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The Ruck

5 Jan 2026 · 49m · 23 chapters

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What's happening at Harlequins!?

In short

The Ruck (Times) discusses what’s going wrong at Harlequins and what CEO Laurie Dalrymple says will change. It also touches on broader rugby context (club form, coaching instability) and includes sponsor reads.

Guest backgrounds

Laurie Dalrymple is Harlequins CEO (joined 2019). He references major club highs during his tenure: men’s and women’s Premiership successes (including 2021) and a 42–41 win in Bordeaux in 2024.

Key claims

Harlequins’ decline is driven by multiple coaching instabilities, recruitment/retention issues, and insufficient continuity to imprint a long-term game model. Dalrymple argues the club needs the “right individual” in the head-coach seat for the long term, plus clearer top-down identity (“Quins DNA” attacking, swashbuckling rugby) to align recruitment, academy transition, and training. He says owners/investors are fully committed and the club targets break-even on an operating P&L.

Notable examples

Loss of head coach right before the season; Dani Wilson secondment to Wales leaving late; Marcus Smith contract concerns (risk of losing top academy talent); Nathan Jiboulou and Joe Marchant leaving decisions; “front 5” and squad platform gaps; need to improve defense without abandoning attack.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes.

Chapters

1:44

Rugby Season Recap

A recap of the festive rugby season and club performances.

“Hello everyone, Happy New Year and welcome back to The Ruck, the journalist's rugby podcast from The Times.”
3:48

Harlequins' Struggles

An analysis of Harlequins' poor performance in the current season.

4:50

Interview Announcement

Introduction to the upcoming interview with CEO Laurie Dalrymple.

“para abordar todos los problemas de la slide en performances, a la recruitment de la short-term y long-term plans.”
5:21

Laurie Dalrymple Interview

Laurie discusses the challenges Harlequins are facing this season.

“Yeah, I mean, before we get to Laurie quickly, brief assessment of what you think is happening here.”
14:01

Coaching Challenges and Consistency

Discusses current coaching struggles and the need for consistent performance.

14:29

Supporter Questions and Club Issues

Addresses supporter questions and the complexities facing the club's management.

“Yeah, so, again, I'm not as transparent as I can be through this conversation.”
15:35

Coaching Secondments and Their Impact

Explores the impact of player and coach secondments on the club's structure.

“So all you end up with is a disgruntled employee that's not been given the chance to go and spend time with Wales or better themselves or England, whoever.”
17:43

The Importance of Stable Coaching

Examines the need for stable coaching leadership to foster long-term success.

“Así que nos sentimos a la hora, no te me equivoco, es disruptivo.”
20:28

Recruitment and Retention Strategies

Discusses recruitment strategies and the importance of retaining talent.

“And by changing it with the frequency that we have, it's had a massive knock-on effect to everyone else.”
24:30

Balancing Player Departures

Addresses the challenges of balancing player departures and maintaining a competitive team.

“Y como digo, es probablemente uno de los áreas que hemos tenido un número de independientes, en su propio rato, issues que han sido creados.”
Show all 23 chapters
27:37

Talent Retention and Future Contracts

Looks at the need for retaining top talent and the implications of future contracts.

28:00

Concerns Over Retaining Talent

Discussion on the challenges of keeping star players like Marcus Smith at the club.

“porque es claramente tu superiore, generacional talento academy boy de la área pero no doubt ha interés all over the world porque es Marcus Smith y es un fantástico player ¿qué preocupa?”
29:18

Balancing Coaching and Playing Styles

Exploration of the club's shifting focus between offensive and defensive strategies.

“isn't it, with people moving abroad, but using him as an example, is that what you've got to mitigate against?”
30:58

Player Input in Decision-Making

Examining the role of player input in coaching and club decisions.

“Estoy fascinado por el punto que hiciste once o twice sobre la input de los players.”
33:50

Maintaining Club Identity Amid Changes

Discussion on the importance of preserving the club's identity while adapting strategies.

“Y en realidad, si no, nos necesito re-centre en eso.”
35:54

Recent Performance and Future Outlook

Reflections on recent team performance and optimism for future improvements.

“Pero creo que es un tema de estabilidad en el coaching room.”
36:59

Challenges in Player Development and Recruitment

Exploring the recruitment challenges and the importance of player development systems.

“Loí que creo que para la clase de los 15 años.”
40:56

Long-Term Vision for Team Composition

Discussion on the future composition of the team and recruitment plans for upcoming seasons.

“La fruta de esos labales vamos ver en el qua cancelled en un próximo año o menos de cualquiera que nos Illinois hu запuntamos.”
42:00

Recruitment Challenges and Leadership Insights

Explore the current recruitment process and leadership challenges at Harlequins.

43:40

Defining Success and Vision for the Club

Discuss how success is measured for Harlequins and the vision for the future.

45:50

Financial Commitment and Ownership Insights

Gain clarity on financial commitments from owners and the club's financial strategies.

“Porque tú mencionabas que hay un par de preguntas sobre finanzas y cosas así.”
48:00

Addressing Financial Stability and Investments

Learn about the club's financial goals and the impact of recent challenges.

49:50

Cohesion and Team Management Strategies

Examine the strategies for improving team cohesion and management responsibilities.

“que ya lo sete el budgetado para el financiero de ahora que se ve el club ir a break even.”
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Transcript

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0:01¡Supiaños, Lesslie! ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Rafa! ¡Sopla, sople! ¡Traigan la manguera, que son 45! Cuando cumples 45, te toca soplar muchas velas y examinarte contra el cáncer de colon, ya que al detectarse temprano, es más tratable en 9 de cada 10 personas. Usa la prueba de Cologuard en la privacidad de tu casa y envíala de regreso para obtener tus resultados. La prueba de Cologuard es una opción con receta para detectar el cáncer de colon en personas de 45 años o más con riesgo promedio. Resultados positivos deben ir seguidos de una colonoscopía. Pueden darse resultados falsos positivos y falsos negativos.

0:40La prueba de Cologuard no reemplaza la colonoscopía en pacientes de alto riesgo. No uses Cologuard si has tenido adenomas, si tienes enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal y ciertos síndromes hereditarios o un historial personal o familiar de cáncer de colon. Pide la prueba de Cologuard a tu médico. Para más información en español, visita colorguard.com diagonal prueba.

1:24still to come. We're proud to have them on board. Let's get into it.

1:44Hello everyone, Happy New Year and welcome back to The Ruck, the journalist's rugby podcast from The Times. Hope you all had a great Christmas and enjoyed our World 15 pod from last week. Even if you didn't agree with every single pick we made We're back properly now With much to discuss Alex Lowe's alongside me Did you have a nice Christmas?

2:02Alex Lowe: Yeah, really nice, thank you Egypt for a few days Pyramids, tombs, temples Is that why you walked like that when you came in? So cod biking through the desert Nice few days away And now back right into the meat of the season And the rugby news cycle que nunca endó. Sí, exactamente. I mean, Alex y I were lucky enough to both have a little bit of time off, although you did Leicester against Saracens yesterday on Sunday. Yeah. But a lot keeps happening, doesn't it? There's like some clubs in crisis, some clubs storming to the top of the table. Newcastle have won a game, a Prem game, great result against Gloucester who they now are in a bit of a mode where they're issuing we must do better type statements and things like that.

2:50It's been a mad old couple of weeks, hasn't it really? over the festive period?

2:53Alex Lowe: It feels like the league is starting, we're at the halfway point, starting to take shape. The top four Exeter have had their struggles, but with a new coaching team, they're into the top four. It feels like Northampton, Bath, Exeter, Bristol, they all really understand who they are, what they're about, and understand how they think they can go and win the league. They're the pace setters. Leicester are keeping pace with them. That win against Saracens fue seriamente impresionante en la primera parte en particular en la flipa, Saracens tienen un límite record, Mark McCoy ha sido muy punchy con la actitud de los players en Welford Road hay un salto que se necesita en Saracens y luego un gran, joyful festive win por Newcastle pero un grupo de clubes que se han sido en un poco de una tailspin mencioné Gloucester y estamos aquí en el Stoop para hablar de Harlequins Yeah, absolutely y let's be honest it's not going well they're one of the two clubs that have had to put out one of those sort of doomed statements where they put a picture of a rugby ball on an Instagram account and you think oh dear, what's happened but yes, we're here at Quinn's because there's quite a lot to discuss really the languishing eighth in the premiership two wins from nine so far conceded 149 points in the last three games and I was at the first of those there the Bristol match of the big game y escribieron un piezo de la historia y el hecho de que parece que este es un club que ha todo lo que tiene todo para que lo hagan un increíble estadio events como la big game, el stuff que hace off the field es fantastic tienen un gran apoyo, tienen un gran apoyo semenigamente un montón de decentes players pay up to the salary cap y yet son siempre mediocre y a la hora de ir a punto ahora es un sorpresa si no conceder 50 points cada week Así que lo que vamos a hacer hoy es que hay un desierto en lo que es lo que se va a hacer en la vida.

4:49Hemos tenido un entrevista con Laurie Danrilepool, su CEO, para abordar todos los problemas de la slide en performances, a la recruitment de la short-term y long-term plans. Y también vamos a tratar de relayar un montón de preguntas. Así que hemos tenido un gran respuesta a la request. ¿Qué record número, Alex, de los que nos dicen de gente que ha messaged y e-mailed? Es muy claro que Quinn's form es rílamo a muchos de sus fans.

5:11Alex Lowe: A lot of disgruntled fans out there. So hopefully we'll reflect a few of their thoughts and pose a few of our own questions to Laurie Delbrim. Yeah, I mean, before we get to Laurie quickly, brief assessment of what you think is happening here. Like, it's a hell of a long question to answer, isn't it? Well, yeah, I think, first of all, they put their statement out yesterday as we're talking. On Sunday, yeah. On Sunday. pero no hay sensación de que ellos han sabido que las cosas estaban en la misma dirección desde el principio cuando ellos perdieron la coach en el año de la semana y tal vez ni esperaba que ellos pudieron ingenier una turnería se deslizó a Twickenham en la granja es su granja 65 ,000, 70 ,000 y el equipo se deslizó horrible y ha sido el mismo ahora creo que la issues son a multiple coaching instabilidad a la top, algunos de que se va a ir a Paul Gustard que obviamente no funcionó a lo que sucedió a la temporada con Dani Wilson leaving para ir a la ciudad que ha ledido a squad que pagó a salario cap pero no es tan as strong si lo que otros que no pagó a salario cap have a stronger squad so I think a focus on recruitment and retention is going to be an issue here I'm sure of it and then and the promotion of players from from the academy and how that's firing I think multiple issues it's what it looks like from the outside but I'm interested to hear what Laurie has to say.

6:53Yeah well without further ado let's get Laurie Dalrymple on the pod he joined Harlequins in 2019 so has been in charge for through some of the great days Bristambool the 2021 prem title for the men and the women and that 42-41 win in Bordeaux in 2024 but there's been a bit of a steady decline since the men won the league four and a bit years ago and Harlequins have dropped off a cliff a bit this season no head coach, no clear game plan many who've emailed us have no real hope of a revival but let's get into it, what is happening and what will change at Harlequins up next, Laurie Dalrymple to explain all Just a quick breather to tell you about today's sponsor Allianz, a partner that's all about opening rugby up to more people.

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8:47¡Feliz cumpleaños, Rafa! ¡Sopla, sopla! ¡Traigan la manguera, que son 45! Cuando cumples 45, te toca soplar muchas velas y examinarte contra el cáncer de colon, ya que al detectarse temprano es más tratable en 9 de cada 10 personas. Usa la prueba de Cologuard en la privacidad de tu casa y envíala de regreso para obtener tus resultados. La prueba de Cologuard es una opción con receta para detectar el cáncer de colon en personas de 45 años o más con riesgo promedio. Resultados positivos deben ir seguidos de una colonoscopía. Pueden darse resultados falsos positivos y falsos negativos. La prueba de Cologuard no reemplaza la colonoscopía en pacientes de alto riesgo.

9:28No uses Cologuard si has tenido adenomas, si tienes enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal y ciertos síndromes hereditarios o un historial personal o familiar de cáncer de colon. Pide la prueba de Cologuard a tu médico. Para más información en español, visita Cologuard.com-prueba.

9:48Ok, Laurie, welcome back to The Rock. Gracias por sugerir y tomar el tiempo. Porque no siempre CEOs son this open cuando las cosas no están bien. Tenemos muchas preguntas y así son los fans. Pero vamos a empezar con un simple y un simple, pero un simple y un simple. Es decir, ¿cómo han sido las últimas semanas? Y lo que está pasando en Harlequins? Sí, look. Es un... Yo iba a decir, es mi placer de comenzar. no, no, no, en muchas veces porque estas conversaciones que no te quieren tener como un organización en la performance de la sport, pero nos encontramos aquí y creo que es fair que la las semanas y meses han sido muy difícil en particular y podemos ver en el camino sobre las contribuciones de la parte de la parte de la parte pero ha sido un gran season y nos hemos hecho un gran de trabajo, behind the scenes, en order to try and correct things, and it's a real collective across the club.

10:51I understand entirely that people want to see actions more than they want to hear words, which again, I can completely understand and relate to, but sometimes things take a little bit more time to correct and fix than we would want, or would necessarily expect to take, but yeah, we're in a situation whereby I think if we're honest we're not performing to the sum of our parts, if we're honest, We've got a good group. We've got some great players in our group. I think we've got some great coaches and some great staff. The challenge is moulding all of those things together, as I say, for us to be reaching the standards that I think we can.

11:31And I think we as a collective group would admit we should be reaching. And that's not to say we haven't got challenges. That's not to say we haven't got some wrinkles in the programme and things that we should have done differently, of course. pero creo que como un grupo, sabemos que debería ser un poco mejor que lo que nos hace.

11:46Alex Lowe: Se parece que en las tres semanas, la consecución de defeats, el número de puntos conceded, ha sido una idea. ¿Has visto esto? ¿Has visto que hay wrinkles, que hay cosas que hicieron diferente? Hay un upheaval en el coaching set-up en el principio de la temporada. ¿Has visto esto? ¿Has visto esto? ¿Has visto que intentan avertirlo? ¿Has visto que ha sido un poco? ¿Has visto? So I think there's a couple of bits around that Which I would agree with some of the things you're saying In the sense that we had disruption at the start of the season Which look, no matter what club you are In what sport you are To lose your head coach, you know A matter of days before you effectively start the season Is highly disruptive I'll come back to the head coach piece in a minute Because I think that's got real resonance With the broader context of where we are But in the context of this season Yeah, that was a pretty disruptive process.

12:42Could it have been avoided? I don't think so. Ultimately, we were going to be, you know, a union came in externally and wanted to take our head coach. And that was something that ultimately only really materialized towards the end of the summer. And we had two choices. We either looked to create some stability with the coaching room that we had, or you would potentially go externally. y el opinión y el feedback que nos got de los players y staff que nos canvassed que estabilidad era la mejor route para ir. Y así, dígamos Jason some credit y un show de apreciación, podría decirle que no está en mi lane de momento, no está en mi lane de estar en mi lane.

13:32y no, y fue given el keys para hacer algo que me permitió que he tomara control de it pero hay que bear en cuenta que he tomara control de un programa que no ha hecho ha hecho ha hecho compuesto el equipo que ha tenido no ha tenido orescite o creación de la pre-season plan así que lo que estamos dando a ese momento es que esto es como es y esto es lo que necesitamos hacer para ahora así que eso clearly provides some challenges for him and so I think some of the issues that we probably have within our programme at the moment he's inherited so it's probably unfair for him to take the criticism of some of the things that have come his way having said that I definitely think we could be and should be performing more consistently we've seen it in glimpses and in flashes the challenge is we should be transferring that on a more consistent basis but as I say some of the things predate him We'll try and pepper through a few supporter questions porque hemos pasado un montón cuando se arrastró en la plantación sobre el programa por el pod y solo estaba en el tema de Dani Wilson y estuviera en Brasil que era la una que removos bastante que llegamos de a lot de Outgunto мне Owen, Philusi Joe, Sam han todo ansioso como eran los demás del composersía que tanto antes de sotería esta vez no frente y no hubiera y Mongo que meταcaeda que el Perú Paleón como la escena que lo decidí en realidad del pasillo como exactamente que me diste信jad un poco más sobre el más sobre el ¿Has happened?

14:59¿Cómo it did? Yeah, so, again, I'm not as transparent as I can be through this conversation. There's going to be some areas where I just can't be completely open and honest because either we've got people that are all currently in our employment or people that we might be wishing to talk to and processes that we're going through. But I'll do my best to genuinely give you the answers that you want. And Danny had obviously been on the secondment with Wales earlier in the summer. we've had now multiple situations where unions have come to us seeking coach secondments Nick Evans with England Nick had been to England Adam Jones a couple of times Adam has been twice now with Wales we've had other staff members go into Wales and England on various secondments from a club point of view and I can't speak for all clubs but from a club point of view it's a bit of a bugbear in some ways because we're kind of really behind the eight ball Porque tienes que un � IKEA S 살짝ían loosely De repente Que soy de 해야 Что來說 Que vale la buena QueSho feeling A full-time placent O Que entran O Que encuentran ¿ Participan Como habla luego Perfecto Y Departan Y Segan CPD So standing in the individual's way can often be quite obstructive.

16:25So all you end up with is a disgruntled employee that's not been given the chance to go and spend time with Wales or better themselves or England, whoever. So in the case of Danny, we let him go again because the feeling was it was in the summer, it was in the off-season, it was in his time, which effectively he could choose to do as he wished, obviously without permission, clearly, but he was there to better himself and to develop himself as a coach. En el tiempo que él llegaba He llegaba a la parte de Japón Unos dos meses antes de haber Ni contacto con el WIU Así que en términos de lo que podemos hacer Para legislación Estás en la situación que no se puede Y que es muy difícil En un organisation Que hay empleados que están contratados Y hay rules y laws Como que hay que proteger these protect employees and you can't just physically go around acting in a way that you potentially may do to as I say to legislate against things that may not happen so it was pretty late in the day it left us definitely with a challenge I felt at the time I didn't I didn't feel the challenge would materialize into some of the outcomes that we've had as the season's worn on because as I say I think we've got we've got a good group of players we've got coaches within that room that have been with the club for a while understand what we're about the feedback for Jason was extremely strong across the group and when we were canvassing where do we go from here I think it's important to also point out we're a very collective organisation certainly in my time here we've been very player focused player orientated it's not an organisation that's entirely top down so when we make decisions like this it's with a lot of opinions que contribuyen a la conclusión de lo que vamos a intentar hacer y hacer.

18:17Así que nos sentimos a la hora, no te me equivoco, es disruptivo. Vos la persona que ha efectivamente sido la arquitectura de lo que suena preseason plans look like y cómo se comportan por el año. La squad, la composición de la team, la squadra, cómo se train, lo que hacemos en un mes es basado en una persona que se ha efectivamente una persona que se ha hecho un plan y una persona que se ha hecho. Entonces, a cambiar eso a la última hora es no tener un bearing. No hay duda.

19:13que nos ha dado el equipo de la presencia de la presencia para que nos lleve a través de la temporada. Estamos en un proceso ahora, y voy a decir exactamente lo que nos ha dicho, que estamos en un proceso de benchmarking la coaches que son en nuestro sistema y en nuestro sistema ahora, pero también en un proceso de benchmarking con coaches que son externos a la clave en el momento. Y vamos a ir a través de un proceso donde nos identifica quién es el correcto individual o individuos para llevar el club. forward. I think the really important point to raise is, this has probably been one of our biggest failings or one of the areas we've got wrong over the last few years that the amount of head coaches that we've had that have come in and not been sustainable is ultimately probably the biggest reason why we've got so many wrinkles now in our programme, because it feeds off everything it feeds off, as I said a second ago it feeds off our recruitment, our retention plan, it feeds off our game model, it feeds off our training week it feeds off ultimately the culture and the environment of the group so everything ultimately stems back from the one decision around who we have as head coach.

20:18We've made decisions with good intentions in recent years with good due diligence for various reasons one or two of those haven't worked out as I say we lost one right at the start of the season because he was headhunted to go somewhere else various reasons for the previous one behind that but the consistent theme is We haven't had someone in that seat for long enough to give that person the ability to then make a strong enough and consistent long-standing imprint onto the program. And by changing it with the frequency that we have, it's had a massive knock-on effect to everyone else. So the point I was just going to conclude with is we're going through a process, and I understand entirely why everyone wants to know what that looks like and who it looks like and who it may be on a broader sense.

21:01But we have to get this one really right. y vamos a tener tiempo para que lo que sea y lo que sea, y lo que sea, y lo que sea en términos de la semana, el resultado son frustrante, el performances son frustrante, we all massively feel it internally genuinely, this is a situation where you find yourself where no one's enjoying being here, but this is as I said a second ago, we're a collective and it's a collective group that's going to get us out of here but making decisions with the long term

21:31Alex Lowe: tener el ten doctors en los lat Fue un equipo de directora, o lo que se llama, como los direcciones, y creo que la idea es que lo que pasa con el coaching, el visione de la cluba remains consistent. Tú tienes un equipo de ejecución, muchos otros clubes alrededor del premio, pero también te han cambiado en términos de coaching. ¿Qué crees lo que es la estructura de la premio rugby club? A premio rugby club. ¿Qué es la estructura de la premio rugby club? para que todo es alineado, la visión de lo que se hace en el campo puede ser consistente conectado a la decisión de la academia y también a la recruitment.

22:42Alex Lowe: Porque a lot de la feedback, a lot de lo que vemos desde el exterior, a lot de la feedback de los que están aquí a la Stoop cada weekend a la gente que veía la team, es que no entienden a la de la retentación y la recruitment. ¿Qué es la perfecta estructura? La perfect estructura Will vary club to club Obviously speaking specifically for Quinns And I've seen questions raised About DOR or head coach To a certain extent It's kind of wordplay to a degree Because ultimately I'm only interested in having The right individual that's going to lead that rugby programme And we want the right individual That's going to lead the development of the first team On the field That's the most important thing that I think we need to find now And ensure that that person can be here for the long term And sustainable y obviamente tienen el correcto coaches pero lo que feeds into es la claridad de la board y de los que se dice que es el identidad de quien somos y lo que necesitamos y cómo queremos que play y lo que feeds off de eso es cómo se necesitan el correcto players en la squadra que están able a jugar en la manera el correcto de los que necesitamos y que ha sido un variable durante los últimos seis meses which is something that we're evolving different approaches from different coaches mean you've got varying sizes of squads depending on how you want to train and how you want to play but I think if that clarity comes from the top down, that then gives for the sake of argument, let's call it a head coach and if you've got the right individual in that seat, they will drive the standards that are required within that group that equally then drives the right conversations around recruitment retention and equally how you want to train, how you want to play drives the standards and the requirements around your strength and conditioning and trying to ensure that you've got a maximum availability of your squad I know that's another topic we'll come on to in a second but to then try and ensure that you've got a team that's capable of playing and training the way that you want to train and play and then what feeds off from that is your reliance and your need for your academy and your senior academy system we're lucky enough that we've got I think one of the best catchments hemos tenido un gran esfuerzo sobre los años hemos tenido un gran jugadores que creen que van a mature en el próximo año una de las áreas que hemos estado underinvestiendo en hasta el momento porque hemos hecho un cambio en el summer es asegurando que hemos tenido el programa y el asistente en lugar para estos jugadores que llegan a llegar y a llegar a llegar a llegar y a llegar a llegar a llegar y lo que eso ha sido ha tenido la persona que se ha el individuo en lugar que se sienten a la parte de la rugby programa que entienden lo que estamos tratando de achieve como clubes.

25:23Y como digo, es probablemente uno de los áreas que hemos tenido un número de independientes, en su propio rato, issues que han sido creados. Cuando se amalgamó en todo el mundo, es lo que ha creado un problema que estamos ahora correctando.

25:38Alex Lowe: ¿Tú wince un poco cuando ves Nathan Jaboulou playing as well as he's playing for Sale? Joe Marchant went off for his time in Paris, pero mi entendimiento es que hay una decisión que se ha hecho sobre el prioritario en términos de quiénes sonidos a ese punto pero no viene aquí Luis Leina ha sido el tipo de homegrown players que todos los fans de aquí todos los que tienen conexión a un homegrown player y un montón de angst que estamos hearing es sobre el número de top homegrown players que han sido allowed a leave, ¿no? ¿Cuál es cuando se ve ¿Cómo difícil es la balance? ¿Has tenido que esa balance correcto?

26:19No siempre. Y, también, es la challenge de operación en el equipo. Uno, no te vas a conseguir cada decisión correcto. Creo que ser capaz de aceptar y aclarar eso te permite que continúe, porque te vas a tener muchos de ellos correctos. Creo que la más importante cosa que refleja en es... I mean, tú nomes tres players. there, their situations were all entirely different, entirely different and it's difficult because I know one or two of them have done bits and pieces in the media like the last thing I would ever want to do, and there's always two sides to these conversations ultimately, is necessarily portray the club's perspective in mainstream media but they're never as clear cut as you think I guarantee you of that Do I watch frustrated watching Nathan play?

27:06Yeah, 100 % because he is a really muy bien, muy bien, muy bien. Y es alguien que queremos mantener. Así que, al menos, me siento un poco frustrado cuando le digo que hemos letido. No, no, no, no, no. He chose a leave. Como, nos pusimos muy bien, muy bien, muy bien, para intentar mantenerlo y negociar con él a dejar. Ahora, él may haber tenido otras razones por la que quiera de la club, pero nos hicimos un buen fin de que quiera mantener y, en el final, se decidió dejar. El Joe Marchandre fue muy diferente porque England were a big factor en su decisión de la época y sometimes you have to make decisions you may have 4 o 5 players en un position, you can't keep them all we've got a back row that we think is highly competitive Will Trenholm left last summer because you can't physically keep everyone and we also operate in a cap competition there's a number of players we probably would have loved to have kept but ultimately you can't keep them all and sometimes you have to let some go Y de acuerdo, es frustrarse cuando se ven bien Y igualmente Quiero que quiera, porque quiera que quiera Quiera que quiera y quiera que quiera Asiores que han venido a través de nuestro programa Pero no es como binary As simplemente diciendo Que el club haciéndolo en sus objetivos Para que quiera que quiera Y que quiera que quiera Lo que no es así El uno que creo que para todos aquí Que podría ser el straw que broke el camel's back Para muchos de los que es Marcus y no sé si se sienta para hasta 2028, creo que se anunció en 2024 así que un gran contrato pero ¿qué preocupa?

28:42porque es claramente tu superiore, generacional talento academy boy de la área pero no doubt ha interés all over the world porque es Marcus Smith y es un fantástico player ¿qué preocupa? es un dos-foldo de que ¿qué necesitas de hacer enough para mantener a gente como él aquí i.e. by creating an environment here that is good enough for him, if that makes sense. Not that he's bigger than the club, but you know what I mean. And secondly, that he doesn't get frustrated almost and go, I'm here in a sinking ship, what's the point? Why don't I just try something else? And I know obviously the England thing is related to that in some ways, isn't it, with people moving abroad, but using him as an example, is that what you've got to mitigate against?

29:24Losing the best talent from here because they just think, I'm not sure what's happening here anymore. Sí, eso sería un desastre de situación si uno de nuestros mejores jugadores optó a leave el club. Hay un día que se puede dejar, por ejemplo, y algunos de esos decisiones se van a ver con él y lo que su long-term career aspirations might look like. Para lo que él quiere jugar en inglés y quiere poner en un shirt de England, que lo firmly believe es el derecho de la casa para él. Él contribuye significativamente a la process. Él es uno de nuestros líderes en la grupo de la playa. Y donde hemos fallado un poco malo a la momenta es que estamos fallando entre dos estilos en el sentido de que, y también, esto probablemente le haces into la instabilidad de la coaching environment, que, también, es no culpa de la encumplencia.

30:20Pero hemosâmbado un poco a poco entre... We fueron super ataque-minded dos o tres seasons ago. We were pretty porous. We wanted to fix our defence. We'veâmbado un poco a poco a poco en el expense de being ataque-minded. Y luego, en el interim, another head coach ha movido. We obviously want to get back to what's más de nuestro ataque style y nuestro ataque DNA. Again, some de estos fixos don't just happen overnight cuando you've tenido un entrenamiento o a game plan environment over several months where you're looking to play a certain way to switch things up doesn't necessarily happen instantaneously but ensuring that we retain players that mark us is obviously extremely important for us and that is not to answer your question that particular issue or question is not something that keeps me up at night in that particular sense because as I say if we put the right people in place which we're committed to doing now y hacer que siga con el proceso de la verdadera que se llevan a la gente en lugar de tomar el club y por default a él y sus pies a sufrir, no enviamos eso como un problema.

31:29Alex Lowe: Estoy fascinado por el punto que hiciste once o twice sobre la input de los players. Tu viste una premios title en extraordinaria circunstancias. Tu lostes a coach, tu released a coach mid-season, el club were struggling y just got on an incredible run rode that wave driven a lot by a collection of coaches but it was real it was a player driven championship really that year is it unusual around the league that players are given as much a say in these big decisions that you've discussed and is that a hangover from what you achieved in winning the title it was so many big characters who've now left is it unusual ¿Es unusual que los players tienen una gran say?

32:13Alex Lowe: ¿Es una de las áreas que se puede hacer? O quizás no. Pero me parece que el players se van a hacer un decisión que se mantiene y elegir, más que un decisión que puede hacer un entorno de un ambiente o un coach que se puede hacer un otro player. ¿Es unusual que ellos tienen una say? Creo que probablemente un poco más Unconventional en ese sentido. Y eso es anecdotamente lo que yo hear de otras clases. Creo que es también importante para contextualizar. La players tienen importante input pero la coach es coach. Es el último estructura y framework. Pero ha desarrollado sucesivamente en el pasado.

32:58Y cuando hay gente como Marcus en mi opinión sería crazy no a incorporar la opinión de los señores en el equipo en la identidad de cómo queremos ser como club cuando históricamente nuestro identidad ha sido tan atacante y diferente a la resta pero creo que el balance finding that sweet spot es el real art y ensuring que es inputting no necesariamente taking control pero es tener una positiva input into el proceso es ese sweet spot to find. From all you've said in the last 20 minutes it doesn't seem like there's any desire to go away from what you guys would call the Quinn's DNA, that sort of swashbuckling attacking, unconventional and is that important to you that as a club you stand for something and it's that?

33:48Because other clubs might go well this isn't working for us, this style of rugby so we'll just swap, we'll change, we'll become really strong and defensive and mean and angry and do something completely different whereas it sounds es más importante para ti para tener una identidad y una brand de la identidad que no iría de la identidad para conseguir un buen resultado si eso es decir creo que hay dos o tres partes para que la pregunta uno, creo que estoy muy claro en lo que nuestra identidad debe y que es muy claro en nuestra organización y nuestra board y creo que, a pesar de su crédito Jason ha hecho un trabajo y understands transparently lo que es ser un harlequin y lo que la responsabilidad es en este equipo.

34:33Así que no quiero moverme de eso. Y en realidad, si no, nos necesito re-centre en eso. Creo que la importante parte que se siente behind eso es tener la verdadera individuos en order de hacer eso. Y creo que es fair decir que la composición de la squadra en el momento, tenemos que hacer algunos recursos en el momento de hacer. Pero todavía hay que tener fundamentales correctas. Tienes que tener tu plataforma para hacer eso. Y eso es lo que tenemos que seguir. Y eso es lo que tu titulas han sido builto. Sí, 100%. Un buen front 5, ¿no? Sí, 100%. Y, bueno, I see the comments. I agree with some of them.

35:09Not all of them. But I definitely agree with some of them and that's one of the areas where we know we need to strengthen and if we can strengthen in some of those areas then arguably we'll be able to play with the platform that we need in order to get that Quinn's identity and that Quinn's DNA back. Because it's a fascinating thing we've had in sport quite recently with the cricket team, isn't it? With Baz Ball y la filosofía de eso, que ha sido hoistado por su batalla un poco en Australia. Y Rubén Amorim, que hoy, como recordó, fue sacked por Man Utd, fue wedded a un estilo que no le hubiera cambió.

35:41No sé, es un interesante tema, Alex, ¿no? De los clubes que dicen que queremos ser esta identidad y no nos cambia, a opposed a que, realmente, hemos hecho esto ya y hemos hecho esto ya no, y así que ahora nos cambia. Pero creo que es un tema de estabilidad en el coaching room. as well that that's that's where with the direction needs to come from the club and we need to have our identity and our dna that we stick to you then have to have the right coach in the right coaching room that's going to then deliver that and in order to have them deliver that you need to have the right tools to do that i don't believe we're far away from having the right tools equally you can be adaptable by the way you don't even if because you go through a season and you're not going to have all of your best players on the field at once or certainly it's high risk that you're not so you have to have some adaptability but I think these are the most important component parts to get right and it's important to us that we get that right sitting in Franklin's on Saturday night was not enjoyable for a number of reasons as mental as it sounds and the scoreboard was really really not a good watch and a good view I could start to see I could see some shoots of positivity In aspects of the performance I know exactly what the comments to that are going to be But we can see it So we have to continue You have to believe it and back it and buy it We've got some quality players in the group We've got to give them the ability to perform On a wider point I think people who'd look from the outside Would go, Quinns have got everything They've got the highest revenue in the league They've got an amazing stadium we're looking at Which sells out most weeks un��게 chuy 있다, una級acha más Bohonia, His lastая línea en el equipo de lombrope, un Nousматr onde ha sido suficientementeplease, un buen papáculoasia iosatOW, que es increíblemente un buen entrenamiento moi preguntaba, pero con todas las…

37:35Loí que creo que para la clase de los 15 años. Los buildos son el 2020, han sido cuatro pruebas de campeonato de afil. En la cual… Es de 2013, XIV, pues III y IV. Nel capítuloa del sprawé aflo 되지, en 2022, en wären llegadas reconc worstas, liksom Vater VIII, VIII, parentemente. ahora 8, y luego ¿por qué estáis no siendo no siendo threaded together? y no you've been here now for 6 years what es no es que no consistently getting it right I know that's a deep and meaningful question with probably a long answer but it just seems there so many good things here and all the stuff you do off the field the women's program the pride stuff you do the big games you're leading the way in lots of areas but the men's team struggle to find consistent yeah yeah you've you've asked a really good question um i think there's probably as i think as i kind of probably indicated or alluded to a second ago i think there's probably a number of relatively small factors that then contribute to becoming a bigger a bigger factor in in our lack of consistency si la Museum Academy y tal vez no quiero simplemente el grupo de tiempo que habían continued a sampai de punto y luego la ranc en el room, André, ¿por qué no te vas a ir a buscar otra?

39:29Bueno, si te ve la composición de la squadra de 2021 a donde ahora es bastante diferente en términos de las personas que han desaparecido o moved o no o retired y left. Some de las que hemos ido a la recruit y try y replace, otros que no hemos sido able a hacer. Así que, en el lado de la una, te hablo de que las squads que son muy diferente en su shape y su identidad y su composición. Y, por lo tanto, la otra parte que hemos tenido mucho instabilidad. En mi tiempo aquí, hemos tenido mucho instabilidad en la parte de la parte del coaching de la club, que es difícil de tener que proporcionar un consiguiente con los otros key metrics de cómo se quieren y cómo se quieren jugar.

40:12Y hay otros áreas. Como referencia a nuestro heartland y nuestro hinterland. Estamos muy orgullosos de lo que tenemos como un catchment, tanto en términos de nuestro espectador community porque creo que tenemos We've got some of the best fans in the league. But also in terms of the conveyor belt, for us to then produce the rising talent within our region, we know we've got some really good catchments. We've got a good academy programme. The one area where we are investing, which again, it all sort of feeds into each other. The one area we're investing is around that transition piece, where we know when we get players that come out of our academy, they're going to have the best possible chance of coming and succeeding in our first team.

40:49And that hand, totally hand on heart, крут, que está probablemente la área donde deberíamos haber inspiring στην ,reyw мне ahora. La fruta de esos labales vamos ver en el qua cancelled en un próximo año o menos de cualquiera que nos Illinois hu запuntamos. Pero eso luego, funciona la incorporación de la mayoría de cette situação. Perfecto porque si el estado de la situación es quien teema es de hire de desза, como hers ha sido el primer el fin de la en zoo he Hook학, y en su ca Lamborghinca y Con��ës Abiel邊ament, entonces vender a punto de la 몇ión de στο Chapmanero, y aUPjor them to step up and play games where either that might be a little bit ahead of their development or they're playing more minutes than they would normally be required to do if there was a more robust and more invested transition system that sat behind that then what you're physically asking them to do at that time is probably easier for them to perform and again that's not in any way a reflection on them, that's a reflection on the system and us creating that for them in order for them to achieve their potential when it's right.

41:45Alex Lowe: I was talking to Jason Gilmore the other week sobre el escord composition y el escord composition no siendo lo que quieres para poder jugar el modo que quieres le importe de no ir a una buena fixa y de haberle dado un tres año recrutamiento plan con un señor England player, George Furbank que es el capitán de otra club si llegas a venir aquí creo que es el tipo de liderazgo que Jason Gilmour ha dicho que es missing porque a guys like Stephen Ruiz es currently injured pero ¿está que nos van a esperar 3 años para la composición de la squadra a ser lo que ¿es que es la realidad de lo que es? Estamos en January y a lot de recruitment para el próximo season es realizado y a gente puede tener un nuevo mejor que sea en lugar depending on cómo su proceso va a ser para el próximo season que no se ha tenido un say en el equipo que se ha por la próxima semana ¿Es la realidad que todos los que tienen un título de la fantasía de rugby, los que signan Damien Diolende y Damien McKenzie y todos los mejores players, la realidad es que puede ser que tres años para llegar a llegar?

43:01Sí, y creo que estos son los tiempos que tenemos que ser realistas de realidad Creo que la realidad es que estamos en un proceso y igualmente, tenemos que tener algunos de los cortes termos de la fecha in the season we're in a final azimente pif 증 Опmotiv este infierno para el pasión para los pasos para el fim para el equipo es simple para cambiar y muchas veces venirlas para encontrar un descubrimiento

43:39y cambiar y cambiar 예요 satisfactor Sobos

44:10que también hay un gran y sostenible chance de succeeding no sé no sé si no sé si si no sé si si va a tener tres años pero es va a tener un tiempo para que efectos de la change que queremos y continuación de la ayuda que se touchó un segundo que nos fan support es amazing y continuación de la ayuda de la ayuda es obviamente going a ser going a ser required I think you've got a sign up cuando you come in que says we want to be the most admired team en Europa y we had a message from a guy called Reece who said at the moment we're probably not the most admired club in London so can you define what that vision means and maybe to kind of try and wrap the whole thing up of what does what do you look at as success here is it measured in titles and things like that or is it a wider thing like what are people when because I guess it's what you're being judged on as well as the CEO isn't it of what's your goal ahora, por el próximo año, para decir que esto es lo que tenemos que hacer y que es lo que nuestro standard es Sí, están todos linked lo que está behind el vision statement es un número de factores, si es que es sobre, claro que todo es unido por el on-pitch performance, que es un estado en el obvious, así que el hecho que no es un problema de eso, sin el problema de la duda, es el prioridad de la clave para fixer, pero todo se falls off de eso en términos de nuestro fan growth objetivos nuestro financiero sustainability porque no hay un pregunta que ha sido asked sobre eso sobre nuestro comercial growth nuestro partner success tenemos algunos de los mejores partners en la league y así están todos intrinsicamente linked pero operando a un alto en los niveles across todos todos esos áreas es ultimately lo que hace que y que es el el razonamiento behind our vision around what's going to make us admired and I suppose to some degree it's subjective but clearly winning Silverware and having a team that performs and has given the clarity around what it needs to do and how it needs to play is the absolute number one priority for us as a club and so in answer to this question what does success look like getting us back up there performing at the right end of the table consistently and putting ourselves in a space where we've got the ability to compete for Silverware y todo el mundo, que tiene que ser el prioridad para el club.

46:39Una breve pregunta. Porque tú mencionabas que hay un par de preguntas sobre finanzas y cosas así. Hemos tenido Henry y Trevor particularmente asking, un tipo de dos parter realmente, ¿están los owners, y no estoy hablando de la propuesta de los owners necesariamente, pero tú hablas de ellos más que nosotros, ¿están ellos fully committed y intending a pagar lo que han sido todo el tiempo? ¿O están preocupados en el rendimiento de la spending? ¿Qué es la commitmenta a las salarios capas and the second bit of it is I think you've said yourself that you were keen to break even or push towards that in the last accounts but then lost I think it was 3.3 million as per the last financial year Just to cover up that one and explain what happened there Happy to clear up both of those So from an owner and investor point of view they're all in They have been the whole way through they remain all in and equally from where we find ourselves now es un grupo un grupo được paraekkodoxar paraordeμέnali para님999 paraam boutechas están muy contigo así que los investidores están firmes and constantemente así que no están sin madam vamos a vender y qué haitmos más que hospedad y a personas en laittenza la analización y la fore budgets tenemos que plantes no not queiveram la collarilla to do it they're fully invested into the club and supporters should not have any concerns in that regard and they're really really good people they're really invested they love this club and i think that's the other thing just to touch on it like this there isn't a single individual within the organization that finds where we are at this moment in time palatable or enjoyable it's not but equally we need to work and operate as a collective to get ourselves into a slightly más positivo espacio y el statement que se trató de decirle que un, queremos comunicarse a todos, por lo que estoy hablando y a hablar con ustedes y comunicarse a transparente como podemos, hay que ser corto-tambio cosas que podemos hacer que nos cambia bastante rápido en las cosas como training schedules o cómo mucho focus we put against ataque, defensa en la training week y también, hay una positiva cohesión entre players y coaches y y senior members de la club, entonces hay cosas que creo que se puede ser un relatively short dividend pero ensuring que se gete el largo termo decisiones correcto para la club es lo que es más importante en este momento en el momento y todo el mundo realmente cares realmente, realmente care sobre este lugar, así que es más que por eso por lo que es frustrante que estamos donde estamos pero que es también el razón por lo que que vamos a ir de aquí, o al menos vamos a trabajar para ser en un estado en un orden de manera corta y en el financiero de pieza y si es un poco misconstruido y si eso me lo agradezco lo que hicimos en marzo 25 no creo que lo refería a los que se publicaron en este último publicación yo lo refería a los financieros de ahora porque a ese punto cuando explicó que lo explicó que ya lo sete el budgetado para el financiero de ahora que se ve el club ir a break even.

49:57Creo que la importante cosa es que esto es financiar break even en un operativo P &L. Si te lo que hay COVID loans y leases y capital investment into el stadium y into el entrenamiento de la área, en un operativo P &L el club debería ser en un posición o debería ser en un posición de break even en el financiero y ahora. Y eso ha sido el objetivo. El objetivo o el objetivo es es para el club para ser sustainable y también para ser para el mismo en términos de lo que necesitamos para invertir en la creación y improving ourselves pero en el short term que era el objetivo para breakeven ahora, por full disclosure una relación una poco más que un gran gran dos o tres meses va a causar un poco no doubt about it You've given us loads of your time Laurie so really appreciate that and your honesty and the bits that you're able to be honest about and open about so thank you for that ah last thing uh the old school way would be everyone just gets locked in a pub and have a few pints and says right let's sort it all out but it's not as not quite like that these days you talk about cohesion between staff and players you don't just all go on away day and i don't know look i don't doubt and this is the thing i've been environments where um there's a fine line to tread here because i want the pressure to be off these guys which is another reason why i'm here explaining where we are because there's a lot of decisions that we've taken, small some large along the way where some have worked really well, some haven't worked so well, the ones that haven't worked so well as a collective are probably why we're facing some of the challenges that we are now that's not on them, that's not on the players that's not on the coaches that's on the management and that's on us as a collective board and so we need to take some of the responsibility for that but similarly having a So having an aligned approach as to where we go from here is going to be, I think, the way in which we're going to improve our situation.

51:57And so, yeah, last week we had three hours with the senior players, the owner, myself, the chairman, senior players, speaking openly and honestly and just having responsible conversations, like mature conversations. And that involved the coaching team as well. And so, look, I've got no doubt sometimes going to the pub y que estén pissediendo con tu mates porque ha sido en su lugar pero ha sido en varios sporting, bueno, en los escuelas, en los escuelas, en los escuelas, en los escuelas, el ambiente no es nuestro problema aquí. They son un buen grupo y ellos enjoy each otro. El ambiente y el culturero, creo que es el área que necesitan que se concentrarse en.

52:39Es tener la claridad sobre lo que queremos ser, lo que queremos ser, y asegurarse de que tenemos la gente en el que se hagan en el grupo en el que se hagan el grupo de la forma de poner el energía y el focus. Ok, Laurie, bueno, you've taken loads of your time out of your day. Really appreciate all of that and all the best with the big project to come. Thank you very much.

53:01Before you go, we just want to shine a light on the great work Allianz is doing behind the scenes to support the game we all love. We talk a lot on the RUC about Premiership stars and England internationals, but every one of those journeys starts somewhere, Usually on a freezing morning at a local club With volunteers, hand-me-down kit And a belief that rugby can genuinely change lives Allianz gets how important those places are Which is why they're launching a special edition Of the Allianz Future Fund Just for Ruck listeners They're offering grants of£500 to£1 ,000 To help local clubs become more inclusive More sustainable And better set up for the next generation Whether it's new kit safer facilities, o giving young players the space to grow into tomorrow's heroes, this is a real chance to make a difference.

53:52Sign up for the Allianz Future Fund, nominate your club, and help support the grassroots heart of the game.

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54:53Pide la prueba de Cologuard a tu médico. Para más información en español, visita Cologuard.com diagonal prueba.

From the publisher

At the midway point in the Prem season Harlequins find themselves in a crisis. They're 8th in the table, having only won two of their nine games, including a 66-21 defeat to Northampton at the weekend.


So, Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe are at The Stoop to chat with the Quins CEO Laurie Dalrymple. They discuss the coaching upheaval in the summer and the knock on impact to the clubs current struggles, player retention and why so many academy products have departed South-West London, as well as the importance of keeping Marcus Smith and the clubs financial situation in regards to an aim of breaking even.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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