THE Cornish Pirates will kick off their 2024/25 Championship campaign with a trip to Nottingham on Friday, September 20 (7.45pm).
The Mennaye Field side go into the campaign off the back of their best ever season in finishing second in the second tier, and with a series of new players around, will hope to challenge for the top and the right to reach a promotion play-off.
To do so, they have to win the 12-team league which finishes in late May, with a two-legged play-off against the side that finishes bottom in the Gallagher Premiership, the task in front of them.
Pirates’ joint head coaches Alan Paver and Gavin Cattle have three pre-season friendlies lined up at present.
They start with a Cornish derby at home to National League Two (West) outfit Redruth on Saturday, August 10 (2.30pm), before a trip up the A30 to take on Premiership side Exeter Chiefs a fortnight later (4pm).
A trip into Wales to tackle Carmarthen Quins on September 7 (2.30pm) rounds off the preparations before the opener at The Bay against Nottingham.
After their opening day game, they have a mouthwatering clash with last year’s champions Ealing Trailfinders as their first home outing.
That takes place on Friday, September 27 (7.30pm).
A third successive Friday night clash sees them visit London Scottish on October 4, before they return to normality with Saturday games against Bedford Blues in Cornwall and a trip to Cambridge on October 19.
There is then a six-week break of league action as yet to be announced cup matches and free weeks take effect, before they get the next stage of the season started.
Three of the four games before Christmas are in West Cornwall.
Promoted Chinnor from Oxfordshire are the visitors on Friday, November 29, before they go to Caldy in Merseyside on Saturday, December 7 (2pm).
Coventry and Doncaster Knights come to Cornwall on successive weekends with those games set for a Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The final game of 2024 at Ampthill will be on the weekend of December 28, but a date and kick-off time have yet to be confirmed.
The first two weeks of January are a bye and reserve week before they return to action at Hartpury University on January 18, a week before they go to Ealing.
Weeks three to six of the cup are pencilled in for the weekends of February 1, 8 and 15, before a ‘reserve’ weekend on February 22.
The knockout stages of the cup competitions take place over the first three weeks in March, before they start the season-defining run of ten league fixtures.
London Scottish come to Cornwall on Friday, March 21 (7.30pm), before a trip to Bedford Blues on a yet to be confirmed day is the task at the end of the month.
April starts with a Sunday home clash with Cambridge (2.30pm) while the trip to Chinnor on the weekend of April 12 has also yet to be sorted.
Caldy are the visitors on Saturday, April 19, before a deserved week off rounds off April.
May also sees five games, three of which are at home.
A trip to Coventry over the weekend of May 3 will be a test before they welcome Hartpury and Ampthill on successive Saturdays with 2.30pm kick-offs.
Their penultimate encounter is at Doncaster on Saturday, May 24, before Nottingham provide the opposition on the final day with another 2.30pm start.