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Joe Giddens/EMPICS Sport
Staying Put

'Delighted' O'Shea commits his future to Quins

Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea has signed a contract extension until the end of the 2014 season.

CONOR O’SHEA HAS agreed a contract extension which will see him stay on as Harlequins’ director of rugby until the end of the 2013/2014 season.

Head coach John Kingston and skills coach Collin Osborne have also agreed new deals for the same period, Quins announced today.

“I am delighted to have re-signed with the club,” said O’Shea, 41. “This is an exciting time to be part of Harlequins.”

O’Shea made the move to Twickenham Stoop in March 2010 in the aftermath of the “Bloodgate” controversy which saw his predecessor at the club, Dean Richards, suspended for three years by the IRB.

Richards was found to be responsible for winger Tom Williams’ use of blood capsules to fake an injury during the 2009 Heineken Cup quarter-final against Leinster.

“Our talented squad is developing in the right direction and I cannot thank the players, coaching team and support staff enough for how they have made my role so enjoyable,” O’Shea said on his extended stay.

Our aim is to continue to develop and play the game in the way we believe it should be and to bring the success to the supporters that they deserve.

The Londoners are currently top of the Aviva Premiership with 11 wins from 13 games, though a shock defeat against Connacht in the Sportsgrounds saw them crash out of the Heineken Cup in the pool stages last month.

In O’Shea’s first full season with the club, Quins struggled to a seventh-place finish in the Premiership, but went on to win the 2011 Amlin Challenge Cup with a thrilling 19-18 victory over Stade Francais last May.

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