Sedgley
Park 13 Cornish Pirates 20
Saturday November 3rd 2007
With
the squad almost back to full strength for another long trek up the M6 to 'Northern
Grimshire', it was the turn of the 16th man to be a little under strength. There
were a number of forced changes to the PG squad: Marshy was in the Caribbean,
the Para Nahens in Tenerife, Crowlas was on a one week suspension, & to make
matters worse, Land Pirate was declared unfit to travel, even the exiles were
thin on the ground However the 'SV First' sped rapidly
north, Replacements were hastily gathered from Cheltenham, Worcester & 'Hawthorns
Station' Birmingham. A considerable number took the opportunity to have an extended
break in the North Of England visiting Sedgley & Donny in the Process. The
Ma'asi Family + Alberto were hastily drafted in after a hard night in Wales with
Gavin Cattle, where Berto converted 2 out of 3: Llanelli Scarlets 59 Leeds
19  | | St
Piran & Scurvy Rascal Boarding at Hawthorns Metro |
Northern
Grimshire was at its best for us, moderate traffic, good viewing conditions, little
breeze & air temperature well above average, very drinkable draft at £2.20
a pint and affable hosts.  | | Sedgley's
Food & Beer Tent |
Whilst the squad
warmed up Jim was invited to sample a strange looking liquid served in polystyrene
cups.  | | Its
Tea Jim But Not As We Know It |
Up in
hospitality Club Chairman Robin Turner was charming the hosts with another of
his inimitable stand up routines, although the bar staff - who had other things
on their mind - just wanted to audition for the website.  |  | | "Robin
Turner was charming the hosts" | "The
bar staff audition for the website" |
 | | Downstairs
the 16th warmed up with a selection of wines, Thwaites ales & lager. |
Not
before time, Brian Robertson signalled the start of battle, & battle it was,
Sedgley are a gritty & determined team who have come very close on most of
this season's encounters. The Pirates started well & immediately put Park
under pressure & it wasn't long before they conceded a penalty which Steeno
cleanly put over. A sense of something behind me made me
look over my shoulder for the surprise of the day:
Alberto Di Brenardo with
Villi's youngest resplendent in Pirates colours on his shoulders. With Alberto
& Villi joining the 16th man, a win was definitely on the cards.  | | Alberto
Enjoys The Element of Surprise |
Whilst
the Pirates were showing their dominance, Sedgley's 16th man must have been somewhere
else, and once more, a casual observer would have been forgiven for thinking it
was a Pirates home game.  | | A
casual observer would have been forgiven for thinking it was a Pirates home game |
However
Park were making a game of it & not allowing Pirates to break through, at
least not until Ollie Thomas picked up a slack clearance and set off on one of
his trademark wandering runs to the line for the first try of the game which again
was clinically converted by Steeno.
 | | On
a day of firsts, Rhodri McAtee came on for his first ever game at 12 for injured
Paul Devlin who literally hopped off on one leg before leaving the ground for
an X-ray. During a spot of Sedgley pressure in the latter
part of the half, play was stopped and a concerned crowd watched as Jamie Albinson
was stretchered off with a neck injury. It was probably
fair reward for their efforts that a few minutes after, Phil Jones put points
on for Sedge with a well taken penalty to end the half, Park 3 Pirates 10. There
was good news regarding Albinson on his return from hospital, he was back at the
club by 7, though Sedgley officials say "although he was diagnosed unhurt,
his brain must have been affected as he couldn't remember when it was his round" | | Pirates
Take A Break During Albinson's Injury | | |
As
the second half got under way, there was still a little watery sunlight left,
grim warning of the harsh northern winters to come, but relief that after Donny
next weekend - albeit for the vagaries of the Trophy draw - our next voyage north
will not be until springtime in Rotherham. Sedgley were
up for it & as we've seen in recent years, are no pushover, with less than
ten minutes on the clock Phil Jones added another penalty to make it 6-10. But
the Pirates too, were playing with grit & determination, though nearly 15
minutes passed before Gareth Steenson showed his quick reflexes to dash to the
posts for his first try in Pirates colours. Having touched down in a perfect position
his conversion was a formality.  | | "Steeno
showed his quick reflexes to dash to the posts for his first try in Pirates colours" |
By
now the early morning start was beginning to show as the vocal Pirates support
began to flag & thoughts turned to the journey home. Maybe this transmitted
to the squad as well, for within a few minutes Freeman Payne went over for Sedgley
which Jones converted to bring them within 4 points of the Pirates. Steenson put
the difference back to a score on 74 to leave 16 or so minutes of tension before
the whistle finally blew for another Pirates win on the road. Sedgley
never made it easy for the Pirates & both sides felt they could have had more
if the dice had fallen their way. The Pirates had stuck to the task and coach
Jim McKay was happy with the win "which came with grit & grind, each
time we win it adds character" adding "that the squad is too
good for it not to come" Both the team & the
fans were keen to get back on the road for the long journey home, but found the
time to applaud each other for their commitment. A quick pint and a chat in the
bar & it was time for home, but not before skipper Tim Cowley boarded the
Press Gang Bus to personally thank the fans & wish them a safe trip back.  | | Players
Applaud the Fans In The Advancing Evening Gloom |
A
quick stop to replenish the bar & the SS First was gliding back down the motorway
to the sound of the Grateful Dead, thanks to Fergus TW's impressive MP3 library.
In no time at all the bus was at the Hawthorns Rail & Metro stop in West Bromwich,
where St Piran & Scurvy Rascal - who were enjoying the trip so much - were
reluctant to disembark.  | | Soon
after It was Fergus' turn to leave at Worcester, with the music gone, all thoughts
turned to a fag break at Gordano which brought a chance meeting with the Rotherham
squad. Ex Pirate Neil Chivers' comments on their match
with Albion was not good news for either: "we were dire but they weren't
much better". However looking at the ND1 results
this season on the match matrix there are very few high scoring games, not even
Pertemps at the bottom have let that many through. With
a change of drivers at Gordano, the troops retired to the comfort of their seats
& on full recline were soon asleep, not awakening until the First Cornwall
stop at Roche for the St Austell branch to disembark. | | Fergus
TW reluctantly disembarks | | |
Penzance
was still in party mode as the bus made it to the Greenmarket just on the stroke
of midnight, but no takers on board, bed beckoned. This
trip could go down in history as the day the dream of Press Gang Travel to all
away games became a reality, with stops at Cheltenham, Worcester & Birmingham,
both home & exile fans travelled together for the first time. With
Doncaster coming up next week, pick-ups are being offered on the M5/M42/M6/M69/M1/A1
route and with it, the opportunity for even more exiles to sample the Delights
of PG travel. Sedgley Ratings:
Real
Ales 9/10 - Burgers 3/10 - Clubhouse 9/10 - Hospitality 9/10 - Parking 8/10 Cornish
Pirates:
O. Thomas, J. Moore, P. Devlin (R. McAtee 28), N. Buckley, A.
Koko, G. Steenson, R. Bolt (E. Fairhurst 50)
T. Cowley (capt), I. Motusaga
(C. Cracknell 63), M. Evans, H. Senekal, J. Beardshaw (B. Cumming 62)
D. Seal,
R. Elloway (N. Kemp 50), P. Cook (A. Paver 50). Replacement (not used) -
S. Parsons. Sedgley Park:
M. Riley, C. Hall, A. Craig, C. Briers
(F. Payne 36), J. Van DeVenter (D. Livesey 76), P. Jones,
J. Albinson (C. Leck
30), J. Skurr, J. Ponton (capt), A. Newton (J. Crous 62), E. Norris, T. Fourie
M.
Halsall (P. du Plessis 59), J. Roddam, P. Gazzola. Replacements (not used)
- D. Birchall, P. Keys. Scorers:- Cornish Pirates
Tries:
Thomas, Steenson
Con: Steenson 2
Pens: Steenson 2 Sedgley park
Try: Payne
Con: Jones
Pens: Jones Referee:
Brian Robertson (RFU)
Touch Judges: Ian Robinson, Steve Makinson Attendance:
657
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