1
Quins have identified their top target for DoR role
By Alex Shaw
With Chris Boyd arriving at Northampton Saints and Alan Solomons’ stay as Worcester Warriors’ director of rugby extended, the vacant position at Harlequins is the last top job to be filled for the 2018/19 Gallagher Premiership season.
The club made the decision to part ways with current director of rugby John Kingston earlier this month, albeit with the long-time Quins coach carrying on his duties until the end of the season.
Despite being in the early stages of their search, RugbyPass understands the club to be keen on current Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson, who guided the Super Rugby franchise to their first title in nine seasons last year.
Continue reading below...
It was Robertson’s first campaign in charge of the franchise, having previously coached Canterbury and the New Zealand U20 side.
His side won plaudits for not only the exciting and clinical nature of their play, but also the efficiency of their forward play and their fundamental skills, and it has not taken long for pundits to dub Robertson a future All Blacks coach.
The lure of a coach like that is understandable for Quins, but whether or not their interest is reciprocated by Robertson remains to be seen. One factor which could influence Robertson is the recent partnership struck between Quins and New Zealand Rugby.
If Robertson is keen to expand his coaching experience but stay on a track towards higher honours with the All Blacks, Quins could be the optimum destination for him in the northern hemisphere.
The cooperation agreement between Quins and NZR is designed to facilitate the sharing of playing and coaching expertise between the two entities, although losing one of the best and brightest coaches in New Zealand may not be what NZR had in mind when they forged the agreement.
Robertson is under contract with NZR until 2019, so any deal would be dependent on Quins paying compensation and/or NZR agreeing to release him from the final year of his deal, which would see him be able to join up with the Londoners in August, at the conclusion of the current Super Rugby season.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
South Africa player ratings | 2024 Autumn Nations Series
3
Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu admits anger at Australian rugby
4
Fissler Confidential: Willie le Roux rumours ignite after Bok star spo
5
Latest Comments
Agree with Wilson B- at best. And that is down to skilled individual players who know how to play the game - not a cohesive squad who know their roles and game plan. For those who claim that takes time to develop, the process is to keep the game plan simple at first and add layers as the squad gels and settles in to the new systems. Lack of progress against the rush D, lack of penetration and innovation in the mid-field, basic skill errors and loose forwards coming second in most big games all still evident in game 14 of the season. Hard to see significant measureable progress.
Go to commentsKeep telling yourself that. The time for a fresh broom is at the beginning - not some "balanced, incremental" (i.e. status quo) transition. All teams establish the way forward at the beginning. This coaching group lacked ideas and courage and the players showed it on the pitch. Backs are only average. Forwards are unbalanced and show good set piece but no domination in traditional AB open play. Unfortunately, Foster - Mark 2. You may be happy with those performances and have some belief in some "cunning plan" but I don't see any evidence of it. Rassie is miles ahead and increasing the gap.
Go to comments