James Doherty column

Cornish Pirates scrum-half

We have not become a bad team overnight and good players don't become poor players after one or two games

They say bad things come in three's don't they? Well, we're hoping so.

It's still not panic stations at the Cornish Pirates but there has been a real focus on certain aspects of our game after three defeats on the trot.

We have revisited some basics and refocused our goals for the next few games.

We aim to become a better defensive team and the effort put in at training on our defensive organisation has been intense.

Having lost to a very organised and determined London Welsh side, there is a huge hunger in the squad to get back out onto the pitch and put things right.

We have not become a bad team overnight and good players don't become poor players after one or two games.

We made errors at crucial times and Welsh made us suffer.

Anyway enough of that, there is some good news. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Lauren and Jeff, our physio team, we have a few key players returning to the squad this week.

Captain Gavin Cattle and vice-captains Ben Gulliver and Blair Cowan return to the side for the game against Birmingham. Oh, and there is a little spot on the bench for me too!

I'm very excited to be back involved, it's been good just to be back into full training, but now I'm involved in my first league fixture of the season.

I'm looking forward to the buzz of a match day at Camborne in what will be a very tough game despite what the league table will tell you.

Birmingham have scored over 20 points against Exeter and Bedford, and scored over 30 points against Bristol.

They will come out firing and I'm sure they will be quietly confident despite their solitary league point.

I'm very excited to be involved this week and aim to perform well with any game time I am given.

We are hoping that the Pirates faithful haven't given up on us. We have more to show and we are focused on gaining valuable league points this weekend, and with the outstanding support we receive, we're confident we can deliver.