Cornish Pirates hope to take their chance to beat Saracens in Championship opener

Cornish Pirates beat Jersey Reds 26-13 in their only pre-season match

Cornish Pirates joint head coach Gavin Cattle says his side could cause an upset when they host Saracens.

The former English and European champions travel to Penzance for their first second-tier game following their relegation for breaching the Premiership's salary cap rules.

The Pirates won their only pre-season game when they beat Jersey last week.

"These chances don't come along very often, and we've turned over big teams at home before," Cattle said.

"The boys have prepared really well up to this point and it's going to be that level of emotion and taking the game to Sarries and not showing them too much respect on the field," he added to BBC Radio Cornwall.

• Saracens expect to 'have target on backs'

While Saracens will be without their England internationals, they will still be favourites to win at the Mennaye on Saturday and are odds-on with bookmakers to make an instant return to the top flight.

And Cattle is aware that his side will face one of their toughest-ever tests on the opening day of a truncated Championship season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"They're a quality outfit, you just have to look at their team sheet, their coaching staff, the experience they've got," he said.

"It's the ultimate challenge for us, but we know our surroundings, we know ourselves as players, as team-mates, especially during this lockdown period we've learnt a lot more about each other.

"It's about the boys fighting for each other, fighting for the badge, and not getting too emotional about it and staying composed.

"We've got to get that level of emotion right this week, just because it's Saracens, but it is just another game of rugby for us."