'They did an amazing job': New Harlequins deals for backroom trio
Harlequins coaches Nick Evans, Adam Jones and Jerry Flannery have signed new unspecified length deals to continue on at the Gallagher Premiership club. All three played an integral part in helping to stabilise the club following the exit of Paul Gustard in January 2021, inspiring them to go on and win the league title five months later, and their reward now is fresh deals at The Stoop.
A Harlequins statement read: “Harlequins is delighted to announce that coaches Adam Jones (scrum coach), Jerry Flannery (lineout and defence coach) and Nick Evans (attack and backs coach) have put pen to paper on new deals at The Stoop as the English champions continue to build for long-term, sustained success following their 2020/21 Premiership triumph.”
Senior coach Tabai Matson, who arrived at Harlequins as Gustard’s successor last summer, said about Evans, Flannery and Jones: “The coaching group did an amazing job last year with a fantastic team. It’s always interesting to come from the outside and join a cohesive group – and that’s exactly what they were. They are a high functioning team.
“One thing I have really enjoyed is that they are all completely different. They have different energies, they are all fantastic within their portfolios and they all compliment each other really well. For me, joining a team like that was exciting. It’s fantastic that they have all re-signed as a group.
“What Nick brings to the table is an analytical view. He has got all that experience from his playing days but now he is leading and driving the likes of Marcus and Danny. We are blessed to have him in the mix.
“He is completely different to Jerry, who brings this real intensity to the way he leads the lineouts and the defence. He is a fantastic practitioner and I’m not sure if it’s just his accent but he is a wonderful storyteller and he drives a lot of the energy in the week.
“And of course, Bomb (Jones), our Welshman. It’s really an eclectic group of nations, which is one of the things we love about the game, isn’t it? Our scrum has often been the thing that has kept us in games, so with his experience and the way he drives the scrummaging, he has been a key part of the success here so far.”
Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple added: “We are all delighted to have three such highly regarded individuals sign new contracts with the club. Alongside Billy Millard (director of rugby performance) and Charlie Mulchrone (skills and kicking coach], Nick, Adam and Jerry guided this team to one of the most incredible stories in the Premiership’s history.
“Overseeing a return to Harlequins’ DNA of old as the team has tapped into the club’s historic and famous style of play, we have seen huge engagement and interaction not only from our supporters but the wider sporting world.
“Alongside the 17 recent key player contract renewals, we are all thrilled to have Nick, Adam and Jerry commit their futures with us. By signing new and permanent deals within our coaching team working alongside Billy, Charlie and Tabai, we have built a brilliant team to help our squad grow, develop and to achieve our ambitious goals.”
Comments on RugbyPass
I wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
4 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
4 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to comments