Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson has zeroed in on the influence of Jason Gilmore as the Londoners bid to shed their reputation as soft touches.
Gilmore, a former Australia A coach, joined Quins in the summer as the club looked to block the holes in a leaky defence.
Lock Joe Launchbury called for his side to man the barricades ahead of this season and they did just that in their opening 12-11 defeat to Sale – when their line was not breached.
One of the best
And Wilson revealed Gilmore is one of the best in the business at coaching on the hoof when games are in full flow.
He said: “The thing that stands out is his on-field coaching. As a coach you have on-field coaching, what we call coaching in the red, where you are fault correcting on the run, at high speed with things happening in front of you.
“Then you have to have the skill set of a coach who is analysing that on the video and giving feedback afterwards. Jason’s in the red coaching is excellent, he sees things on the field and can make corrections as opposed having to look at the video afterwards.
“He has given the boys clarity about the system. ‘This is the way we are going to defend’ and if they ask a question, he has the answer.
“It is all you can ask for, making sure you have that clarity in the system. It will take time to build that to where we want to build it but it is taking steps in the right direction and I have been impressed with him and what he is building.
“It is not drastic, there are just some slight additions but most importantly there is real clarity, there is no ambiguity about what the system is.”
Going forward
Quins host Saracens next Sunday, giving them a nine-day turnaround instead of the two six day blocks they have suffered in their opening three rounds.
They played Sale, away on a Sunday, then had Newcastle at home last Saturday before Friday night’s game against champions Northampton.
They are already under the cosh with injuries and Leigh Halfpenny, Cassius Cleaves, Tyrone Green, Cadan Murley, Joe Marler.
Luke Northmore, club captain Alex Dombrandt and George Head sat out the trip to the Midlands.
Wilson added: “It is about being robust, you need a squad that is deep enough to make changes and still go and win rugby matches.
“And you need a squad that is robust enough to deal with a six-day turnaround and still play with the same ferocity and intensity with limited recovery.”
