ALAN Paver says his Cornish Pirates squad have deliberately shut out any distraction caused by a late change of venue ahead of their Championship Rugby Cup clash with Ampthill.

Saturday’s home fixture will now be played at the Recreation Ground in Camborne after significant storm damage to the main grandstand at the Pirates’ traditional home, Mennaye Field.

The damage was caused by Storm Goretti, forcing the club to take swift action to ensure the match could go ahead safely.

Ahead of kick-off, however, the joint head coach has praised the club’s non-playing staff for managing the situation behind the scenes and allowing the players and coaches to remain fully focused on preparations.

“We know the club are working incredibly hard to try and get the pitch ready,” he said. “They’ve done a fantastic job with the clean-up, but they couldn’t guarantee everything would be ready in time, so they made a clear and sensible decision. That’s allowed us to just concentrate on rugby.”

Paver added that the disruption for the squad has been minimal, with training and coaching continuing as normal. “Touch wood, it’s not going to cause us any issues,” he said.

The switch to Camborne brings back fond memories for Paver, who knows the ground well from his own playing days with the Pirates. He and fellow joint head coach Gavin Cattle were part of the Pirates side that lifted the inaugural British and Irish Cup at the venue in May 2010, defeating Munster in the final.

“It’s a ground we know well and one that holds some great memories,” Paver said. “We’re just grateful we can move across and get the game played. The players have something to really get their teeth into.”