Pirates need clear minds ahead of clash
Having kicked off their season in style with four wins on the bounce, Stirling's side have been derailed in recent weeks as they slipped to successive defeats to Plymouth Albion, Bristol and, more recently London Welsh. It's a sequence of results the New Zealand-born coach admits he is keen to rectify sooner rather than later and he has targeted this weekend's encounter as the starting point for an upturn in the club's fortunes.
Without a win all season and with their existence still very much up in the air because of debts owed to the Inland Revenue, it's not been a campaign to remember so far for the visiting Bees, who even this week have continued to shed some of their more-established names to rival Championship clubs.
But despite the doom and gloom that currently lingers around Sharmans Cross Road, Stirling has warned his side not to under-estimate the threat of the division's basement club.
"We are very wary of them and won't be taking them lightly at all," said Stirling. "For me, though, our worse enemy on Sunday will be if we are hesitant. If we dwell on the last three performances and even give them a sniff that we are hesitant, they will rip our heads off. They have nothing to lose and that makes them a very dangerous opponent.
"From our perspective, we are going to have a big focus on the set piece and I've instructed Ian [Davies] that I think the way we can stamp our authority on the game is to attack them in the same was Bristol did to us. If we can get dominance up there and play with structure, then I think we should be able to control their helter-skelter game which they have been playing of late."
To help try and secure that dominance up front, Stirling has been buoyed by the return of several notable first-team figures. Into the pack from last week come Rudi Brits, Rob Elloway, Shaun Pammenter, Ben Gulliver and Blair Cowan, while behind there are starts for club captain Gavin Cattle, James Moore and Nick Jackson, the latter of whom replaces the injured Mark Ireland. Stirling admits the loss of Ireland in the home midfield is a blow, particularly as the former Newbury and London Irish back has been a stand-out figure for the Pirates this season.
He added: "On one hand it's great that we are able to welcome back a number of the boys, but we've also lost a few others including Mark Ireland who, I believe, has been a key member of our on-field performances to date.
"Mark is one of the best all-round footballers that I have ever worked with and he has been really instrumental for us this season. His strength, his speed, his agility and his understanding of the game are first class and this season we've really worked hard on some aspects of his defence as well. For me, there is no reason why he can't push on and get even better."
But whilst Ireland will sit out the action this weekend, the likes of Gulliver, Cowan, Cattle and Moore will all return to help provide not only a great deal of experience and leadership to the Pirates, but also some much-needed on-field direction – something which Stirling admits has been lacking in recent displays from his side.
"I have never been one to get stuck into a team straight after a defeat, simply because it doesn't really achieve anything, " said the Kiwi. "If you are going to hold a team accountable, you better back it up with some facts. Hence, my gut feeling last week at Welsh was that we were working hard, but working stupid and lacking direction at times.
"When we did the analysis this week, it kind of backed that all up. I must have watched the game six or seven times, I even did it in terms of the tackle count for both sides. We made 81 and they [Welsh] made 120, so we had enough of the ball and had enough opportunities, we just lacked direction at key moments. For that, I can't rip into the guys because they did really try, the proof is there. However, if I thought they had dropped their heads and given up, that will be the time to really hammer them. They didn't, though, and they kept going to the end."
Stirling is now hopeful that following a good week on the training field, certain lessons will have been learnt and that they will now be able to inflict a further sting on the beleaguered Bees.
Cornish Pirates: W Davies; R McAtee, N Jackson, S Winn, R Cook; J Moore, G Cattle (capt); A Paver, R Elloway, R Brits; S Pammenter, B Gulliver; M Evans, S Betty, B Cowan. Replacements: C Rimmer, D Ward, T Holmes, L McGlone, J Doherty, R Bright, A Havili.
Pirates coach Chris Stirling will use the set piece as a key weapon against Birmingham-Solihull
