CORNISH Pirates have added on-loan forward Lewis Pearson to their squad ahead of tomorrow’s RFU Championship trip to Caldy (2pm).

Pearson has missed much of the current campaign through injury, but did feature for Rob Baxter’s side in their three Premiership Rugby Cup fixtures last month.

Keen to get the 25-year-old back up to speed, the Chiefs have sent the lock down the A30 to provide some powerful ammunition to the Pirates pack.

Pearson is no stranger to Pirates life having previously played 11 times for the Cornish club on dual-registered terms. He is joined down at the Mennaye Field by club-mate Chester Ribbons, who will be looking to make his Championship debut.

The arrival of both players is a major boost for the Pirates, who returned to winning ways in the league last weekend with victory at home to Chinnor.

They do, however, make changes to their winning formula for their long trek to Merseyside. They all come in the forwards where Billy Young and Harry Hocking start in the front-row and Matt Cannon partners Charlie Rice in the second row.

In an unchanged back division, full-back Will Trewin will celebrate his 50th appearance for the club.

Looking ahead to the game against the division’s basement club, Pirates’ coach Joe Walsh said: “Firstly, looking back to last week’s game, Chinnor showed up physically, so we had to respond to that, as well as recent results.

“In the end, we hung in there and there were pleasing elements in our game. It was great to achieve that sought-after win, but we must step up still further this week. Caldy, we know, will bring loads of physicality, so we need to be prepared for that and get our detail right in other areas.”

Pirates: W Trewin; A Relton, C McCaig, H Yates, M McNab; B Houston, C Jones; B Young, H Hocking, J French; C Rice, M Cannon; J King, W Gibson, H Bokenham (c). Replacements: S Moody, O Michel, J Tyack, L Pearson, T Agbongbon, D Hiscocks, I Price-Thomas, C Ribbons.