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'Soft underbelly': What new boss Matson used think of Harlequins
Tabai Matson has nothing but the highest praise for the title-winning Harlequins set-up he was asked to take charge of as new head of rugby in the recent off-season, describing his appointment as a real honour and privilege. However, the New Zealander has admitted there was a time not so long ago when he had a very different perspective of the London club.
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It was 2016/17 when Matson previously worked in the Premiership, guiding Bath as their head coach to a fifth-place finish. A family situation back home in New Zealand meant that he had to cut short his stay in England at the end of that season, but he didn’t forget what he thought of Harlequins at the time.
Four years ago, the John Kingston-led team finished in sixth place, seven points behind Bath, and the head-to-head matches between the clubs resulted in a one-point November home win for Quins that was reversed three months later by a 22-12 outcome at the Rec.
Those results gave Matson an unfavourable impression of the Londoners and he admitted to RugbyPass that how he felt about Harlequins in the past came up during this year’s five-round interview process. “They actually asked me that in my second interview,” he revealed.
“I said what our team [Bath] thought of them four years ago was they had a soft underbelly and they could be squeezed at the set-pieces and around some of the grittier parts of the game. Clearly, that wasn’t the case last year so the club has significantly shifted on since I was here four years ago.
"We won more trophies when I was the head coach at Harlequins than at any time in the professional era. I know what I have achieved."#ICYMI: @heagneyl ??? caught up with John Kingston earlier last Autumn and he had plenty to get off his chesthttps://t.co/RbSZEGTjaH
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 3, 2021
“For me, it is a real honour,” he continued about being able to work again in England after his previous short-lived stay. “This is the closest and toughest club comp in the world. Any one of six, maybe even seven teams, could have definitely made the top this year and there are some (more) teams coming. So for me, it is really another opportunity to learn. It’s an amazing group of men so I am just feeling really privileged to be here and really excited. This team is the current champions and there are high expectations and I have got to be at my best to lead so that is a challenge for me daily.”
When Harlequins officially confirmed that Matson was their guy to replace Paul Gustard as head of rugby, they described him as “the outstanding candidate” which came as news to the Kiwi. It had been made known in the final weeks of last season that the recruitment process had come down to the last two, so Matson was amused when RugbyPass informed him on Wednesday afternoon about “the outstanding candidate” description that accompanied the news of his appointment.
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“Is that what they said? They had that line up for the other bloke as well,” he quipped when asked what made him the outstanding candidate. “It would be a few and clearly I was the last man standing. You’d have to ask them. Often when organisations go out to recruit they try and get the best candidate.
“What I found really interesting this time round was they were really clear on who they wanted as a person and where they had to go, what they had to do, how they had to get on the boat and paddle in a certain direction. They didn’t want me to hop on the boat and change the direction of the boat and that is probably the first time I have been involved in a process where they were really clear on where they were going.
“They asked me to jump on the boat and paddle in a certain direction. What was my ideal (quality)? One of the things I really value and if you look at the teams I have been with, relationships are the cornerstone to learning so if you want a group to move and grow then they need to feel they are in a safe and trusting environment. Maybe that was one of my remits.
“I have coached many teams, whether it be Fiji or the Maori All Blacks or the Chiefs that play an exciting brand, so maybe there was a piece there around that of ‘we need that positive intent’. And I had a really broad experience, including time here in the Premiership, Japan, Australia and France, so that broad experience also means that I am not going to come in here and try and stamp the wrong template on the club.”
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'I genuinely believe this is something that is going to help change the game'
After Paul Gustard left, a new technology radically altered how @Harlequins trained. @heagneyl ??? talks to @RichardLanc of @PROTECHTPro https://t.co/R2k48UfIJB
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 11, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Following his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
1 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to comments