Championship club Cornish Pirates have appointed former England World Cup winner Josh Lewsey as their new chief executive.

The 36-year-old has been drafted in to replace Rod Coward, with the club's owner Dickie Evans admitting his delight at the acquisition.

"Needing no introduction, former Lion and World Cup Winner with England, Josh joins us on a consultative and part-time basis... to bring his own unique brand of management skills to the Cornish Pirates," Evans told the club's official website.

"His CV is of course top notch but of special significance has been his ability to switch his outstanding sporting ability into the area of business, deliberately differentiating himself from his peers in rugby by learning and adopting a broader set of skills in some of the world's most challenging industries.

"He has won every trophy available in rugby but now has also achieved recognition as a business leader where his work for both PwC and Citibank on various strategy, structure and cultural projects lends itself favourably to some of our current challenges."

Lewsey made 55 appearances for England before retiring in 2008.