CORNISH Pirates joint head coach Gavin Cattle praised his side’s ‘commitment’ and character’ after pushing Premiership outfit Exeter Chiefs hard in a pre-season friendly at Sandy Park on Saturday.

The Cornishmen headed up the A30 to tackle a home side who played two different teams, firstly against the Pirates’ Championship rivals London Scottish before taking on the Pirates, and Cattle, speaking at the end of the game, said: “Playing a Premiership outfit like Exeter Chiefs was naturally a step up from playing Redruth a couple of weeks ago. They are a quality team, and I think their physicality, especially in attack, was ruthless, but there are some fix-ups from our point of view. 

“In our stage of development this game probably came just a little bit early, but it provided a good measuring stick and though it was evident there are areas where we knew we were deficient in, and we need to work on, you could never doubt our commitment.

“We showed plenty of character as usual, and our physicality was great for much of the first half. However, where we came unstuck was our kick game was too loose, and we were a bit thin on the kick chase on the open side, which they took advantage of.”

Gavin added: “We have got four weeks now before our first league game so we must use that time wisely – and get up to speed in readiness. The nucleus of a team is there that are at the top end. As he showed, John (Stevens) is a Premiership quality player, especially in terms of his physicality, and then there is Hugh Bokenham who is so versatile, carries well, and does the dog work. Alex Everett also impressed as did the likes of Morgan Nelson and Joe Elderkin who were both strong.”