Evans unveils his plans to fans

Over 300 fans packed St John's Hall to hear Evans' finance plans

Cornish Pirates owner Dicky Evans has outlined plans of how he hopes to plug the hole in the club's finances to supporters at Monday's public meeting.

The 300 fans at the meeting were told Pirates had a deficit of �650,000.

Evans pledged to fund half the shortfall before unveiling a series of measures he hoped supporters would take up in order to fund the other half.

The initiatives included a subscription website with offers ranging from �20 up to a �5,000-a-season package.

BBC Cornwall columnist and Pirates prop forward Alan Paver said that the extra money would be needed to keep the club competitive.

"The kind of monies involved at the moment would give us a chance to sustain and play a good level of rugby," he told BBC Radio Cornwall.

"The more money we earn, the bigger the squad, the better the players and the better chance we have of holding on to those players and reaching that top four."

Most supporters at the meeting went away with the aim of doing something to help fund the club.

"I think people recognise what needs to be done and I think there's a clear appetite to help us do what needs to be done to achieve," said chief executive Rod Coward after the meeting.