Cornish Pirates beat London Scottish 34-31 despite missing key players

The win saw Cornish Pirates move into the Championship's top five

Cornish Pirates coach Gavin Cattle has praised his patched-up side as they won 34-31 at the Championship's bottom side London Scottish.

As well as injuries Pirates have lost the likes of Tommy Wyatt and Rus Tuima to parent club Exeter Chiefs for the Premiership Cup final at London Irish.

"It's been a struggle this week with player availability," Cattle said.

"We had Ollie Atkins, a prop, cover at six and Ben Grubb coming in on Tuesday and making his debut.

"Jared Hayler played for the Navy on Wednesday and doubled up today.

"We were 15 on five at points in the week and we were a bit worried about getting a 23 out, so I'm just chuffed with the character."

Tries from Will Trewin and Will Crane put Pirates 14-0 up in the first half before the hosts levelled, only for Harry Bazelgette's penalty to give the Cornish side the lead at half-time.

AJ Cant made it 24-14 early in the second half, but a third Scottish try and penalty levelled the scores.

Hayler crossed for a bonus point try with 11 minutes left and a second Bazelgette penalty made it 34-24 with two minutes to go.

Luke Mehson got a last-minute try - his second of the game - to secure two losing bonus points for the hosts.

"People look at Cornish Pirates versus London Scottish and say, 'oh they're bottom of the table, they should win that', the reality was this was one of our toughest games," Cattle added to BBC Radio Cornwall.

"We took our chances, our set-piece gave us another foothold in the game, especially lineout this week, so we'll take five points on the road."

The victory moves the Cornish Pirates up to fifth place in the Championship table.