Cornish Pirates keep perfect Championship Cup record with 27-18 win over Ampthill

Cornish Pirates will hope they can use their good Championship Cup form to improve their seventh-placed position in the league

Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Gavin Cattle said he was impressed at how his illness-hit side "ground out" a third successive bonus-point win in the Championship Cup.

The 27-18 win over Ampthill put the Pirates nine points clear at the top of their pool with three games to play.

Shae Tucker and Max Norey's tries put Cattle's side 14-6 up at half-time.

Will Trewin scored shortly after the break before Arthur Relton's late try ensured another five-point win.

"Against this kind of opposition it's always going to ebb and flow, but I'm just happy how we stuck in the fight," Cattle told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"We've had a pretty tough week with illness in the camp, bugs going around and stuff, so I was a bit worried about our energy levels.

"But we stuck at it and we ground it out, and it looked like a ground-out performance. But five points, maximum points in the cup, and it's been a good exercise in terms of some of the players coming to the fore as well."