FORMER MUNSTER PLAYER and coach Jerry Flannery has earned a new permanent contract with English club Harlequins.
43-year-old Flannery is lineout and defence coach for the Premiership side and his excellent work has been recognised with this unique deal.
Harlequins attack coach Nick Evans and scrum coach Adam Jones have also agreed new permanent contracts, having been part of the coaching team that guided the club to their Premiership title last season.
The vast majority of coaching and player contracts in rugby are for fixed durations, [usually one-year, two-year, or three-year deals] but Quins have taken the step of tying down Flannery, Evans, and Jones on contracts that have no end date.
Flannery previously worked as forwards coach for Munster but turned down a contract extension offer and decided to leave his native province in 2019.
A year later, he linked up with Quins as lineout coach under then-head coach Paul Gustard, who left the club last year before their remarkable turnaround to win the Premiership.
Flannery’s role evolved to include coaching the defence and he is clearly very happy with life at Quins having agreed to this new permanent deal.
Senior coach Tabai Matson, who joined last summer, praised Flannery’s work behind the scenes.
“Jerry brings this real intensity to the way he leads the lineouts and the defence,” said Matson. “He’s fantastic practitioner and I’m not sure if it’s just his accent but he’s a wonderful storyteller and he drives a lot of the energy in the week.”
Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple also expressed his pleasure at ensuring ongoing stability at the club, who are currently fourth in the Premiership and will take on Montpellier in the Champions Cup round-of-16 in April.
“We are all delighted to have three such highly regarded individuals sign new contracts with the club,” said Dalrymple.
“Alongside Billy Millard [Quins' director of rugby performance] and Charlie Mulchrone [skills and kicking coach], Nick, Adam, and Jerry guided this team to one of the most incredible stories in the Premiership’s history.
“Overseeing a return to Harlequins’ DNA of old as the team has tapped into the club’s historic and famous style of play, we have seen huge engagement and interaction not only from our supporters but the wider sporting world.
“Alongside the 17 recent key player contract renewals, we are all thrilled to have Nick, Adam, and Jerry commit their futures with us.
“By signing new and permanent deals within our coaching team working alongside Billy, Charlie and Tabai, we have built a brilliant team to help our squad grow, develop, and to achieve our ambitious goals.”
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