Cornish Pirates aim for play-off qualification with a crucial match against Hartpury, treating it like a 'cup final'. They must win to secure a top-six finish in the league.
Cornish Pirates' win over third-placed Coventry last week set up their chance to make the play-offs [Brian Tempest]
Cornish Pirates coach Joe Walsh says his side will treat their final day trip to Hartpury as another "cup final" as they aim to make the Champ play-offs.
The seventh-placed Pirates - who announced new American investment this week - must beat Hartpury, who are directly above them in the table, if they are to make the top six and the post-season matches.
The Penzance-based side have beaten third-placed Coventry, earned a bonus point at unbeaten leaders Ealing and defeated fifth-placed Chinnor in their last three games to give themselves a chance.
"It is a cup final, but I think the last three games for us have all been cup finals," Walsh told BBC Radio Cornwall.
"We felt Chinnor was going to be a cup final, definitely we felt Coventry would be and we knew that our task at Ealing was to come away with at least a point and we actually probably felt we deserved more than that on the day.
"In the last three weeks we feel we've had some real form and we've been a difficult team to play against."
It is the first time in nine years that play-off games have been expanded beyond the top two sides in the second tier.
Pirates last made the play-offs in 2012, when they were beaten over two legs by London Welsh in the Championship play-off final.
The Cornish Pirates must win their final match against Hartpury to secure a top-six finish and qualify for the play-offs.
The Cornish Pirates are playing against Hartpury in their final match of the season.
The Cornish Pirates are currently in seventh place in the league standings.
The Cornish Pirates have recently defeated third-placed Coventry, earned a bonus point against unbeaten leaders Ealing, and beat fifth-placed Chinnor.
Foster Griffin struck out a season-high nine batters over seven innings, leading the Nationals to a 3-2 victory against the Marlins. Jacob Young contributed with a two-run homer in the first inning.
Misiorowski shines with 12 strikeouts as Brewers defeat Yankees 6-0
Brooklyn Nets set to select Caleb Wilson over Darryn Peterson in 2026 NBA Draft.
Shakira Austin leads Mystics to 68-65 win over Tempo in opener
The Philadelphia 76ers surprised teachers and healthcare workers by giving away 500 free tickets for Game 3 of their playoff series against the New York Knicks. Recipients included educators from Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, as well as healthcare workers from local hospitals.
Packers officially cut ties with Super Bowl champion kicker Brandon McManus
See every story in Sports — including breaking news and analysis.
Despite no club winning promotion to the Prem as a result of the play-offs, Walsh still feels they are a great way to keep interest in the second tier of English rugby.
"There can be a little bit of cynicism around the point of the play-offs in terms of promotion and relegation," he said.
"But I just feel, especially at this level and as a professional sports team, your goal is always to be can we be the best team in what we do?
"We didn't start the season off by saying 'if we finish first we can get promoted', we started the season off by saying 'just how high can we finish, just how far can we go?'."
Pirates are three points off Hartpury, so ideally need a four-try bonus point as well as a win to ensure they make the top six.
Both sides could progress should Pirates win, Hartpury earn a bonus point and fifth-placed Chinnor lose to third-from-bottom Richmond without securing a bonus point.
"As a coach you always probably wish that it didn't come down to the last game and you could get yourself starting to think ahead to the week after," added Walsh
"But the task at hand is a big away game this weekend in what is a traditionally tough place to go and win.
"We won't be taking anything for granted, it's going to be a massive arm wrestle and we know that there are areas of our game that are going to have to function the way they functioned against Coventry and that are also going to have to improve this week."