CORNISH Pirates joint-head coach Gavin Cattle praised his side’s resilience after they dug deep to secure a hard-fought 17-12 Championship victory against Nottingham Rugby at the Mennaye Field.

Playing their first home game in two months following storm damage repairs to areas of the ground, it was the visitors who struck first, Luke Rokomoce crossing in the fifth minute to stun the home crowd.

However, the Pirates responded in style. Tries from Josh King, Sol Moody and Tomi Agbongbon inside a blistering 22-minute spell turned the tide and put the hosts 17-5 ahead.

The Pirates looked sharp and composed in the opening half, mixing physicality with attacking intent. The second half, though, proved a much sterner test for the Cornish club.

Despite opportunities to extend their lead and put the contest beyond doubt, the Pirates were sadly unable to capitalise. That left the door ajar and Rokomoce burst through, grabbing his second try to cut the deficit and set up a tense finale.

With Nottingham pressing hard, the Pirates were forced to defend resolutely through the closing stages. Thankfully they held firm, showing grit and discipline to close out a third successive league win and leapfrog their opponents into seventh place in the standings.

Cattle said: “I felt we deserved the win. I would have been gutted for the lads had they not won, they showed some great character at the end.

“I thought we played some good stuff in the first half – and I think we missed early pressure in that second half to put the game to bed. Then, you're always in danger, one try and obviously they’re back in it and that’s what happened.

“That said, I thought our discipline was good, our set-piece was relatively good, we showed some good stuff, we could have maybe managed the middle third a bit better, but it was a good, gutsy performance.”