'He's a pretty intense character, he likes the physical side of the game' - Flannery making his presence felt at Harlequins

Harlequins back row Tom Lawday says Jerry Flannery has been working on improving the squad's physicality since coming on board as a coach. Flannery joined Harlequins as lineout coach in June, and Lawday was full of praise for former Ireland international and the impact he has made on the training pitch.

Flannery, capped 41 times for Ireland, was a member of the coaching staff at Munster between 2014 and 2019.

And it sounds like he is quickly making his presence felt at Harlequins.

"He's a pretty intense character, he likes the physical side of the game," Lawday told the club's website.

"He's trying to instil those values into us, especially with maul attack, maul D, that kind of thing, it's been brilliant having him on board.

"We're just looking to play the Harlequins way. Fun, fast, exciting rugby. The way the boys have been training at the moment, really quick, really intense, it's looking pretty good and we just want to translate that into the upcoming games.

Lawday himself is eager to get back in action after a long lay-off.

The 26-year-old last played for Harlequins in the 48-10 defeat to Sale in January. Quins are due to restart their Premiership campaign against the same opposition on August 14.

"I'm definitely looking forward to getting back out on the field," he said.

"The last game I played was Sale away, which was in January, so for me it's been a really, really long time out of the game and I can't wait to get stuck into it.

"Obviously with the volume of games coming our way I feel like there's going to be a lot of squad rotation, so everyone is going to get some opportunities.

"I'm just looking forward to hopefully getting a chance to pull on the Harlequins jersey again.

"The back row has always been a really strong position here, and at most other clubs, but you know, competitions breeds performance, and that's kind of what we're hoping we're going to get.

"The boys are testing each other, we're gunning for each other at training, making each other better every day, so hopefully when it comes down to it we can fly into Sale."