Cook, who has been a huge success since arriving at the Pirates from Nuneaton in 2009, played a key part in the 21-20 win over the Blues - a victory which secures a Championship semi-final spot.

Had any of his two penalties and a conversion failed to go through the posts, the Cornish club would have faced a nervous trip to Headingley this weekend to battle Leeds for a last-four spot.

Cook, who was shown a yellow card for killing the ball in the second half, told thisiscornwall: "It wasn't the prettiest, but a win is a win - we were a bit desperate.

Impressed

"It is nice we've got next week as more of a dead rubber now. That is a nice little luxury, and we will look forward to the semi-finals now."

The Pirates' place in the last four is confirmed but their opponents for the two-leg semi-finals will only be certain after this weekend's final group games.

Although the Pirates, Bedford, London Welsh and Bristol are all through, first and second places in both promotion pools is undecided.

A Championship final between the Pirates and Bedford is a possibility and Cook was impressed with the Blues' performance at Mennaye Field, despite substantial changes to their usual starting XV. The result also brought a three-game losing run against Bedford to a close.

"They're a good side and have strength in depth," said Cook. "They're a good ball-playing team and we always have a good game against them. This win was important, though. We got the better of them last year, but this season had been different up to now."