Cornish Pirates win to seal club-record finish

Marlen Walker capped off his long Cornish Pirates career with a try

Cornish Pirates came back to beat London Scottish 38-27 and secure a club-record second place in the Championship.

Arthur Relton, Alex Everett and Harry Hocking went over for the Pirates as they trailed 22-17 at the break, knowing they had to win to better the club's record of a third-placed finish in the second tier.

Will Hobson got a fourth Scottish try soon after the restart before Kyle Moyle - on his final appearance before retiring - pulled one back.

Hugh Bokenham got a fifth try with 17 minutes to go to give Pirates the lead before long-serving prop Marlen Walker - who is also retiring - ended his career with a try in the final minute.

The win sees Cornish Pirates end the season on 75 points, seven behind champions Ealing.

"I'm just so incredibly proud of this team," joint-head coach Gavin Cattle told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"We can pick the details, we could have taken a few opportunities defensively and in attack, but what underpins it all is attitude and putting your heart on your sleeve, and the boys have done that in absolute bucket loads this year."

Cattle and fellow head coach Alan Paver have been part of Pirates' coaching staff since 2014, and Cattle said finishing second in the league is his greatest achievement.

"We've had, you could potentially say, more experienced teams, more Championship-hardened teams, but, this group's been infectious," added Cattle.

"Me and Paves would be the first guys to say at the start of the season that we were pretty mentally fatigued with the constant churning.

"But they've been incredibly enjoyable to coach.

"We're seeing some experience go, but they have left massive foundations for boys who have been here this year to carry on to next year."