Cornish Pirates recover from early setback to beat Ampthill 33-14 in Championship

Cornish Pirates coach Gavin Cattle says he was pleased with how his side put a poor start behind them to beat Ampthill 33-14 in the Championship.

Pete White's early try put the visitors ahead before Matt McNab drew Pirates level after 20 minutes.

Will Trewin and McNab crossed shortly before half-time before McNab completed his hat-trick, and Rhys Williams got a fifth try for Pirates in stoppage time.

Pirates remain second in the table, 10 points off leaders Ealing.

Coventry are level on points with Pirates after inflicting a second defeat of the season on Ealing on Saturday.

"We worked our way into that game as opposed to hitting the game running as we've done in previous weeks," Cattle told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"We were clinical at times, but we made a lot of errors in that first 20 minutes - it was like 'could anything else go wrong', but we weathered that storm and you see the scoreboard at the end."

Pirates have won 10 of their last 12 matches and face Doncaster in their next game - one of just three sides to defeat the Penzance-based club this season.

"The roll they're on, the momentum they're on, they're all smiles and it's all good when it's going well," added Cattle.

"You've got to ride that wave and we've been expecting - especially in this league - a spanner in the works.

"But they keep going and they've given themselves every best chance every week just with the effort they're putting in, so credit to them."