Despite having failed to win in their previous three outings the home side were confident of finishing the campaign on a high. There was no reason to doubt this logic as Vunga Lilo raced to an opening try after just 36 seconds following a blistering break by Devlin. It got even better for the Pirates who scored again straight from the restart. This time Motusaga`s mazey 30 metre break set up Jimmy Moore for a touchdown in the scoreboard corner.

The Pirates almost extended their lead even further in the 7th minute as McAtee stretched to take a pass one handed on the left wing and then saw his chip ahead of Sampson roll agonisingly into touch in goal. Having seized the initiative at the line out the home side were dominant but it was not to last.

Once London Welsh secured some possession they tormented the Pirates with a ruthlessly effective pick and go game. McAtee was on hand to clear his lines from behind, and through, his own goalposts but the Welsh juggernaut kept rumbling forward. In the 16th minute the pressure told as Aaron Liffchak was driven over from close range. Matt Jones converted.

Three minutes later the Welsh took the lead as their pack set up a platform deep in Pirates territory. As the home side committed numbers to the tackle area Jones spun the ball wide and Paul Sampson rounded off a three man overlap for a simple try. Again Jones added the extras.

Two tries in three minutes became three in seven as, despite Ollie Thomas` penalty, the Welsh stretched their lead to 13-21. Slow ball from McAtee to Thomas deep in his own twenty-two gave the Pirates fly-half little time to react. His attempted clearance was easily charged down and Simon Etheridge claimed the score.

Ollie Thomas` audacious drop goal from half-way narrowly missed the posts before he shot wide with a penalty attempt in the 25th minute. The Pirates then lost prop Alan Paver to the sin bin following an off the ball incident with Lewaravu. In adversity they rallied and launched further assaults on the Welsh line which resulted in Hywel Jenkins joining Paver on the sidelines for killing the ball in front of his posts.

Individual errors let the Welsh off the hook and inconsistent tackling allowed the Welsh to escape and score a bonus point clinching try in the 37th minute as Noah Cato dotted down.

Back came the Pirates on the stroke of half-time only to be foiled by Sampson`s deliberate knock-on, and the steadfast refusal of Mr Knox to allow an advantage as McAtee looked odds on to score a wonderful solo try. The absence of a yellow card for the Welsh full-back simply compounded the frustration of the home faithful as the half ended 13-28 in favour of the Exiles.

Despite losing captain Steve Winn to injury the Pirates made another raid start after the break this time scoring through Motusaga after just two minutes. Once again the conversion was missed and as the Pirates became tormented by indecision, Jones pushed the scoreboard on again with a penalty in the 51st minute.

As both Coaches made their changes the Welsh shut up shop and declared the season over. The Pirates never gave up but in truth this was not a cohesive team performance with certain departing personnel looking to survive the match unscathed and nothing else. As the stalemate intensified so did the succession of kamikaze passes, wrong options, broken bodies and blind alleys. The Welsh may have looked exhausted but they were resolute in defence.

The Pirates threatened the Welsh line briefly through Motusaga in the 64th minute and then in the dying seconds as Tuohy burst down the touchline, but even then the Exiles came out on top as Sampson`s jarring try saving tackle halted the Irishman just inches from the line.

For the Welsh it was a job well done as they build menacingly for next season. For the Pirates it was another reminder of their shortcomings this season. 

Match Stats:-

Cornish Pirates

Winnan, McAtee, Devlin, Winn (capt) (Ireland 40), Lilo, Thomas (Steenson 47), Moore (Tuohy 58), Paver (Sin Bin 29-29, Cook 47), Elloway (Dawidiuk 73), Heard (Seal 60), Evans, Cumming, Motusaga, Betty, Cracknell

Replacement (not used) - Hobson

Tries - Lilo, Moore, Motusaga

Pens  - Thomas

Yellow cards -  Paver

London Welsh

Sampson, Cato, Jewell, Mackey, Cadwallader, Jones (Marks 73), Wilson, Williams, Vuli (Kwasnicki 75), Liffchak (Doran-Jones 58), Quigley (Thomas 54), Lewaravu, Mills (capt) (Burke 68), Etheridge, Jenkins (Sin Bin 31-41)

Replacements (not used) - Chilten, Taylor

Tries - Liffchak, Sampson, Etheridge, Cato

Cons - Jones (4)

Pens -  Jones

Yellow Cards - Jenkins

Referee -  G. Knox (SRU)                     

Attendance -  4,682

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