Cornish Pirates Coach Paver Embraces Premiership Cup Challenge

Despite a challenging start to their Premiership Rugby Cup campaign last week, Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Alan Paver has expressed that the competition is beneficial for his team. The Pirates suffered a significant 68-7 defeat at home against a formidable Exeter Chiefs line-up at the Mennaye, conceding 10 tries in their opening fixture. The team is scheduled to play their second Premiership opponent in consecutive weeks, traveling to Gloucester this Saturday. This upcoming match will mark the inaugural competitive encounter between the two clubs. Speaking to BBC Radio Cornwall, Paver stated, “I think the competition’s great, it really adds something to the season.” He added, “Our opportunity to go up and play in Premiership stadiums, the guys obviously will relish the opportunity to get out there and test themselves.” Paver further commented on fan engagement, saying, “Exeter at home was a massive sell out and every time we play these top teams I think the support are really welcoming because it is something fresh, something new and you obviously want to play the better sides.” Currently, the Pirates are experiencing a five-game losing streak across all competitions and occupy the second-from-bottom position in the Championship standings. Consequently, Paver maintains a pragmatic outlook regarding his team’s prospects for their upcoming match at Kingsholm. Regarding their opponents, he remarked, “I’m sure Gloucester will go as strong as they can, simply because they’re not going to go many weeks without giving their strongest side a run out, because there is a bit of a gap coming up for them.” He also highlighted the developmental aspect, stating, “It gives our guys another opportunity to put some of the things we’ve been working on in training on the pitch.” However, he emphasized the need for broader improvement: “But we’ve just got to make sure that we go out there and we try to perform in more than a couple of areas.” Paver concluded, “We’ve got to make sure that we’re working all the way through from set piece right down to our attack, and fingers crossed we can get ourselves into the game.”