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2011–12 Cornish Pirates RFC season

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2011–12 Cornish Pirates Rugby season
Nickname(s)The Pirates
Founded1945
LocationPenzance, Cornwall
Ground(s)Mennaye Field (Capacity: 3200 2082 seating)
Coach(es)(High Performance Manager) Chris Stirling New Zealand left the club April 2012 and replaced by Ian Davies

(Forwards) Wales Ian Davies

(Backs) South Africa Harvey Biljon
Captain(s)Gavin Cattle
Top scorer295 Rob Cook
Most tries14 David Doherty
League(s)RFU Championship
2011–123rd
Official website
www.cornish-pirates.com

The 2011–12 season was the Cornish Pirates 9th season in the second tier of the English rugby union league system, the RFU Championship and their third in the British and Irish Cup.[1] The Pirates finished 3rd in Stage One of the Championship, allowing them to qualify for the promotion stages, where they were losing finalist to London Welsh RFC. They also reached the semi–finals of the British and Irish Cup losing to Cross Keys in Wales.

Pre–season Friendlies

Date Opponents H / A Result Score Attendance Match Report Ref
20 August 2011 Exeter Chiefs  H  L 3–58 2200 [1] [2]
27 August 2011 Worcester Warriors  A  W 24–21 3600 [2] [3]

[1]

RFU Championship

Stage One matches

Stage one is a league programme of 22 matches starting on Saturday, 3 September 2011 and completed by Saturday, 25 February 2012. Each team play 11 matches at home and 11 away. Top eight teams play in the promotion play–offs, bottom four play in the relegation play–off.

Date Opponents H / A Result Score Attendance Position Match Report Ref
  1   3 September 2011 Moseley  A  D 27–27  806 [3] [4]
  2 11 September 2011 Doncaster Knights    H  W 39–32 1990 [4] [5]
  3 17 September 2011   London Scottish  A  W 25–23 1200 2nd [5] [6]
  4 24 September 2011 Leeds Carnegie  H  W 52–10 2100 1st [6] [7]
  5 1 October 2011 Plymouth Albion  A  W 20–16 2850 1st [7] [8]
  6 9 October 2011 Bedford Blues  H  L 24–34 2092 3rd [8] [9]
  7 15 October 2011 Nottingham  A  D 25–25 1363 3rd [9] [10]
  8 23 October 2011 Esher Rugby  H  W 34–18 1965 2nd [10] [11]
  9 30 October 2011 London Welsh  A  D 17–17 1749 3rd [11] [12]
10 6 November 2011 Rotherham Titans  H  W 30–13 2506 1st [12] [13]
11 20 November 2011 Bristol Rugby  A  L 33–37 6044 3rd [13] [14]
12 26 November 2011 Doncaster Knights  A  L 21–36 1118 5th [14] [15]
13 4 December 2011 London Scottish  H  W 42–10 2168 4th [15] [16]
14 10 December 2011 Leeds Carnegie  A  L 13–14 2568 5th [16] [17]
15 24 December 2011 Plymouth Albion  H  W 33–12 3214 4th [17] [18]
16 1 January 2012 Bedford Blues  A  L 13–32 4396 4th [18] [19]
17 8 January 2012 Nottingham Rugby  H  W 26–24 2026 4th [19] [20]
18 14 January 2012 Esher Rugby  A  W 36–30 1263 4th [20] [21]
19 29 January 2012 London Welsh  H  W 27–6 1802 2nd [21] [22]
4 February 2012 Rotherham Titans  A P–P 2nd [22]
11 February 2012 Rotherham Titans  A P–P 3rd
12 February 2012 Rotherham Titans  A P–P 3rd
20 13 February 2012 Rotherham Titans  A  W 19–14  463 2nd [23] [23][24]
21 19 February 2012 Bristol Rugby  H  W 18–17 3115 3rd [24] [25]
22 25 February 2012 Moseley  H  W 32–17 1844 3rd [25] [26]

24 September H v Leed Carnegie televised on Sky Sports [1][27]

Stage One final table

2011–12 RFU Championship table
Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD B Pts Qualification
1 Bristol 22 17 0 5 615 386 +229 13 81 Promotion playoffs
2 Bedford Blues 22 14 1 7 640 476 +164 16 74
3 Cornish Pirates 22 14 3 5 606 464 +142 12 74
4 London Welsh (C) 22 13 2 7 528 432 +96 11 67
5 Nottingham 22 12 2 8 599 465 +134 10 62
6 Leeds Carnegie 22 13 1 8 470 505 −35 6 60
7 Rotherham Titans 22 11 1 10 469 431 +38 11 57
8 Doncaster Knights 22 9 2 11 467 524 −57 10 50
9 London Scottish 22 6 0 16 422 543 −121 10 34 Relegation playoffs
10 Moseley 22 6 1 15 445 634 −189 7 33
11 Plymouth Albion 22 6 0 16 362 528 −166 6 30
12 Esher (R) 22 4 1 17 376 611 −235 5 23
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
  1. Number of matches won
  2. Difference between points for and against
  3. Total number of points for
  4. Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
  5. Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
    (C) Champion; (R) Relegated

Stage Two matches

Stage Two: The promotion play–offs are played in two groups of four with the top two teams qualifying for the knock–out stages. The relegation play–offs consist of one group of four teams with the bottom team being relegated. Each team plays three matches at home and three away. The top two teams in each group qualify for the semi–finals.

Date Opponents H / A Result Score Attendance Position Match Report Ref
1 10 March 2012 Leeds Carnegie  H  D 14–14 1953 2nd [26] [28]
2 16 March 2012 Bedford Blues  A  L 25–26 3377 2nd [27] [29]
3 25 March 2012 Rotherham Titans  H  W 25–17 1923 2nd [28] [30]
4 31 March 2012 Rotherham Titans  A  W 17–14 1222 2nd [29] [31]
5 15 April 2012 Bedford Blues  H  W 21–20 2139 2nd [30] [32]
6 21 April 2012 Leeds Carnegie  A  L 25–42 1588 2nd [31]

[33][34]

Group B table (Promotion)

Pos Team P W D L F A +/– BP PTS Adj
1 Bedford Blues 6 4 1 1 155 109 46 3 24 3
2 Cornish Pirates 6 3 1 2 127 133 –6 2 18 2
3 Leeds Carnegie 6 2 2 2 124 127 –3 2 15 1
4 Rotherham Titans 6 1 0 5 88 125 –37 2 6 0

* Adj – refers to number of points awarded before the start of the play-offs.

Points per match are awarded as follows:

  • Four points for a win
  • Two points for a draw
  • 1 bonus point for scoring four tries and/or losing a match by seven points or less
  • Knock-out stages consist of two-legged semi–finals and final with the highest league finisher from Stage One being the home team

Semi–final

7 May 2012
12:05
Cornish Pirates45–24Bristol
report
Mennaye Field, Penzance
Attendance: 2983
Referee: J P Doyle England
13 May 2012
12:45
Bristol29–18Cornish Pirates
report
Memorial Stadium, Bristol
Referee: S Davey England

Final

23 May 2012
19:45
Cornish Pirates21 – 37London Welsh
report
Mennaye Field, Penzance
Attendance: 3205
Referee: G Garner (RFU)
30 May 2012
19:45
London Welsh29 – 20Cornish Pirates
report
Kassam Stadium, Oxford
Attendance: 3456
Referee: David Rose

British and Irish Cup

The Cornish Pirates were drawn in Pool one and played the teams in Pool two. The Pool winners and the two best runners–up qualified for the Quarter–finals.[35]

Pool one fixtures

Date Opponents H / A Result Score Venue Attendance Match Report Ref
21 September 2011 Bristol Rugby  H  W 50–22 The Mennaye 1612 [32] [36]
12 October 2011 Plymouth Albion  A  W 38–0 Brickfields 1425 [33] [37]
12 November 2011 Munster A  A  W 10–6 Clonmel RFC 1207 [34] [38]
18 December 2011 Cross Keys  H  W 30–3 The Mennaye 2259 [35] [39]

Pool one final table

[40][41]

Team Played Won Drawn Lost For Against BP Pts
England Cornish Pirates (1) 4 4 0 0 128 31 2 18
Scotland Ayr 4 2 0 2 44 72 1 9
England Moseley 4 2 0 2 46 106 0 8
Wales Neath 4 1 0 3 62 108 1 5

Quarter–final

Date Opponents H / A Result Score Venue Attendance Match Report Ref
22 January 2012 Nottingham Rugby  H  W 33–3 The Mennaye 1492 [36] [42]

Semi–final

Date Opponents H / A Result Score Venue Attendance Match Report Ref
7 April 2012 Cross Keys  A  L 16–20 Pandy Park 2500 [37] [43]

Squad 2011–12

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
Tom Cowan–Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) Hooker England England
Rob Elloway Hooker Germany Germany
Dave Ward Hooker England England
Paul Andrew Prop England England
Lloyd Fairbrother (Exeter Chiefs) Prop England England
Rudi Brits Prop South Africa South Africa
Alan Paver (Exeter Chiefs) Prop England England
Carl Rimmer Prop England England
Ryan Storer Prop England England
Laurie McGlone Lock New Zealand New Zealand
Mike Myerscough Lock England England
Ian Nimmo Lock Scotland Scotland
Matt Smith Lock England England
Phil Burgess Flanker England England
Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs) Flanker England England
Chris Morgan Flanker England England
Ben Maidment Flanker England England
Blair Cowan Number 8 New Zealand New Zealand
Kyle Marriott Number 8 England England
Player Position Union
Gavin Cattle Scrum-half Wales Wales
James Doherty Scrum-half England England
Tom Kessell Scrum-half England England
Johnny Bentley Fly-half New Zealand New Zealand
Ceiron Thomas Fly-half Wales Wales
Aaron Penberthy Fly-half England England
Drew Locke Centre England England
Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs) Centre England England
Andrew Suniula Centre United States United States
Tom Cooper Centre England England
Ryan Westren Centre England England
Wes Davies Wing Wales Wales
Rhodri McAtee Wing Wales Wales
Darren Daniel Wing Wales Wales
David Doherty Wing England England
Grant Pointer Wing England England
Charlie Walker–Blair (Exeter Chiefs) Wing England England
Rob Cook Fullback England England
Matt Evans Fullback Canada Canada

[44][45]

Dual Registration

  • Tom Cowan–Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
  • David Ewers (Exeter Chiefs)
  • Lloyd Fairbrother (Exeter Chiefs)
  • Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs)
  • Drew Locke (Exeter Chiefs)
  • Alan Paver (Exeter Chiefs)[46]
  • Charles Walker–Blair (Exeter Chiefs)

Internationally Capped Players

Andrew Suniula joined the Pirates after the 2011 World Cup.

Transfers 2011–12

Players In

[50][51]

Players Out

[53]

Coaching staff

  • Chris Stirling (New Zealand) (High Performance Manager) appointed in January 2009 and left club in April 2012.
  • Ian Davies (Wales) (Head Coach) from April 2012. Previously Forwards Coach appointed in April 2009.
  • Harvey Biljon (South Africa) (Backs Coach) appointed in April 2009.
  • Simon Raynes (New Zealand) (Strength and Conditioning Coach) since summer 2005.

[54] [55]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c The Cornishman, 23 June 2011
  2. ^ Straughan, D. Pirates given a jolt as Chiefs go on rampage. The Cornishman p 76
  3. ^ Straughan, D (1 September 2011). Stirling's feet firmly on ground after wind. The Cornishman p 77
  4. ^ Straughan, Dick (8 September 2011). Late blow for Pirates as Moseley steal draw. The Cornishman p 74
  5. ^ Straughan, Dick (15 September 2011). "Pirates almost pay the price for poor second half display". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  6. ^ Straughan, Dick (22 September 2011). "Cowan's last-gasp try clinches dramatic win". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  7. ^ Straughan, Dick (29 September 2011). "Pirates stun relegated Leeds to go top of Championship". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  8. ^ Straughan, Dick (6 October 2011). "Doherty's late try seals thrilling derby victory". The Cornishman.
  9. ^ Straughan, Dick (13 October 2011). "Pirates suffer the Blues in first defeat of season". The Cornishman.
  10. ^ Straughan, Dick (20 October 2011). "Davies vents fury as Pirates denied match-winning kick". The Cornishman.
  11. ^ Straughan, Dick (27 October 2011). "Stirling unimpressed as Pirates labour to victory". The Cornishman.
  12. ^ Straughan, Dick (3 November 2011). "Pirates settle for draw after Welsh fightback". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  13. ^ Straughan, Dick (10 November 2011). "Pirates go top after season's best display". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  14. ^ Straughan, Dick (24 November 2011). "Stirling furious after Pirates squander lead". The Cornishman.
  15. ^ Straughan, Dick (1 December 2011). "Pirates crash to second straight defeat on road". The Cornishman.
  16. ^ Straughan, Dick (8 December 2011). "Ruthless Pirates return to form with impressive win". The Cornishman. p. 70.
  17. ^ Straughan, Dick (15 December 2011). "Biljon stumped for words after Headingley woe". The Cornishman. p. 66.
  18. ^ Straughan, Dick (29 December 2011). "Christmas cheer for Pirates after bonus point derby win". The Cornishman. p. 71.
  19. ^ Straughan, Dick (5 January 2011). "No haoppy start to the new year for Pirates". The Cornishman. p. 87.
  20. ^ Straughan, Dick (12 January 2012). "Cook holds his nerve as Pirates leave it late". The Cornishman. p. 66.
  21. ^ Straughan, Dick (19 February 2012). "Pirates survive scare to floor basement battlers". The Cornishman.
  22. ^ Straughan, Dick (2 February 2012). "Welsh fire doused as Pirates go second". The Cornishman. p. 70.
  23. ^ Straughan, Dick (16 February 2012). "Happy Monday for the Pirates at Clifton Lane". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  24. ^ "Match Details". rugby round-up. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  25. ^ Straughan, Dick (23 February 2012). "Nimmo finds best form as Pirates win bruising derby". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  26. ^ Straughan, Dick (1 March 2012). "Pirates seal third spot with scrappy bonus point victory". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  27. ^ http://cornish-pirates.com/
  28. ^ Straughan, Dick (15 March 2012). "Stirling slams Pirates as 'rubbish' after they struggle to home draw". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  29. ^ "Davies left fuming as Blues clinch victory with injury time consversion". The Cornishman. 22 March 2012. p. 78.
  30. ^ Straughan, Dick (29 March 2012). "Pirates overcome poor start to record first play-off win". The Cornishman. p. 78.
  31. ^ Straughan, Dick (5 April 2012). "Pirates one win from semis after clinching Titans double". The Cornishman. p. 78.
  32. ^ Straughan, Dick (19 April 2012). "Pirates seal semi-final berth as Stirling bids emotional farewell". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  33. ^ Straughan, Dick (1 March 2012). "Play-off matches". The Cornishman. p. 76.
  34. ^ Straughan, Dick (26 April 2012). "Davies focussed on semi finals after heavy defeat at Headingley". The Cornishman. p. 78.
  35. ^ http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2011/06/20/welsh-clubs-discover-british-and-irish-cup-opponents-91466-28904364/
  36. ^ Straughan, Dick (29 September 2011). "Second half fightback gets cup campaign off to winning start". The Cornishman. p. 74.
  37. ^ Straughan, Dick (20 October 2011). "Experimental Pirates squad cruise to comfortable cup victory at Brickfields". The Cornishman.
  38. ^ Straughan, Dick (17 November 2011). "Stoppage-time penalty try earns Pirates dramatic win". The Cornishman. p. 78.
  39. ^ Straughan, Dick (22 December 2011). "Pirates ease into last eight with victory over Welshmen". The Cornishman. p. 78.
  40. ^ "none". The Cornishman. 22 December 2011. p. 78.
  41. ^ "British & Irish Cup Tables". BBC. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  42. ^ Straughan, Dick (26 January 2012). "Five-try Pirates surge into semi finals". The Cornishman. p. 76.
  43. ^ Straughan, Dick (12 April 2012). "Agony for Pirates as Welsh underdogs exact cup revenge". The Cornishman. p. 78.
  44. ^ Straughan, Dick (26 May 2011). "We're going for it again, vows Pirates owner". The Cornishman. p. 80.
  45. ^ Straughan, Dick (1 September 2011). "Rivals say Pirates are among the favourites". The Cornishman. pp. 78–9.
  46. ^ Straughan, Dick (6 October 2011). "Pirates ready to turn on style as Blues head west". The Cornishman. p. 76.
  47. ^ Nigel Walrond. Cornish Pirates. Pirates say fond farewells to popular Mennaye men. 'Independent' 29 May 2011
  48. ^ "Westren makes Scottish switch". The Cornishman. 15 December 2011. p. 67.
  49. ^ "Cornish Pirates sign Welsh winger Darren Daniel". BBC News. 2011-05-04.
  50. ^ "Cornish Pirates swoop for seven new signings". BBC News. 2011-04-21.
  51. ^ Walrond, Nigel (23 October 2011). "Pirates sign Canadian after Davies injury blow". Independent. p. 59.
  52. ^ "Harlequins sign up Cornish Pirates centre Matt Hopper". BBC News. 2011-04-01.
  53. ^ Nigel Walrond. Flanker Betty in shock move to Premiership side Worcester. Independent 31 July 2011.
  54. ^ "Chris Stirling to help Cornish Pirates coaches". BBC. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  55. ^ "Simon Raynes". Cornish Pirates. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
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