London Irish have announced the capture of current St Helens assistant coach Sean Long ahead of next season.
The former England and Britain player will join immediately from the current table toppers of the Super League to start preparation for the 2019/20 Premiership season.
Moving codes can be a tricky transition but Long is looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.
“I’m really excited to be joining Harlequins. It’s time for me to pursue a new challenge and Quins is a top Club with a group of talented players and hard-working staff. I can’t wait to join up with them. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone in rugby league for the time I have had there, but now I’m focused on Harlequins and am looking forward to getting started on the preparations for next season,” he said.
Harlequins boss Paul Gustard explained that he wanted a coach that could teach his players certain qualities to come in and he believes Long is the right fit.
“I have been looking at adding a coach to assist with some of the finer detail around running lines and creating numerical advantages for some time now and I’m delighted that Sean has decided to join Quins ahead of other Premiership options as he takes his first foray into coaching union. From an early age, rugby league players have core skill acquisition engrained in their developmental pathway. The skill fundamentals of catch-pass, tackling and running lines take precedence over what shape your team plays and they are the key and critical transferable skills which are required in union,” he said.
Long played as a scrum-half during his playing career in league and won a number of titles including two World Club Challenges, four Grand finals and five Challenge Cups as well as being a three time Lance Todd winner and being named the best player of the Super Rugby season in 2000.
With all that in mind Gustard thinks that Long can bring something new to the table as he seeks another impressive season for Quins.
“As a player, Sean was a stand-out among his peers and perhaps his greatest strength, despite all his talent, is his competitive desire. We can see with the performance of St Helens this year the impact he is now having as a coach with their attack as they compete at the top of Super League and enter into the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup after a 40-point thrashing over Wakefield. We welcome Sean to Harlequins and look forward to the contribution he will make as we look to build on last season’s improvements,” he added.
Harlequins are set to return for pre-season training on July 8th and Long will be among the new faces ready to make an impact on the club.
