Cornish Pirates concede record 73-point haul at Coventry

Cornish Pirates conceded a record 73 points in a Championship match in their 73-40 defeat at Coventry. The club shipped 11 tries, four points more than their previous record, a 69-8 loss to Worcester Warriors in April 2015.

Their preparations were disrupted when centre Joe Elderkin was injured in the warm-up. Pirates had already lost his midfield partner Chester Ribbons late in the week, forcing Josh Radcliffe into midfield alongside Harry Ascherl, while youngster Finn Love filled in on the wing.

Dan Hiscocks had nevertheless given Pirates the lead in the 10th minute. They were 33-7 down after 27 minutes, but tries from Milo Hallam, Alessandro Heaney and Ascherl brought them back into the game before the break. Coventry led only 33-26 at half-time, with both teams having secured try-scoring bonus points.

The turning point came shortly after the restart. Fly-half Arwel Robson and replacement forward Matt Cannon were shown yellow cards three minutes apart. Pirates conceded five tries in a 13-minute spell surrounding those two temporary dismissals. They could then respond only through Matt Pritchard and Jamie Clark late in the second half.

“It is never nice to see a scoreline like that,” joint-head coach Gavin Cattle said. He felt the two yellow cards were the pivotal moment: in his view, that was when the match got away from his side, who then tried to play from everywhere. Loose passes subsequently widened the gap, he added.

Cattle acknowledged that the back line lacked some cohesion, especially from outside centre onwards, while praising the efforts of the players involved. “They are doing the best they can, they are learning on the job and that is part of the process,” he said. He also stressed that it was only round two and that his side were not as bad as the result might suggest.

The coach identified encouraging passages, notably his team's fightback in the first half, but also lessons to be learned from the kicking game and inconsistency at the collision.