Experienced Forwards’ Absences Impact Cornish Pirates’ Performance

Cornish Pirates joint-head coach Gavin Cattle attributes his team’s challenging start to the season to significant injuries among their forwards. Alex Everett, an experienced player, has been absent from the Cornish Pirates lineup for over a month, having left the field during the first half of their defeat to Cambridge. The Pirates currently occupy the second-to-last position in the Championship standings and are at the bottom of their Premiership Rugby Cup pool, following a streak of seven consecutive losses. Their sole victory this season occurred in their opening match against Nottingham, where captain John Stevens sustained a knee ligament injury that has sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Another seasoned forward, Alex Everett, is also unavailable until January due to a knee injury. Speaking to BBC Radio Cornwall, Cattle stated: “When you have a small squad they’re the guys who really show the other guys what it looks like,” he explained. “So you get a bit of a double whammy really, you’re not getting them on the training park to educate and help show the guys physically what it looks like.”Then obviously you’re not getting the added bonus of them putting their bodies on the line for you every weekend.” Cattle further commented: “Last season we knew we were in danger of potentially going down this avenue if it did happen, we had a bit of luck our way in that sense, and I think this season they’ve been saving that luck up until the first spell of the season.” He concluded by saying: “We’ve just got to roll our sleeves up and get on with it.”