# 2011–12 Cornish Pirates RFC season

The 2011–12 season was the Cornish Pirates 9th season in the second tier of the English rugby union league system, the RFU Championship and their third in the British and Irish Cup. The Pirates finished 3rd in Stage One of the Championship, allowing them to qualify for the promotion stages, where they were losing finalist to London Welsh RFC. They also reached the semi–finals of the British and Irish Cup losing to Cross Keys in Wales.

## Pre–season Friendlies

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result | Score | Attendance | Match Report | Ref |
| 20 August 2011 | Exeter Chiefs | H | L | 3–58 | 2200 | | |
| 27 August 2011 | Worcester Warriors | A | W | 24–21 | 3600 | | |

## RFU Championship
### Stage One matches

Stage one is a league programme of 22 matches starting on Saturday, 3 September 2011 and completed by Saturday, 25 February 2012. Each team play 11 matches at home and 11 away. Top eight teams play in the promotion play–offs, bottom four play in the relegation play–off.
| | Date | Opponents | H / A | Result | Score | Attendance | Position |
| 1 | 3 September 2011 | Moseley | A | D | 27–27 | 806 | |
| 2 | 11 September 2011 | Doncaster Knights | H | W | 39–32 | 1990 | |
| 3 | 17 September 2011 | London Scottish | A | W | 25–23 | 1200 | 2nd |
| 4 | 24 September 2011 | Leeds Carnegie | H | W | 52–10 | 2100 | 1st |
| 5 | 1 October 2011 | Plymouth Albion | A | W | 20–16 | 2850 | 1st |
| 6 | 9 October 2011 | Bedford Blues | H | L | 24–34 | 2092 | 3rd |
| 7 | 15 October 2011 | Nottingham | A | D | 25–25 | 1363 | 3rd |
| 8 | 23 October 2011 | Esher Rugby | H | W | 34–18 | 1965 | 2nd |
| 9 | 30 October 2011 | London Welsh | A | D | 17–17 | 1749 | 3rd |
| 10 | 6 November 2011 | Rotherham Titans | H | W | 30–13 | 2506 | 1st |
| 11 | 20 November 2011 | Bristol Rugby | A | L | 33–37 | 6044 | 3rd |
| 12 | 26 November 2011 | Doncaster Knights | A | L | 21–36 | 1118 | 5th |
| 13 | 4 December 2011 | London Scottish | H | W | 42–10 | 2168 | 4th |
| 14 | 10 December 2011 | Leeds Carnegie | A | L | 13–14 | 2568 | 5th |
| 15 | 24 December 2011 | Plymouth Albion | H | W | 33–12 | 3214 | 4th |
| 16 | 1 January 2012 | Bedford Blues | A | L | 13–32 | 4396 | 4th |
| 17 | 8 January 2012 | Nottingham Rugby | H | W | 26–24 | 2026 | 4th |
| 18 | 14 January 2012 | Esher Rugby | A | W | 36–30 | 1263 | 4th |
| 19 | 29 January 2012 | London Welsh | H | W | 27–6 | 1802 | 2nd |
| | 4 February 2012 | Rotherham Titans | A | | P–P | | 2nd |
| | 11 February 2012 | Rotherham Titans | A | | P–P | | 3rd |
| | 12 February 2012 | Rotherham Titans | A | | P–P | | 3rd |
| 20 | 13 February 2012 | Rotherham Titans | A | W | 19–14 | 463 | 2nd |
| 21 | 19 February 2012 | Bristol | H | W | 18–17 | 3115 | 3rd |
| 22 | 25 February 2012 | Moseley | H | W | 32–17 | 1844 | 3rd |
24 September H v Leed Carnegie televised on Sky Sports

### Stage One final table

2011–12 RFU Championship table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | B | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Bristol | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 615 | 386 | +229 | 13 | 81 | Promotion playoffs |
| 2 | Bedford Blues | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 640 | 476 | +164 | 16 | 74 | Promotion playoffs |
| 3 | Cornish Pirates | 22 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 606 | 464 | +142 | 12 | 74 | Promotion playoffs |
| 4 | London Welsh (C) | 22 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 528 | 432 | +96 | 11 | 67 | Promotion playoffs |
| 5 | Nottingham | 22 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 599 | 465 | +134 | 10 | 62 | Promotion playoffs |
| 6 | Leeds Carnegie | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 470 | 505 | −35 | 6 | 60 | Promotion playoffs |
| 7 | Rotherham Titans | 22 | 11 | 1 | 10 | 469 | 431 | +38 | 11 | 57 | Promotion playoffs |
| 8 | Doncaster Knights | 22 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 467 | 524 | −57 | 10 | 50 | Promotion playoffs |
| 9 | London Scottish | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 422 | 543 | −121 | 10 | 34 | Relegation playoffs |
| 10 | Moseley | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 445 | 634 | −189 | 7 | 33 | Relegation playoffs |
| 11 | Plymouth Albion | 22 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 362 | 528 | −166 | 6 | 30 | Relegation playoffs |
| 12 | Esher (R) | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 376 | 611 | −235 | 5 | 23 | Relegation playoffs |
* Number of matches won
* Difference between points for and against
* Total number of points for
* Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
* Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled (C) Champion; (R) Relegated

### Stage Two matches

Stage Two: The promotion play–offs are played in two groups of four with the top two teams qualifying for the knock–out stages. The relegation play–offs consist of one group of four teams with the bottom team being relegated. Each team plays three matches at home and three away. The top two teams in each group qualify for the semi–finals.
| | Date | Opponents | H / A | Result | Score | Attendance | Position |
| 1 | 10 March 2012 | Leeds Carnegie | H | D | 14–14 | 1953 | 2nd |
| 2 | 16 March 2012 | Bedford Blues | A | L | 25–26 | 3377 | 2nd |
| 3 | 25 March 2012 | Rotherham Titans | H | W | 25–17 | 1923 | 2nd |
| 4 | 31 March 2012 | Rotherham Titans | A | W | 17–14 | 1222 | 2nd |
| 5 | 15 April 2012 | Bedford Blues | H | W | 21–20 | 2139 | 2nd |
| 6 | 21 April 2012 | Leeds Carnegie | A | L | 25–42 | 1588 | 2nd |

### Group B table (Promotion)

| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | +/– | BP | PTS | Adj |
| 1 | Bedford Blues | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 155 | 109 | 46 | 3 | 24 | 3 |
| 2 | Cornish Pirates | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 127 | 133 | –6 | 2 | 18 | 2 |
| 3 | Leeds Carnegie | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 124 | 127 | –3 | 2 | 15 | 1 |
| 4 | Rotherham Titans | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 88 | 125 | –37 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
* Adj – refers to number of points awarded before the start of the play-offs.
Points per match are awarded as follows:
* Four points for a win
* Two points for a draw
* 1 bonus point for scoring four tries and/or losing a match by seven points or less
* Knock-out stages consist of two-legged semi–finals and final with the highest league finisher from Stage One being the home team

### Semi–final

* 7 May 2012 12:05
| Cornish Pirates | 45–24 | Bristol |
| | report | |
* Mennaye Field, Penzance Attendance: 2983 Referee: J P Doyle
* 13 May 2012 12:45
| Bristol | 29–18 | Cornish Pirates |
| | report | |
* Memorial Stadium, Bristol Referee: S Davey

### Final

* 23 May 2012 19:45
| Cornish Pirates | 21 – 37 | London Welsh |
| | report | |
* Mennaye Field, Penzance Attendance: 3205 Referee: G Garner (RFU)
* 30 May 2012 19:45
| London Welsh | 29 – 20 | Cornish Pirates |
| | report | |
* Kassam Stadium, Oxford Attendance: 3456 Referee: David Rose

## British and Irish Cup

The Cornish Pirates were drawn in Pool one and played the teams in Pool two. The Pool winners and the two best runners–up qualified for the Quarter–finals.

### Pool one fixtures

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result | Score | Venue | Attendance |
| 21 September 2011 | Bristol | H | W | 50–22 | The Mennaye | 1612 |
| 12 October 2011 | Plymouth Albion | A | W | 38–0 | Brickfields | 1425 |
| 12 November 2011 | Munster A | A | W | 10–6 | Clonmel RFC | 1207 |
| 18 December 2011 | Cross Keys | H | W | 30–3 | The Mennaye | 2259 |

### Pool one final table

| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | BP | Pts |
| Cornish Pirates (1) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 128 | 31 | 2 | 18 |
| Ayr | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 72 | 1 | 9 |
| Moseley | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 106 | 0 | 8 |
| Neath | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 108 | 1 | 5 |

### Quarter–final

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result | Score | Venue | Attendance | Match Report | Ref |
| 22 January 2012 | Nottingham Rugby | H | W | 33–3 | The Mennaye | 1492 | | |

### Semi–final

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result | Score | Venue | Attendance | Match Report | Ref |
| 7 April 2012 | Cross Keys | A | L | 16–20 | Pandy Park | 2500 | | |

## Squad 2011–12

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
| Player | Position | Union |
| Tom Cowan–Dickie (Exeter Chiefs) | Hooker | England |
| Rob Elloway | Hooker | Germany |
| Dave Ward | Hooker | England |
| Paul Andrew | Prop | England |
| Lloyd Fairbrother (Exeter Chiefs) | Prop | England |
| Rudi Brits | Prop | South Africa |
| Alan Paver (Exeter Chiefs) | Prop | England |
| Carl Rimmer | Prop | England |
| Ryan Storer | Prop | England |
| Laurie McGlone | Lock | New Zealand |
| Mike Myerscough | Lock | England |
| Ian Nimmo | Lock | Scotland |
| Matt Smith | Lock | England |
| Phil Burgess | Flanker | England |
| Dave Ewers (Exeter Chiefs) | Flanker | England |
| Chris Morgan | Flanker | England |
| Ben Maidment | Flanker | England |
| Blair Cowan | Number 8 | New Zealand |
| Kyle Marriott | Number 8 | England |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Gavin Cattle | Scrum-half | Wales |
| James Doherty | Scrum-half | England |
| Tom Kessell | Scrum-half | England |
| Johnny Bentley | Fly-half | New Zealand |
| Ceiron Thomas | Fly-half | Wales |
| Aaron Penberthy | Fly-half | England |
| Drew Locke | Centre | England |
| Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs) | Centre | England |
| Andrew Suniula | Centre | United States |
| Tom Cooper | Centre | England |
| Ryan Westren | Centre | England |
| Wes Davies | Wing | Wales |
| Rhodri McAtee | Wing | Wales |
| Darren Daniel | Wing | Wales |
| David Doherty | Wing | England |
| Grant Pointer | Wing | England |
| Charlie Walker–Blair (Exeter Chiefs) | Wing | England |
| Rob Cook | Fullback | England |
| Matt Evans | Fullback | Canada |

### Dual Registration

* Tom Cowan–Dickie (Exeter Chiefs)
* David Ewers (Exeter Chiefs)
* Lloyd Fairbrother (Exeter Chiefs)
* Sam Hill (Exeter Chiefs)
* Drew Locke (Exeter Chiefs)
* Alan Paver (Exeter Chiefs)
* Charles Walker–Blair (Exeter Chiefs)

### Internationally Capped Players

Andrew Suniula joined the Pirates after the 2011 World Cup.

## Transfers 2011–12
### Players In

* Tom Cooper (from Newport Gwent Dragons)
* David Doherty (from Jersey)
* Tom Kessell (from Plymouth Albion)
* Ben Maidment (from Moseley)
* Matt Smith (from UWIC
* Ryan Westren (from Launceston) moved to London Scottish in December 2011
* Andrew Suniula (from Chicago Griffins)
* Darren Daniel (from Carmarthen Quins)
* Ceiron Thomas (from Leeds Carnegie)
* Matt Evans (from Newport Gwent Dragons)

### Players Out

* Sam Betty (to Worcester Warriors)
* Blair Cowan (to Worcester Warriors in January 2012)
* James Currie (to Worcester Warriors)
* Ben Gulliver (to Worcester Warriors)
* Tyrone Holmes (released)
* Matt Hopper (to Harlequins)
* Nick Jackson (released)
* Tom Luke (released)
* Steve Winn (released)

## Coaching staff

* Chris Stirling (High Performance Manager) appointed in January 2009 and left club in April 2012.
* Ian Davies (Head Coach) from April 2012. Previously Forwards Coach appointed in April 2009.
* Harvey Biljon (Backs Coach) appointed in April 2009.
* Simon Raynes (Strength and Conditioning Coach) since summer 2005.