NO CUP FINAL FOR PIRATES!

Poole suffered their biggest knockout cup aggregate defeat since 2018 when they lost to Somerset and had their biggest away defeat inflicted on them since 2019 as they went crashing out of the 2026 Knockout Cup at the hands of Berwick.

Richard Lawson (12), Cooper Rushen (7+1) and Lewis Kerr (7) were the backbone of Poole’s resistance, but even they could not stop Berwick piling up a 55-35 second-leg victory.

Poole opened with a heat advantage through winner Richard Lawson and third-placed Cooper Rushen — the youngster making his first appearance at Shielfield Park — which bolstered their aggregate lead to six points. But by the time Lawson appeared on track again, the Pirates were trailing by two points on aggregate.

The talking point of the meeting came in heat ten, when Poole, twelve down on the night and eight across the tie, had Cooper Rushen controversially disqualified for allegedly causing Jye Etheridge to fall. The Bandits captain remonstrated with Rushen in no uncertain terms, and the video replays were studied before Rushen was prevented from taking his place in the re-run.

Speaking after the meeting, Rushen said,

‘I don’t really know what happened, to be honest. I was just riding me bike and the red lights came on. Like I said, I don’t have a clue what happened. He was done, and I thought he had just come down on his own. Then the red mist came over him, I think, and he had a little paddywack and didn’t like that too much. But, you know, I am just trying to get on with my career. I’m doing what I love, and I am not going to let anyone stop that. It was nice for me to get a heat fifteen ride, but it is disappointing that we won’t be going into the final this year. It has been a very successful club, and it is a shame that we can’t still aim for the treble again now. But the double is still on!’

Two heats later, there was confusion when Simon Lambert served a disqualification for his second starting offence of the meeting. The Pirates announced Kyle Newman would replace him, but he failed to meet the two-minute time allowance and was disqualified himself, with no opportunity afforded to Poole to put Newman off a handicap as the race went ahead with three riders only. Kerr, however, kept Poole’s faint hopes of a comeback alive as he banked his second win of the night to share the heat.

But Poole were left saying farewell to the final dream after Nick Morris beat Lawson for the second time in the space of three heats in heat thirteen, although the jubilant Berwick fans were advised they needed to wait for a further point, which, mathematically, they did not require!

The Bandits will now face Plymouth in the Cup Final, but the Pirates might yet have an opportunity to avenge this result, as Berwick — the only side still open to the treble — could well be Poole’s opponents in the BSN Final.

BERWICK 55 (98): Nick Morris 11 (3,2,3,3), Jye Etheridge 10+1 (0,3,3,1',3), Peter Kildemand 10+1 (2,2',2,1,3), Victor Palovaara 9 (3,2,2,2,0), Jack Smith 8+4 (1,2',1',RS,1',1,2'), Jordan Jenkins 7+2 (3,1,XE,0,2',1)

POOLE 35 (82): Richard Lawson 12 (3,3,2,2,2), Cooper Rushen 7+1 (1,2,3,X0,0,1'), Lewis Kerr 7 (0,1,3,3), Zach Cook 4 (1,0,3,0), Kyle Newman 3 (2,0,0,0,R,N2,1), Simon Lambert 2 (F,1,1,0,XE)

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