Harlequins
Quinssa: An Evening with Conor & Mark Part 2
By Prof
March 31 2010
Conor started by referring to Evs’ statement about the Two Ronnies saying he was obviously a lot younger so he thought they were more like Little and Large, “and we all know who is Little don’t we”.
COS: I like to start by saying how humbled and privileged I am to be standing in front of you. I said the same thing to the players. It would be arrogant of me to say what the vision or mission statement is when I don’t really know anyone.
I am looking ahead but Bath is the most important match.
Q: Why Quins? What is it that Conor sees in Quins that's enough to entice him away from his current job mid-season?
COS: I have been playing rugby since the age of six. In recent times I have played against, managed against and watched Quins. One thing that has impressed me is seeing how good the structure at Quins is and that’s thanks to Mark Evans, Dean Richards and John Kingston. Last week we have five players in the England U20 team. To own our own ground is important to be able to keep up with the big clubs and having the big ground over the road is important too.
Q: Conor, what do you consider are the most important skills for being Director of Rugby at Harlequins and what do you feel that you bring uniquely to this club?
COS: I have been working with 46 olympic sports and I’ve learnt a lot from hockey and cycling coaching teams amongst others, but rugby has always been my first love.
It was a big call to leave my job just before 2012 but I thought I could bring something to Quins.
One of the books I was given when I left there was one called ‘Talent is Overrated’ – I put both team for this weekend side by side and looking at them both clubs will say they have the better team, but it’s the attitude that’s needed to put in the performance that makes the difference. Money doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have the commitment.
I am a very competitive person, I didn’t have much talent but I got the most out of myself. I don’t ever want to over intellectualise, I was an academic but at the end of the day rugby is a game of passion.
I’m no Dean Richards, he was an icon and he did a lot for Quins alongside Mark and JK. I had lunch with him recently and he was very open, he’s still very passionate about Quins. It was a very valuable meeting, and very expensive too!
Q: Home-grown talent vs transfers in? We've seen a lot of talent come through the academy - but some young players have taken a long time to adapt to the GP; we've also supplied other teams with some "fan favourites" from players who didn't make the cut at Quins (Amesbury, Thompstone, Twelvetrees). Do Quins need to rebalance their recruitment strategy or fine-tune the way the academy prepares people?
COS: We have re-signed some significant world class talent rather than signing players in.
We had a great meeting with the University of Surrey, where we will have our training base next season, and our coaches and back up staff will be able to learn a lot from the coaches that work there like the sprint coaches. Guildford is an incredible place, as NEv said, take any player there and they will want to sign.
Q: Has some of the sense of family been lost at the club this year?
COS: I don’t think it has, there’s still a tremendous feeling in the squad. They are mostly a bunch of young singletons, it will be good to see some of them settle down, they’re having far too much fun!
Q: What are the 2 or 3 factors that have caused the difference between the performance between this and last year?
COS: Confidence within the team is some of it, you lose a few games and get some injuries and confidence dips, the line between winning and losing is pretty tight.
I want to enhance the coaching squad. I want to bring in some specialist skills coaches, coaches who can come in and coach the same things in a fresh way.
I can’t get over the work ethic of our coaches, they are all working their socks off, the players can’t be any better prepared thanks to the work of JK and his team.
We are going to the University of Limerick for pre-season and I will know more about everyone after that.
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I'm looking forward to dropping into Guildford to give them all the benefit of my wisdom when I am passing.....
The game's afoot;
Follow your spirit: and upon this charge,
Cry — God for Harry! England and Saint George
You don't fancy a trip to Limerick then Claire?
