THERE has been a lot of positive talk about the Plymouth Albion maul in recent weeks, but it was the Devon men who were on the end of a mauling at Camborne yesterday with the Cornish Pirates running riot in a 46-7 Championship victory over their great rivals.

The Pirates were unstoppable, running in seven tries to Albion's one – the result was never in doubt from the opening minutes until the last.

Two tries from Rob Cook combined with scores from Chris Morgan, Aisea Havili, Gavin Cattle, Blair Cowan and Jonny Bentley blasted the home side to victory with Albion gaining just the single consolation try from Matt Hopper midway through the second half.

Nobody from the Albion camp would take anything away from the Pirates' outstanding performance but there were mitigating circumstances for Graham Dawe's men – their back-row, in particular, took on a slightly ungainly shape from previous, more successful, weeks.

Wayne Sprangle, Darren Clayton and Kyle Marriott fulfilled the roles from six to eight during their victory over the Exeter Chiefs last weekend – Albion's fourth consecutive Championship win. But with injuries to the latter two, lock Mike Lewis was forced to play at flanker with James Waterhouse, while Sprangle took over at No.8.

But if Albion had unavailability problems – which also saw them without Rory Watts-Jones, centre Sione Tu'ipulotu, and prop Martin Rice – the Pirates took advantage in clinical fashion right from the off.

The Pirates kicked off into the Albion half and kept the visitors pinned in for the best part of half an hour, the only brief respite coming from penalty decisions and handling errors from the home side.

The pressure first began to tell in the seventh minute. Pirates fly-half Bentley hussled his way through the Albion line and touched down under the posts. However, referee Terry Hall had spotted an infringement in the build up, giving Albion a chance to clear temporarily.

However, the opening score would soon come for the Cornishmen. With 12 minutes gone, and with Albion still yet to gain possession within the Pirates' half, flanker Morgan finally found some space near the right corner and bashed Albion winger Liam Gibson aside for the opening try. Full-back Cook added the extras with an excellent conversion from close to the touchline. From there, they never looked back.

The complete domination continued with the Pirates straight back on the front foot. Skipper and scrum-half Cattle together with Morgan combined on the break to get their side as far as the Albion 22 – the latter then off-loaded smartly to the onrushing Havili who juggled the ball before gathering safely and speeding clear under the posts.

Cook again made the conversion, this time from a straight-forward position under the posts.

More than 20 minutes had passed before Albion made inroads into the Pirates' 22. A trademark Albion maul followed, making more than half the remaining distance to the try-line.

The ball was then fed back to fly-half Alex Davies who lifted a kick out wide towards Gibson – the kick was good, the catch was good, but Havili was on hand, dumping his opposite number into touch before the ball could be grounded.

This very moment in the game could have been a turning point for Albion, the tables were now suddenly turning in their favour, with a prolonged period of pressure forcing the Pirates to defend by any means necessary.

However, the home side's disruption tactics did the trick and the visitors fumbled possession, before eventually being penalised for coming in at the side after a scramble for the loose ball.

The frustration was palpable for Albion, spilling over into a mini brawl, although referee Hall only deemed it necessary to speak to Davies and Pirates' No.8 Cowan once order had been restored.

The Pirates then rubbed salt into the wounds with another lightning break, slicing through the Albion defence with pace and precision.

Within a blink of an eye Bentley was powering towards the line, drawing in what remained of Albion's tattered defensive line before releasing Cook to his right at the perfect moment. The former Nuneaton back touched down before adding the conversion with a low thud of a drive arcing over the posts.

Even then there were opportunities to wrap up the fourth try for the bonus point before the interval, Albion were fortunate to get to half-time with their pride merely dented but still intact.

The danger for Pirates was always going to be complacency on the restart, and Waterhouse nearly exposed the hosts within seconds of the sides kicking off, brushing aside several weak Pirate tackles before the Cornishmen brought the defensive line taut once more.

And once that platform had been established, the Pirates advanced again, gaining a penalty for offside as they ventured as far as the Albion 22. They opted to kick for goal with Cook maintaining his poise to add three points.

There was simply no let-up for Albion. The Pirates won their bonus point with 30 minutes to spare, Havili finding Cook in space on the right and he blasted to the corner as white shirts were slipping and sliding in a doomed effort to make a tackle. The conversion was missed on this occasion, however.

Albion points did finally come on the hour. Replacement Kieran Hallett found a rare gap and played in centre Hopper – albeit with a slightly forward-looking trajectory to the pass – to get a consolation score under the posts. Hallett added the close-range conversion.

Any subdued celebrations were to be shortlived, however. On their next attack the Pirates added a fifth try through Cattle who broke clear on the right – with Cook again adding the conversion.

Perhaps the final insult for Albion came in the 70th minute. An easily kickable penalty chance was turned down, with Bentley instead aiming for touch. The Pirates won the line-out and drove for the line, 'Albion-esque' with Cowan peeling off to score the hosts' sixth try.

With five minutes remaining, Bentley added another score to the rout, dummying a pass to his outside and then bursting through himself after some good work in the build up from Havili and hooker David Ward.

It's Moseley at home for Albion next, and they will hope to restore their battered pride by then. The Pirates, meanwhile, will feel there may never be a better time to take on the might of Bristol than this Friday.