Cornish Pirates: Boss Alan Paver critical of his side after 17-15 Doncaster defeat

Cornish Pirates are now third in the Championship, five points off leaders Ealing

Cornish Pirates joint head coach Alan Paver was critical of his side after defeat at Doncaster ended their winning start to the Championship season.

A Tom Duncan score and a penalty try earned Pirates a 12-7 half-time lead, with Will Cargill's penalty extending the advantage after the interval.

But Conor Edwards' try after an hour and Sam Olver's 75th-minute penalty secured a 17-15 win for the Knights.

"We only have ourselves to blame," Paver told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"We had numerous opportunities to put ourselves ahead, to substantially change how the game was going to be played, and we didn't convert.

"We looked flustered at times, we went away from the gameplan and we weren't able to convert at crucial times.

"Doncaster stayed in the fight and they got what they deserved, but ultimately we did not do the best with the opportunities given to us."

The Pirates again gave away numerous penalties in the defeat, which was their first this season after a historic win over Saracens on the opening day before bonus-point victories over Richmond and Bedford.

They are third in the Championship and have a rest week before facing Ealing who, along with Doncaster, are one of only two sides with a perfect record of four wins from four thus far.

"We'll re-gather and we need to put in a monumental display at home against a very fine Ealing side," said Paver.

"But we're more than capable of it, we've done it before, we can do it again.

"But the one thing for sure is we're not going to get more goes at losing. For us to make these play-offs now we've got to make sure that we're at the top of our game for the rest of this regular season."