Tuesday 19 January 2016 08:17, UK
Plymouth Albion and Cornwall Pirates kicked off their new Championship campaigns with wins live on Sky on Sunday. 2
Plymouth recorded an impressive 41-27 win over Jersey before Cornwall shocked Bristol 23-21.
Former Scotland international Rory Lawson, who won the 2013 Championship with Newcastle, World Cup winner Will Greenwood, who won the 2006 National League 1 with Harlequins and ex-Wales number 8 Scott Quinnell, who played for Richmond in Division 2 analysed the action...
Rory Lawson: To get the five tries [and bonus point] is fantastic. Plymouth changed everything in the second half and Ruairi Cushion coming off the bench at scrum half upped the tempo. They understood they couldn't kick into the wind so attacked with ball in hand, they got quick-tap penalties, got on the front foot and off the back of it Jersey were struggling to make their tackles.
Will Greenwood:Plymouth just needed that quick pace and change of tempo Cushion brought to it. They brought some big subs on as well which helped. But, if I'm a scout, this kid Chris Elder has got talent. I watched him all afternoon and his positional play is strong, he's got great physique, a good set of shoulders on him, he kicks well from the back and covered the back field well in the first half. He was the one I was really impressed by. I wonder where he'll end up?
Scott Quinnell: This was hugely frustrating for Jersey. They talked about width in defence and getting people across and they did that - but at times they just didn't execute the tackle properly; you need to get there, be physical in the contacts and drive through players. When Plymouth scored the third and fourth tries it was almost comical, players were diving everywhere. You can't have that. They will get better, but it looked like Plymouth were fitter, bigger, stronger and that tells, especially in this league.
Rory Lawson:The Cornish Pirates have really caused an upset there. They've come out of the blocks and Bristol will be massively disappointed. But this league is a marathon and it is all about getting towards the play-offs. Bristol will get better over the coming rounds, they've got Nicky Robinson to come back who will slot in at 10 and boss things, but the Pirates have really come in under the radar and some of their new signings and guys many people won't have heard of have stepped up to the mark and put in a big performance.
Scott Quinnell: We talked about pride, passion, commitment and how they were going to beat Bristol with that togetherness and team spirit - well, they had that in abundance today and this was a wonderful win for the Pirates.
