were pragmatic with how we approached the second half, we squeezed them tight, I felt we deserved our bonus point.

"The game didn't get going in the second half, but we did what we needed to do."