THE Cornish Pirates will meet Doncaster Knights in the semi-finals of the British & Irish Cup at Camborne next month.

The winner of the Pirates' clash with the Knights will also have home advantage in the final to be played on Sunday, May 16. Munster host Ulster in the other semi-final.

The draw for the last four of the British & Irish Cup took place in Cardiff yesterday morning. The semi-finals are scheduled to take place on the weekend of April 23-25. However, the Pirates have already confirmed their game will be played at the Camborne Recreation Ground on Sunday, April 25 (3pm).

Cornish Pirates CEO Rod Coward said: "We were obviously hoping that the Cornish Pirates would receive a home draw in the semi-finals and I'm sure that our supporters are really looking forward to welcoming Doncaster Knights back to the Rec.

"We have the greatest respect for Doncaster and we are certainly not looking so far ahead, but the added incentive is that the winner of the game will then play either Munster or Ulster at home in the final."

The final of the British & Irish Cup will be televised by Sky Sports in high definition. British & Irish Cup Tournament Director Terry Burwell said: "We now have two mouth-watering semi-finals for players, coaches and supporters of these clubs and provinces. There will also be an Anglo-Irish final live on Sky Sports HD which will further showcase this exciting new cross-border competition."

The Pirates host bitter rivals Plymouth Albion in the second round of Championship play-off fixtures this weekend.

However, the Devon side's bid for a place in the semi-finals have been dented by the news that lock Mike Lewis could miss the rest of the season after undergoing a cartilage operation.

The 24-year-old Plymothian has been troubled with the injury for a several weeks. He last appearance for the club came against Gael Force in the British & Irish Cup at the end of February.

Lewis had been due to feature in Albion's squad in their must-win match against Doncaster on March 13, but had to pull out on the morning of the game.

"The injury has been given him grief and so they made the decision to operate," said Albion's chairman of rugby Graham Dawe.

"There is a chance he could be back for the Bedford away game on May 1.

"But it is a huge blow for him and the club at this time of year. However, the pain has restricted him from training and the operation needed to be done."

Albion are also without fellow lock/back-row forward James Waterhouse, who has recently had a hernia operation. Flanker Rory Watts-Jones is also set to miss this weekend's match against the Pirates due to a hip injury he picked up against Bedford Blues last Saturday.

It was while Watts-Jones was down injured that Bedford scored the winning try. Albion are still waiting to find out the extent of the University of Plymouth flanker's injury. Fellow flanker Darren Clayton has returned to training after damaging ankle ligament in December but he will not be fit to face the Pirates on Sunday.

With Lewis, Waterhouse, Watts-Jones and Clayton all set to be unavailable for Albion's second play-off game on Sunday, it could mean Gareth Evans or Danny Thomas are added to their squad.