Coventry came close, so very close to claiming another major scalp, two late converted tries however finally denying them a first ever away victory in Pirates territory.

17 points conceded late in the game were to prove crucial, although overall there was much to commend in the performance which hopefully should give continued heart for the second half of the season.

Ultimately Cov probably paid the price for in trying to pull back a losing bonus point, Pirates capitalised by running in their fifth try which gave a rather unbalanced slant on the final score line. Twice during this match, Coventry had led, the second time for half an hour in the second half as manfully they defended their line before the Pirates finally clinched victory.

In the end Cov were left with nothing to show for their efforts. On a positive note though Ian Nimmo and Gregor Gillanders cleaned out the hosts in the lineouts, with Myles Dorrian and Nathan Jones also combining positively at half back. Ultimately it has to be said, two missed first half tackles were to prove very costly and kept the Pirates in the game at a point when they were struggling.

8 points to nil after four minutes, what a start that was as Ben Russell kicked a penalty, but was unable to convert Ian Nimmo’s first try of the season after Logon Kirisome had been held up short.

Russell did land two penalties before half time  by which point Devlin (2) and Tuohy had crossed for the Cornish Pirates, Thomas converting two.

Cov were back in front four minutes into the second half, Jack Cobden fielding a clearance to send Donovan Sanders away on an impressive 30 metre run before feeding the supporting Myles Dorrian for try number two, Russell converting.

There it stayed until those dramatic final minutes, replacement Steenson landing a penalty and converting tries from Devlin again and McAtee to leave Coventry wondering on the long journey home whether there really was much justice in that scoreline.

Coventry; Ben Toft, Kurt Johnson, Donovan Sanders, Ben Russell (Capt), Logon Kirisome, Myles Dorrian, Nathan Jones, Dai Maddocks, Chris Whitehead, Rudi Brits, Gregor Gillanders, Ian Nimmo, Hendry Rheeders, Henno Venter, Laurie McGlone.

Replacements; Jack Cobden for Kirisome, Carl Rimmer for Maddocks, Rob Dugard for Brits, Danny Hodge for Rheeders.

Not used; Ricky Whitehall, Mike Walls, Brett Davey.

Coventry. Tries; Ian Nimmo, Myles Dorrian. Conversion; Ben Russell. Penalty goals; Russell 3

Cornish Pirates. Tries; Paul Devlin 3, Brian Tuohy, Rhodri McAtee. Conversions; Ollie Thomas 2, Gareth Steenson 2. Penalty goal; Steenson.