CORNISH Pirates joint head coach Gavin Cattle praised the ‘fighting spirit’ of his side even though they were on the end of a heavy Championship loss to league leaders Ealing Trailfinders.

The Londoners ran in 12 tries on their way to an emphatic 84-29 victory, which keeps them 13 points clear of next-best Bedford Blues, who had defeated Coventry 27-23 at Goldington Road the day previous.

For the Pirates, though, their trip to the capital did at least bring reward – that in the shape of a try bonus point, which was secured thanks to scores from Hugh Bokenham, Harry Hocking, Iwan Jenkins, Matt Pritchard and Ollie Andrews.

With a mounting injury list and a clutch of players unavailable after recalls to their parent clubs, it was always going to be a huge ask for the Pirates against the division’s leading lights.

Ealing have lost just once this season and their array of seasoned professionals proved too much for their Cornish visitors. Will Montgomery helped himself to a hat-trick of scores, whilst there were braces also for Bobby de Wee and Ben Harris.

Also on the mark were Jordy Reid, Tobi Wilson, George Davis, David Douglas Bridge and Lloyd Williams with Dan Jones landing nine conversions and Craig Willis a further three.

“It’s a pretty humbling experience when you say the scoreline out loud,” said Cattle afterwards. “Being realistic, not pessimistic, a lot of our preparation was around trying to get four tries. We’ve come here in the past, been beaten by less points, yet come away with nothing.

“Just look at the pack, we had Matt Pritchard make his debut, Alfie Bell and Finetan Coleman were a new pairing in the row, Harry Hocking – normally a hooker – was at seven, yet they all just got on with it and showed real grit and determination.

“In terms of getting that bonus point, it’s objective achieved. The challenge moving forward is to get better, we know that, but when you compare the two squads they are in a totally different place to us.”

Cornish Pirates forward Harry Hocking crosses for a try during his side's Championship clash with Ealing Trailfinders
Cornish Pirates forward Harry Hocking crosses for a try during his side's Championship clash with Ealing Trailfinders (Brian Tempest)

Although Ealing were well in command of proceedings at the break, having led 49-12, the Pirates continued to give their all throughout the contest.

“Look, we’ve got some very good lads in our squad,” added Cattle. “We knew coming up here was going to be tough, so the score was largely irrelevant at half-time. Our task was to get four tries regardless, so to get five in the end, we exceeded our target.

“There will be people looking at the score and thinking how do you take positives from that, but as coaches there was a lot for us to be very pleased with. The passion, the grit, the determination we showed, it was outstanding from our lads.

“Ealing have huge in strength in depth, a big squad, full of players who have played a lot of top level rugby over the years. It’s this time of year where that really tells, that winter period where it kicks in and fatigue shows in other squads.

“As I said, though, our lads gave everything. Hugh Bokenham has been incredible all season, James King was a real warrior out there, but all of them did their bit and we got that reward with the bonus point.”

The Pirates will now switch their attentions away from the Championship to that of the Premiership Rugby Cup, where they play host to Premiership outfit Gloucester at the Mennaye Field this Friday night (7.30pm).

Ealing Trailfinders: Tobi Wilson (Francis Moore 40); Ben Harris, Reuben Bird-Tulloch, Jordan Holgate, Michael Dykes; Dan Jones (Craig Willis) Craig Hampson (Lloyd Williams 61); Kyle Whyte (Lefty Zigiriadis 44), Mike Willemse (capt, Cam Terry 44), George Davis (Biyi Alo, 44-49); Bobby de Wee, Sean Lonsdale (Matas Jurevicius, 31); David Douglas Bridge, Jordy Reid, Will Montgomery (Siya Ningiza 56)

Tries: Montgomery (3), Reid, de Wee (2), Wilson, Harris (2), Davis, Bridge, Williams; Conversions: Jones (9), Willis (3)

Yellow Card: Harris

Cornish Pirates: Iwan Price-Thomas (Robin Wedlake 45); Arthur Relton, Charlie McCaig (Tom Georgiou 65), Joe Elderkin, Will Trewin; Iwan Jenkins (Bruce Houston 59), Dan Hiscocks (Cam Jones 52); Billy Young (James French 67), Sol Moody (Matt Pritchard 61); Alfie Petch (Ollie Andrews 61); Alfie Bell, Fintan Coleman; Josh King, Harry Hocking (Chris Mills 61) Hugh Bokenham (capt)

Tries: Bokenham, Harris, Jenkins, Pritchard, Andrews; Conversions: Jenkins, Houston; Pens: N/A.

Referee: J James

Attendance: 2,712