HAVING had time to reflect upon his side's impressive performance against Leeds Tykes last Sunday, Tigers' Director of Coaching Tim Fourie has been in an upbeat mood this week.

Sedgley produced a dogged performance in Yorkshire but ultimately failed to gain precious points in their relegation fight.

Fourie was pleased with the show - although that did not mean he was attempting to dodge the negatives that contributed to the loss.

"The thing that stood out for me was that we didn't stop trying, we showed outstanding commitment and determination right to the final whistle and as a result we walked off with our heads held high," he said: "They knew they had been in a game and they knew we deserved at least a point if not more.

"However, I also saw some terrible, terrible errors. Chris Hall bounced the ball over the line after running straight at their defence when he had about 10 metres to his left in which to run around them. While for all the good lineouts we won we were also awful at others.

"But the overall feeling was a positive one. We put together a lot of phases and we tried to play rugby all the time right up to the injury time."

Fourie has now challenged his side to carry on where they left off against the Cornish Pirates this Saturday at Park Lane (kick-off 2.30pm).

"The only thing now is it is going to be a hard act to follow, but we simply have to; we've showed we can push the top teams all the way and Pirates will be no different," he said. "We have at last produced a performance to be proud of, one to build on, and if we beat the Pirates it will give us a hat-trick of wins over them at home.

"They are big and they are going to come switched-on, but if we can improve just 10 per cent on the effort we showed at Leeds I'm convinced we can win this one."

On the downside the Tigers have already lost the services of second row Ben Lloyd recalled by Sale. Another loan signing who has yet to pull on a Tigers' shirt, lock Sean Cox, picked up an injury that will keep him out for between six to eight weeks.

On the plus side, prop Martin Halsall, who showed himself to be a formidable scrummager against Leeds, should be available again.

With Fourie himself still recovering from a minor knee operation, he is contemplating starting Alex Bennett in the boiler room alongside the hard-working Jaco Swart.

With skipper Jimmy Ponton (shoulder), Jonny Roddam (leg) and Ed Norris (calf) all receiving treatment this week, his line-up is likely to be left for as long as possible in order to give players time to recover.

He is unlikely to be able to call upon Fijian back Ratu Naulivou, as the serving soldier is on an Army signals course, while countryman Saula Roko is also out for two weeks due to service commitments.