Zinzan Brooke has tipped who he wants to succeed Kingston at Harlequins

All Black great Zinzan Brooke, a former player-coach at Harlequins, has watched with increasing frustration the demise of one of the World’s most famous clubs, who head into tomorrow’s final regular season Premiership home match with champions Exeter in danger of finishing the campaign an embarrassing second from bottom.

Quins are preparing to announce a new head coach – they are targeting someone with Premiership experience – and Brooke wants former All Blacks coach Wayne Smith to be part of a new management set up. Smith, who has previously been in charge at Northampton, turned down the chance to replace Conor O’Shea at Quins in 2016 and signed a new deal to remain with the All Blacks.

Brooke believes the club is at a significant moment in its professional life and must get the right man to stay in touch with the Premiership’s high flyers. John Kingston is leaving as Director of Rugby after 17 years at the club and Quins want their new regime to feature an all-powerful head coach with Leinster’s Stuart Lancaster, ex-Northampton DOR Jim Mallinder and Mike Ford, ex-Bath, names that have been mentioned.

Since winning the Premiership title in 2012, Quins have finished 3rd, 4th, 8th, 7th, 6th and now stand 10th in the table with an 11th place finish possible if Worcester pick up more points at Northampton.

Brooke, who appeared in 58 All Blacks tests, wants to see a plan put in place that ensures his former club moves back into the top four of the Premiership. He said :” With London Irish relegated it means that Quins could come last of the teams left in the Premiership and you have to ask what has happened in the last eight months to put them in this position? I think they need a clear out of coaches and for some reason the players are just not at the races at the moment.

“ Quins cannot leave it too late to appoint a new guy and really you need it sorted out the day after the Exeter game because it is going to be bloody difficult to recruit players without a head coach in place. Quins is one of the biggest clubs in the World and that was the whole attraction for me (in 1998). If you got someone with authority like Wayne Smith then players would be lining up to join.

“It is vitally important that Quins bounce back quickly and get themselves into the top four at the minimum. It is important that whoever they choose has Premiership experience because it is a very difficult league and digging yourself out of a hole can be really tough as Quins have shown. There are no easy games in the Premiership and you can be caught by anyone if you are not spot on.”

Brooke is convinced England’s poor finish to the Six Nations contributed to the problems at Quins with their internationals coming back from a disappointing campaign and had to immediately face problems at the club. “ I was never in a position where you come back from international duty and find the club is getting pumped every week;” he added. “The team talk on Saturday will be “don’t get beaten by a point a minute and they have to get out there and show a bit of spine and a bit of mongrel.”