By Phil Westren

PREMIERSHIP CUP (FRIDAY)

Cornish Pirates 7 Exeter Chiefs 68

EXETER Chiefs’ power game coupled with their slick finishing ensured a comfortable victory in front of a sold-out Friday night crowd of 2,700 at the Mennaye Field.

Both sides have been less than their best in their league campaigns to date, and there were just two changes in the Cornish Pirates starting XV from the one that ran out in the match away to Cambridge last time out, and both were in the forwards. At hooker, Harry Hocking was making his first start of the season following Morgan Nelson having joined Gloucester, and in the back row Josh King was named in place of the injured Alex Everett.

The Chiefs showed their intent all but from the start, quickly attacking inside the Pirates half.

From a penalty award, hooker Dan Frost - one of seven Exeter players who has played for the Pirates in the past - was cleverly involved, before the ball reached centre Will Rigg to score near the Penzance posts. It was the first of 10 tries registered by the Chiefs in the match, nine of which were converted by full-back Josh Hodge who registered 28 points.

The Devonians soon scored again as wing Paul Brown-Bampoe secured a bouncing ball before running in at the Penzance posts.

The Pirates responded to drive close to scoring at the old Western National corner, but a third try for the Chiefs was not long coming, with Brown-Bampoe this time latching on to fly-half Will Haydon-Wood’s delicate chip kick. Hodge slotted the difficult conversion from out wide.

So, after being a bit of a one-sided affair thus far, the Pirates broke their duck midway through the first half. It initially looked as if fly-half Bruce Houston was going to pass the ball wide to the left, when he suddenly dummied and scored a try which he also converted.

Unfortunately, from a Pirates perspective, the Chiefs would record their bonus point fourth try right from the restart when Hodge gathered possession and ran 40 metres (7-28).

In general terms the Pirates were not lacking for effort, with centre Joe Elderkin, and locks Eoin O’Connor and Charlie Rice catching the eye, but the Chiefs would conjure up two more tries as half-time approached. Frost applied the necessary pressure for the first, which was unconverted, and then there was a second converted score of the match for the impressive Rigg, that gave the Chiefs a 40-7 points advantage at the break.

It took until the 58th minute that the services of the scoreboard operator were again required.

Play was more evenly contested before Pirates’ prop Jay Tyack was shown a yellow card by referee Sara Cox, and after being camped in the Newlyn gate corner for a considerable spell, it was replacement fly-half Harvey Skinner who slid over the line. Man of the match Hodge added the extras, as he did to his second try of the game.

In time remaining further converted tries for Exeter were scored by replacement hooker Jack Innard and wing Brown-Bampoe, his second hat-trick against the Cornish Pirates this season, following a similar effort in the pre-season friendly at Sandy Park.

CORNISH PIRATES: Iwan Price-Thomas, Matt McNab, Tom Georgiou, Joe Elderkin (Will Trewin, 40), Arthur Relton, Bruce Houston (Iwan Jenkins, 52), Dan Hiscocks (Cam Jones, 40); Billy Keast (Billy Young, 53), Harry Hocking (Sol Moody, 63) Jay Tyack (Ollie Andrews, 69), Charlie Rice (Matt Cannon, 58), Eoin O’Connor, Josh King (Ollie Andrews, 57; Josh King 69), Will Gibson (Tomi Agbongbon, 69), Hugh Bokenham (capt).

Tries: Houston; Convs: Houston; Pens: N/A.