Cornish Pirates have confirmed director of rugby Chris Stirling has made an early return to his native New Zealand.
His return has been hastened by the Coronavirus situation, with the Championship season ended by the RFU.
A Pirates statement confirmed: Following the RFU’s recent cuts in funding, and to the delay in the construction of the Stadium for Cornwall, because the Council has yet to transfer the land, it means that the Cornish Pirates and Chris have agreed that in the best interests of the club he will take a sabbatical.
“Chris will only return to the role once the stadium construction has started.This is the second time we have had to ask Chris to stand back from our long-term plans and we are determined it does not happen again.
“In this difficult period Chris has been generous in putting the best interests of the club first. All will be aware that his influence on the club this past season has been immense, as clearly demonstrated by the team’s performance and focus, and we ultimately hope that he can return to finish the job he has started.”
A land row has stymied developments for the construction of a Stadium for Cornwall, which Stirling sees as central to the club’s ambitions to become a Premiership club.
Cornwall Council has yet to secure land from developers Inox, who will lead the building of a 2,700 homes key to funding the stadium.
But with contracts yet to be exchanged and finger-pointing ensuing over the lack of progress, Stirling has returned home to New Zealand with the coronavirus pandemic now a major global issue.
Stirling returned to the south-west coast on a three-year deal last summer, having first visited Cornwall for a seven-week spell in the autumn of 2008 on a consultancy basis.
Impressing the board enough to warrant a long-term agreement, Stirling delivered Pirates to a first British & Irish Cup in 2010, whilst he also in 2011 led them to a two-legged RFU Championship final against Worcester Warriors, which was lost by an aggregate score of 46-32.
The 2019-20 has seen marked improvements for Pirates on the field, leading the chasing pack trailing leaders Newcastle alongside Ealing Trailfinders.
