Murray appointed as assistant coach

Following the departure of Assistant Coach Matt Jess at the start of the season, who left the club to take up a position near to his home in Pembrokeshire, the Cornish Pirates can confirm that Murray Westren has been appointed to the role.

A former Pirates Amateurs, Camborne, and Redruth player, who was forced to retire from playing in 2018, Murray, now aged 32, all but immediately took up coaching. As head coach of the Pirates Amateurs, he has seen them achieve success, whilst besides being the rugby coach at Penwith College he has also, with his involvement in the Exeter Chiefs DPP (Development Player Pathway) satellite centre based there, played a role to help Cornwall’s budding young talent.

Commenting reference Murray’s appointment, Cornish Pirates’ joint head coach Gavin Cattle said:

“We have had a close liaison with Murray through the Exeter age group coaching work that he was involved with and, to a degree, with the Pirates Amateurs.

“Our paths have regularly crossed, we have had a lot of discussions about rugby, and I think this is a good example of how clubs can work together.

“I know Murray will fit into our environment right away in terms of character, plus he is a good coach who has a level of experience and looks at the game both technically and tactically in depth.”

Gavin added:

“Having had some great conversations in the past, I think this is a really good opportunity for Murray, to settle in first and foremost, and to then fit in naturally with what we are doing as a cohesive group of coaching staff.”