OWNER Matt Ford joked that Neil Middleditch has it easy as boss after flying from France to step in and steer Pirates to a dominant 64-26 win over Plymouth Gladiators.

With team boss Middlo in France on holiday to watch the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford flew the other way in order to take charge in the pits.

Pirates got off to a flying start, beginning the meeting with three straight maximums.

Ford told the Daily Echo: “It was a nice night.

“It's an easy job what Middlo’s got, isn't it?

“All joking aside, we made sure that the guys didn't take their foot off the gas at the start of the meeting, had a little talk about what we should do about gates.

“Stevie (Worrall) hadn't had a lot of success in heat number one of late, and that was really crucial to us, to get off to a good start.

“And I think we've got the strength in depth.

“I've said to the guys, ‘if we don't win (heat one), let's not panic’.

“Because every meeting we're doing this, we're pulling it back and we've got the strength in depth to bring it back. It makes such a difference.

“It's a very good team.”

Since Ford and Middleditch took over as owner and manager of Pirates in 1998 respectively, there have been a few occasions when the former has found himself in the pits as a one-off boss.

“I bet it’s ten years  - I couldn't even tell you the last time,” Ford continued.

“Occasionally, very occasionally, when there's something that we need to do, so it's not something I want to do regularly.”

Whilst his son Danny now runs the day-to-day affairs of the promotion, Ford senior keeps a close eye on Pirates affairs from France, where he runs Chateau la Briance.

Ford explained: “The Chateau, we had a few bookings in, so we closed down the other bookings. Basically, the timing was perfect.

“Got dropped off at Bergerac, Bergerac into Bournemouth at half past four and got a lovely victory for the Pirates.”