Cornish Pirates back in second after bonus-point win over Doncaster Knights

Cornish Pirates celebrate Tom Kessell's bonus-point try that kept them three points off leaders Ealing

Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Gavin Cattle hailed the physicality of his side as they overcame early adversity to beat in-form Doncaster 29-7.

The Pirates had Antonio Kiri Kiri and Rory Parata sin-binned in the opening 10 minutes with Alex Dolly scoring as the Knights took advantage.

But Tom Duncan and Tom Channon's tries saw the hosts in front at the break.

Channon added his second shortly after half time and Tom Kessell's touchdown soon after sealed a bonus point.

"The boys put as massive physical effort in," Cattle told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"There was a lot of errors from both sides, but in terms of the physicality, that was the most pleasing thing."

They moved back into second place in the Championship as Jersey Reds' game at Nottingham was called off because of Covid-19 cases at the East Midlands club.

The Pirates went into the game having seen a five-match winning streak ended at Jersey Reds, while Doncaster arrived in Penzance after beating leaders Ealing 22-5 in their previous fixture.

"We had a tough medicine to take last week at Jersey, we spoke about key moments and we knew the challenge that Doncaster posed," Cattle added.

"They had an outstanding win against Ealing, but we know after a big physical output like that you have to repeat, and that's the challenge in the Championship and I think that's where we have come on.

"Even last week the level of performance was good, conditions were difficult, but in terms of our preparation and mindset as a group we're getting that emotional level right and it's trying to keep that consistency."