Cornish Pirates coach Walsh agrees to extend deal

Joe Walsh is coming to the end of his first season in English rugby union

Cornish Pirates coach Joe Walsh has agreed a new deal to stay with the club next season.

The 25-year-old Irishman will take the role of lead forwards and defence coach for the Championship club.

Walsh worked as a performance analyst for the Poland national team in the 2023 Rugby Europe Championship.

He has also been head of performance analysis at Rugby Academy Ireland and with the under-17s side at Leinster.

Joint head coaches Alan Paver and Gavin Cattle agreed new deals last week

"It's been a privilege to work with such a great group of players and staff this season and I'm really looking forward to seeing what we can produce as a team next year," Walsh told the club's website.

Paver said: "We're absolutely over the moon to have him for another year.

"The way he's come in and contributed to what we do on the pitch, you've really got to see it on the inside."

The news comes as Pirates announced that prop James French ahs signed a new deal to stay for next season.

The Irishman, who moved to Penzance last summer, has made 21 appearances so far in his debut season and scored one try.