Pirates move game to Camborne after storm damage

Cornish Pirates will play Saturday's Champ match against Ampthill at Camborne after damage to the Mennaye Field.

Work is ongoing to make the main grandstand at Pirates' Penzance home safe after Storm Goretti struck last week.

The high winds tore off sections of the roof and caused structural damage to parts of the stand.

Water has also got into the electrics, meaning they have had to be shut off for safety reasons

The Rugby Football Union has given the club permission to temporarily play at Camborne's Recreation Ground.

"It is now clearly impossible for us to play our Saturday match here and the damage is devastating," chief executive Sally Pettipher told BBC Sport.

"The difficulties are many. They are health and safety. You need to assess and repair these things properly.

"They're logistical because the storm tore through this part of the country and we are not alone in needing contractors with scaffolding, roofing, specialists, waste managers, health and safety officers.

"We have to notify everybody; our insurers, our national governing body, and that just adds a layer of workload that is unexpected."

Pirates spent almost five years playing at the venue before returning to the Mennaye in 2010, where they have hosted home games ever since.

The move is expected to be just for Saturday's match, with the club anticipating that their ground will be safe for their next home game, against London Scottish on 7 February.

"I couldn't be more grateful to our fans, our supporters, our sponsors, for the fact that they're willing to help us by bending over backwards to be somewhere else in a different way at a different time," added Pettipher.

"The nicest thing is just how well everybody's pulled together - for us it's a real emergency and everybody is making it better."

The damage at the Mennaye, which is owned and run by Penzance and Newlyn RFC, is likely to cost more than £200,000 to repair.

Soon after Storm Goretti had passed, both Camborne and Redruth made offers to host the Pirates should work not be finished in time.

Since then, the Rugby Football Union have inspected both clubs' grounds and deemed that the home of the National One West leaders is suitable.

"The very first morning that we woke up and saw the damage, I contacted the RFU and I contacted the management team responsible for our league, and they came down on Friday to look at the Mennaye and the damage, and to look at Camborne and Redruth, who both really, really kindly offered to host us," said Pettipher.

"Neither of those meet the minimum standards to be our home ground, but as a secondary ground in exceptional circumstances, there are ways to make that work.

"There are some minor points about access for medics, there are floodlights, there are things that can be managed.

"What has to happen is that we have to install video technology that tracks players for head-injury risk, and that is a technically challenging and expensive manoeuvre.

"But the technicians from Hawkeye are coming down this week to install a temporary rig at Camborne. We have a permanent rig here at the Mennaye but it's within the condemned electrics at the moment, so there's no access to it."