THE Cornish Pirates face more selection headaches as they build towards their penultimate RFU Championship fixture of the season when they travel to Meadow Lane to take on high-flying Nottingham on Sunday (1.15pm).
Grant Pointer (eye) and Aaron Penberthy (thigh) were both forced off during the second half of Sunday's punishing British & Irish Cup quarter-final defeat to Munster leaving the Pirates short of cover at full-back and fly-half.
A trip to Clifton Lane last night to face Rotherham Titans in a re-arranged fixture ahead of the clash with the Green & Whites compounded matters even further and head coach Ian Davies may have to utilise all the dual-registered players he can lay his hands on.
Davies said: "We have got two games to go and the top four is out of our grasp with Leeds winning at Moseley last Friday, so we just need to go out and try and finish on a high.
He added: "We will go to Nottingham for a really tough game and then prepare to Jersey, who could be fighting for their lives, or it might be champagne throw the ball around rugby because they are in the Championship next season. We will just have to see what happens."
The Pirates were able to recall centre Sam Hill from Exeter Chiefs for the Munster game and may look to secure the services again of scrum-half Chris Cook and full-back Ollie Devoto from Bath following the Premiership side's exit from the Amlin Cup.
Prop Max Maidment is also understood to be due to return to the Pirates following a short stay at the Mennaye Field early in the season, as cover for the injured Ben Prescott while Maidment senior, Ben, could be added to the squad following a hamstring problem.
The main concern though is at fly-half where Kieran Hallett was ruled out of the cup quarter-final and Jonny Bentley failed a late fitness test on a strained ankle picked up after 40 minutes of game time during his return to action against Bedford.
Forwards James Tyas and Alex Cheesman, who can also play at centre, were unused replacements against Munster and No8 Tom Duncan is likely to be called back from a spell at Redruth.
Nottingham, coached by former Pirate Martin Haag, currently lie second in the Championship and are guaranteed a play-off place.
Cornish Pirates (from): Riley, Fatialofa, Hallett, Bedford, Andrew, Elloway, Lyons, Storer, Semmens, Barry, Kessell, Cheesman, Joyce, Mercer, Davies, Marriott, Tyas, Hambly, Duncan, Evans, Pointer, Johnson, Smith, Penberthy, Cook, McGlone, Hill, Kilmartin, Bentley, Burgess, B Maidment, M Maidment, Devoto.
THE Cornish Pirates confirmed their intent for the 2013-14 Championship season by announcing Plymouth Albion star Aaron Carpenter as one of five new signings.
Pirates owner Dicky Evans issued a detailed statement about next season's squad just hours before Cornwall Council's strategic planning committee unanimously voted to grant planning permission for a Stadium for Cornwall.
Evans confirmed that Albion's Canadian international No8 Carpenter will join the Pirates over the summer along with fellow forwards Tom Channon (Bristol) and Rotherham prop Shane Cahill.
Young South African full-back Kieran Goss and Wales U20s centre Rheon James are also set to make the move to Mennaye Field. But flanker Phil Burgess will join the English Sevens squad on a full-time contract and back Wes Davies will retire at the end of the season. Also leaving is young Cornish prop Paul Andrew who is joining Worcester Warriors.
Evans confirmed that the majority of this season's squad would remain in place.
Head Coach Ian Davies believes last week's developments regarding the Stadium for Cornwall will be crucial in the club's long-term success.
He said: "If we are going to fulfil our dream of playing Premiership rugby, then the stadium needs to be built. This is a major step forward, but there are still more steps to take."
Pirates retained players for 2013-2014 season (18): Alan Paver, Rob Elloway, Chris Morgan, Laurie McGlone, Jonny Bentley, Gavin Cattle, Alex Cheesman, Kyle Marriott, Tom Kessell, Matt Evans, Kieran Hallett, Gary Johnson, Ben Prescott, Darren Barry, Tom Riley, Junior Fatialofa, Peter Joyce and Tom Duncan.
