Cornish Pirates boss Chris Stirling has said consistent performance is his target for the forthcoming season.

The Pirates won the first ever British & Irish Cup title in May, but could only finish sixth in the regular Championship season.

Stirling told BBC Spotlight "The big thing has got to be consistency.

"We put in some really good performances last year, but a couple of average ones as well. We lost our way at times."

After finishing sixth in the regular Championship season, the Pirates only managed to win two of their six games in the end of season play-offs.

The Mennaye is a tight, close environment which creates a real atmosphere for the players to play in Chris Stirling

But that disappointment was tempered by their 23-14 victory over Munster in the inaugural British & Irish Cup final at the Camborne Rec on 16 May.

"The goals for this season are the same," said Stirling.

"We want to make the play-offs and maybe the semi-finals of the Championship, and then make the quarter-finals of the British and Irish Cup and we can reassess from there."

Since the end of last season, the Pirates have returned home to the Mennaye Field in Penzance, after spending four seasons playing at Camborne's Recreation Ground.

Doncaster will be the first Championship visitors to the stadium on Sunday, when they take on the Pirates in the season's opener.

Stirling said: "We were initially surprised when we were told that we were coming back here, but once we sat down and got our heads around that we were excited about it.

"The Mennaye is a tight, close environment for the spectators to watch the game which creates a real atmosphere for the players to play in."

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