A move back to Penzance during the 2010–11 season heralded a steady decline in attendances, although as the county's only professional team the club still was easily the best supported. Despite their higher status, the Pirates continued to enjoy good relations with neighbouring clubs such as Redruth and Camborne, often playing home matches on Sunday so that supporters of those clubs can also attend games at the Mennaye Field. It is hoped that the proposed move back to Truro to the proposed Stadium for Cornwall will see an upturn in the club's fortunes and bring the supporters back.
The following season the Pirates again won their semi-final, beating Bristol over two legs, 45–24 at home and losing 29–18 away, resulting in a 63–53 win on aggregate. Pirates again however lost in the final, this time to London Welsh, losing 21–37 at the Mennaye and 29–20 away from home, 66–41 on aggregate. Following these highs, Pirates did not finish in the play-off places again, finishing between 6th and 9th in the subsequent seasons. They returned to the top four in the 2017–18 season, finishing 4th, however a restructure to the league for that season had seen the play-offs abolished, with 1st place being promoted to the Premiership automatically.
At first the results were not good but after the World Cup the team began to pick up and were joined by one of the stars of the tournament Tongan full back; Vunga Lilo. Unfortunately the side couldn't live with the newly relegated Northampton Saints and were unlucky to draw them in the 1st round of the cup, going down 15–3 at home. In 2009–10 the Pirates won the inaugural British and Irish Cup, beating Munster A 23–14 in the final at the Recreation Ground, Camborne. Pirates remain a solid RFU Championship side, their lowest finish since being 9th in 2015–16, with highs of 3rd in 2010–11 and 2011–12. These 3rd-place finishes resulted in Pirates qualifying for the promotion play-offs. In 2010-11 Pirates beat London Welsh in the semi-final 18–10 at the Mennaye Field before succumbing to Worcester Warriors in the final over two legs, 12–21 at home and 25–20 away, 46–32 on aggregate, resulting in Worcester's promotion back to the Aviva Premiership.
^ Note that Pirates are missing 3 home attendances out of 13 due to poor media coverage during the 2003–04 season. ^ Note that Pirates are missing 1 home attendance out of 13 during the 2004–05 season. ^ Note that Pirates only played 8 home games (out of 11) during the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom. ^ Bonus points had been used in National 1 since the 2003–04 season but would not be introduced to the lower leagues until much later.
43[a 18] Semi-finals[a 19] 2020–21 Green background stands for either league champions (with promotion) or cup winners. Blue background stands for promotion without winning league or losing cup finalists. Pink background stands for relegation. Honours[edit] Cornwall Cup winners (3): 1975–76, 1998–99, 1999–00[a 20] Cornwall & Devon champions: 1989–90 South West Division 2 champions: 1996–97[13] South West Division 1 champions: 1998–99[14] National League 3 South champions: 2001–02 National League 2 champions: 2002–03 EDF Energy National Trophy winners: 2006–07 British and Irish Cup winners: 2009–10[15] RFU Championship runners up: 2010–11, 2011–12 [16] Club records[edit] Highest attendance – 6, 487 At home to Northampton Saints on 9 September 2007 (Recreation Ground, Camborne).
[17] Highest average attendance (league) — 3, 486 Achieved during the 2007–08 season Current standings[edit] Club Played Won Drawn Lost Points for Points against Points diff Try bonus Losing bonus 1 Ealing Trailfinders 12 11 0 499 213 286 56 2 Jersey Reds 383 227 156 9 3 Coventry 8 371 301 70 43 4 Bedford Blues 7 5 366 364 6 37 Hartpury 280 296 −16 33 Doncaster Knights 308 293 15 30 Cornish Pirates 237 223 28 Nottingham 292 321 −29 24 Caldy 257 347 −90 17 Richmond 251 390 −139 20 Ampthill 250 289 −39 16 London Scottish 200 430 −230 If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order: Number of matches won Difference between points for and against Total number of points for Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled Green background Championship winners will be promoted to the Premiership, subject to minimum standards criteria.
However, on 27 May 2005 at an emergency meeting held in a packed St Johns Hall the innovative plans were passed. They included: Relocating to a new temporary site at Kenwyn, Truro for the 2005–06 season. Re-branding including changing the club's name to the Cornish Pirates. Upgrading all the facilities at the Mennaye Field which will continue to act as the permanent training base for the Cornish Pirates. The Mennaye to continue to act as the playing home for the Pirates mini and junior sections and Mounts Bay RFC. Following the vote, Dicky Evans told members: "ten years ago I asked you to support me in taking this club into the professional era. At that time there were those were totally against this move, there are people that are against this latest move. However, it is my belief that we must try this venture".
To be promoted to the Premiership a team must meet certain stadium requirements, and the capacity of the Mennaye Field is too small to meet these. Because of this, there have been many plans over the years for the Pirates to move into a new, larger stadium which meets these requirements to allow the Pirates to achieve their goal of promotion to the Premiership. The most concrete of these plans is the proposed Stadium for Cornwall, which would be home for both the Pirates and Truro City Football Club. [2] The Stadium For Cornwall has received funding from Cornwall Council, and is now only awaiting £3m of funding from the UK government before construction can begin, which is expected to be provided in Spring 2019.
Red background will be relegated. Updated: 15 January 2023 Source: "The Championship". England Rugby. Current squad[edit] The Cornish Pirates squad for the 2022–23 season. [18][a][b][c][d] Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality. Player Union Will Crane Hooker England Morgan Nelson Wales Max Norey [d] Olly Adkins [a] Prop Jack Andrew Harvey Beaton [c] Matt Johnson [d] Hayden King Marlen Walker New Zealand Steele Barker Lock Will Britton James Fender [b] Lewis Pearson [d] Cory Teague [d] Josh Williams Joe Elderkin Back row Alex Everett Will Gibson Jarrad Hayler Seb Nagle-Taylor John Stevens Rusi Tuima [d] Olly White Bear Williams Ruaridh Dawson Scrum-half Scotland Tom Kessell Alex Schwarz Harry Bazelgette Fly-half Arwel Robson Rory Parata Centre Ireland Garyn Smith Shae Tucker Tommy Wyatt [d] AJ Cant Wing Arthur Relton [d] Callum Sirker Robin Wedlake Carwyn Penny Fullback Will Trewin ^ a b Gloucester prop Olly Adkins is on a season-long loan for the 2022-23 season.
[19] ^ a b Ospreys lock James Fender is on a season-long loan for the 2022-23 season. [20] ^ a b Saracens prop Harvey Beaton is on a season-long loan for the 2022-23 season. [21] ^ a b c d e f g h Seven Exeter Chiefs players are dual-registered for the 2022-23 season. [22] Notable former players[edit] Notes[edit] ^ Note that Pirates are missing 3 home attendances out of 13 due to poor media coverage during the 2000–01 season. ^ Note that Pirates are missing 1 home attendance out of 13 during the 2001–02 season. ^ Note that Pirates are missing 6 home attendances out of 13 due to extremely poor media coverage during the 2002–03 season.
Cornish Pirates v Bedford Blues - BBC Radio Cornwall Sport