Cornish Pirates 'deserve all the accolades' as season draws to a close

Defeat at Ealing last week ended Cornish Pirates hopes of winning a first-ever Championship title

Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Alan Paver has paid tribute to his side as they prepare to end their season.

Pirates are guaranteed third place in the Championship going into their final game of a Covid-19 affected campaign.

"I look back over the Covid period, where we lost a lot of our senior guys and the squad changed," he said.

"But those guys that managed to tough it out through that period are the same guys that today have been performing so fantastically week in week out."

Had the Pirates beaten top-of-the-table Ealing last week they would be one win away from topping the second tier for the first time in their history - although they have already got third place secured, and could finish second should Doncaster lose at Nottingham on Friday.

"We stuck together, we rode it out, those guys have done some incredible things to get to this point and they deserve all the accolades," Paver added to BBC Radio Cornwall.

"Yes we would have liked to have gone one further and won the league, but I'm extremely proud in the way they've conducted themselves over the last two seasons."

Pirates could go unbeaten at home for the first time in the second tier should Ampthill fail to beat the Penzance-based side on Saturday.

The 11-team season began in September, following a shortened campaign in 2021, as the country emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The club still has a two-legged Championship cup tie against Doncaster to play, with the possibility of further matches if they progress.

But Paver says he and his players will welcome a more normal summer break after the difficulties of last season.

"I speak to a lot of the coaches and I think the Covid years and now this league, because it's stop-start, has been so mentally and physically taxing.

"Yes we should wake up every day and be blessed that we're involved in something we're passionate about.

"But there is fatigue right now, and I think once this cup match is finished everybody just wants to take a deep breath, have a few weeks to rest their minds and then return to normality."