Cornish Pirates boss Gavin Cattle 'gutted' at 20-18 Bedford loss

Cornish Pirates beat London Scottish 21-0 in their opening game of the Championship season before their loss to Bedford

Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Gavin Cattle says his young side had the chance to win as they lost 20-18 at home to Bedford in the Championship.

The Pirates had got the game back to 13-13 before Sean French scored what proved to be the winning try with five minutes to go at the Mennaye.

Harry Dugmore scored with the final play of the game to secure a losing bonus point for Cattle's side.

The loss leaves Pirates mid-table in the Championship after two games.

Pirates trailed 13-13 after an hour before Morgan Belson's try and a second Iwan Jenkins penalty brought the scores level.

"I'm pretty gutted because I think we were in a position to do something there after that score where we brought it back to a draw," Cattle told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"You look at the try they scored, it came form a loose ball from a scrum, another gift really, so in that respect we can look at our defence, apart from that last kick try, and go there was a big tick in the box in terms of attitude, the will to get off the floor for your team-mate and dominance in defence.

"The limited attack we had we did look dangerous, so we just needed to be a bit more clinical with those possessions."

Pirates now have three weeks off due to their planned game with Jersey Reds being cancelled after the island side went into liquidation, as well as some planned rest weeks for the league.