Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson has laid out the importance of his squad’s experienced older heads, in leading the team forward for the new Premiership season. The likes of England stalwarts Joe Marler and Joe Launchbury are pivotal to the Harlequins leadership group, as is one of Quins’ newest signings, legendary Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny.
Halfpenny joined Halequins this past Summer, with the British and Irish Lion making his Premiership debut for the Londoners this past Sunday. Halfpenny donned his regular 15 jersey albeit in his new Quins colours, and slotted two penalties in the narrow 12-11 defeat to Sale Sharks up at the Salford City Stadium. Head coach Wilson is confident Halfpenny’s proven qualities as a leader of men, as the 101-capped Wales international is guiding through the next generation of young Harlequin flyers.
“Leigh is a big part of that process, of bringing some of our younger players through. Leigh, we first and foremost brought in for his playing ability. Over the years, he’s obviously been a world class 15, a British lion, an unbelievable goal kicker. He was over in New Zealand recently, playing and so on, and yes, he’s towards the other end of his career.
“But that’s what we need as well, because we have Roma Zheng, we have Cassius Cleaves. We have these guys coming through in the back three, but even Nick David and Tyrone Green, imagine what they can learn from Leigh Halfpenny.
“He’s a great mentor. He’s got the ability to add, from a coaching point of view as well, and his playing ability. So that (signing Halfpenny) was a choice, really. We’ve actually got quite a lot of youngsters at the moment, so maybe (we need) that older head to help that group of youngsters. And he’s already done that. He’s been outstanding so far.”
Halfpenny’s position in the squad falls into one of three specific player roles, identified by Danny Wilson in a recent press conference. Wilson recognises how their needs to be the perfect mixture of three key ingredients, if his club are going to compete in both their Premiership and Champions Cup campaigns. Squad depth is of paramount importance to the Challenge Cup winning coach, to push on for silverware after a long and arduous season.
“I think what any squads I’ve been involved with that have been successful, you have a balance of three things. You have your experienced professionals who are your older heads, your guys who have been there and done it. You then get your middle tier, current internationals, your top players who are playing at the top end of their career, and then you get the young, developing professionals that are coming through that shock you and can be a little bit of a surprise.
“If we take this last year, that would be someone like a Steph (Lewies) or a Joe Launchbury in in that experienced camp, a Marcus (Smith), (Alex) Dombrandt or somebody like that in your top end professionals who are playing for their country, and then your Fin Baxters, who come through as a little bit of a surprise and then kick on.
“If you get that balance right with enough of those three things, I think your squad is in a healthy place to go and challenge things. We’re in the process of doing that. Some of our younger boys this year will get exposure, because the big picture for Harlequins is that we need that depth, and we only get that depth by exposing players. It’s a little bit ‘chicken and egg’, and the start of that process will be this season, to really build that squad for the future.”
Amongst the Harlequins’ multi-layered squad Wilson identified a key vacancy, as long adored fan favourite Andre Esterhuizen left the Twickenham Stoop at the end of the 2023/24 season. Andre ‘The Giant’, is back with the Sharks in Durban, having previously played for the South African side before signing for Harlequins in 2020.
In Esterhuizen’s absence, there is a definite void to fill in the Harlequins midfield. The 12 jersey was certainly stretched during the titanic centres time at the Stoop, with Wilson calling upon his midfielders to step up into the space left by the Springbok. Lennox Anyanwu got the nod to start at inside centre in Harlequins’ Premiership opener against Sale, as he formed a midfield partnership with Luke Northmore in the one-point defeat.
“We believe, let’s take the 12 jersey. There’s going to be a great battle there. Lennox Anyanwu, young Bryn Bradley, Luke Northmore can play 12 and 13. So we’ve got some good options there. But ultimately, the challenge has been laid down to them.
“The jersey’s up for grabs boys, who’s going to take it, who’s going to perform consistently, to own that jersey? So it’s big shoes to fill, but it’s also exciting. I think that that challenge is quite open at the moment, and we’ve got a few options.”
Whilst one of Harlequins’ heavy hitting South Africans departed in the Summer, another took a step down from their role as club captain. Stephan Lewies took off the armband at the end of an injury riddled 2023/24 season, with England back row Alex Dombrandt bestowed with the honour in leading the club forward.
Wilson expressed how handing the role to the number eight was a ‘straightforward decision’, given Dombrandt’s previous experience in captaining the Quins throughout Lewies’ previous injury spells. Wilson is constantly impressed by the effort of his captains, with Dombrandt joining a long list of leaders that includes Cardiff flanker Ellis Jenkins and Glasgow forwards Ryan Wilson and Fraser Brown.
“First of all, he is a very popular member of this squad, both in house and out of house. When I say ‘out of house’, I mean, supporters and all the rest of it that aren’t at the training ground, week on week, day in, day out, like we are, but day in, day out here, he’s a very popular, trusted member of the group.
“His leadership has grown and grown. He sets an example by the way he performs. I think Steph has been a magnificent captain over the years here, and it’s time to start preparing a bit for what’s next in the future. Alex is as a young-ish leader and Captain still at the top end of his game, I think it is a very strong pick for us. Last year, he captained the side, before Steph came back from injury and did a really good job. So it’s quite a straightforward decision, to be honest.”
It has not just been changes to the playing squad for Harlequins, with a notable alteration taking place amongst the coaching staff in the off-season break. Australian Jason Gilmore arrived in South West London as the new Harlequins defence coach, and was tasked with tightening up the defence for Danny Wilson’s side.
Within the past four years, Harlequins have established a formula of winning their matches by out-scoring their opponent. Less focus was necessarily put upon the defensive side of the ball, with the Premiership’s resident entertainers renowned for their high-octane attacking speed and throwing caution to the wind.
However, in a possible sign of things to come, the Quins had a tightened up approach to the Sale defeat, with just one point between the two sides (12-11) in the lowest scoring match of the opening weekend.
“I’ve been really pleased and impressed with Jason. I think he has a very high level of detail. He what we call ‘coaches in the red’, really well, coaches on the run, on the field. He corrects at high speed, which is, as a coach, what you kind of want in your area of expertise. So his detail, and his general coaching has been excellent.
“Like anything, it is a journey. We’ve seen improvements in preseason, in terms of tries scored against us being lower, and some really good sets of defence and so on. But ultimately, like anything, it takes a little bit of time. Our defence probably would admittedly have been an issue for us.
“Last year, we ended up having to score five or six tries to win a game of rugby. We don’t want to be in that position, but I’ve been really excited and pleased by what he’s brought and the journey that I know we’re now going to take.”