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#Post#: 152938--------------------------------------------------
My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: April 17, 2026, 10:30 am
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Note: Its a long one, done on main thread and a reply due to
character limits.
I was lucky enough to be able to sit down with Harlequins CEO
Laurie Dalrymple
following an email I sent to him about the direction of the
club. Laurie was quick to
respond and invite me down for a discussion which I think is a
great gesture. Being the
CEO engaging with fans when everything is going well is one
thing, getting the high fives
and pats on the back, but to meet under more negative
circumstances is commendable.
On the day itself he was very accommodating, moving things
around to meet earlier
than expected, which was greatly appreciated
Season performance
I asked Laurie if he felt there was any one overriding reason
why the season has gone
the way it has. In one word, Laurie summed it up as player
availability. He explained we
have a wide range of injuries. Some of which are rugby related,
and have occurred
during the matches or training. However, behind the scenes we
are conducting analysis
around the injuries, looking at any consistent trends to ensure
we do not find ourselves
in such a position again.
By way of an example of a review and investment already
undertaken, Laurie said the
pitch condition last season fell way below the required
standard, with surface issues also
being present at the training ground in Surrey. A review had
indicated some of our soft
tissue injuries we’ve picked up last season were attributed to
it so as a result there has
been investment to correct this, but evidently, we are still
managing a lengthy list of
players unavailable for selection.
Squad/Recruitment/Spending cap
I asked if we would be continuing with the larger squad approach
as I knew there was a
desire to have almost two XVs worth to train with. Laurie said
that it’s fair to say Danny
Wilson had a slightly different perspective on things to Jason
but it wasn’t to say either
one is right or wrong as such, as a larger squad composition
works for other teams.
However, Laurie thinks for us now though a smaller – but focused
& stronger squad - is
the model we should be prioritising.
We do spend up to the cap, which raises some questions. The
first is asking are we
spending as well as we can, as I mentioned about other teams
also spending up to the
cap but appear to have a better output. I felt there is a bit of
a drop off in the quality of
squad players (in terms of a larger squad), so are we getting
the value back? Laurie said
it was a fair and understandable question but is hard to answer
when a large percentage
of your best players are injured, but right now we are not
getting the best bang for our
buck out of the cap spend.
The broader question Laurie himself said is have we got the
process, and all of our
recruitment and retention decisions right over the last 18
months? Laurie was open in
saying this has been one of our main areas of focus and review,
with some criticism
understood and fair.
He said there are decisions that sit behind some of the
decisions we have taken that
aren’t necessarily in the public domain but accepted the club
haven’t necessarily made
all the correct decisions, with the value of hindsight.
I said in my perspective the losses of Andre and Will (Collier)
were big hits to the club,
then combined with Lennox not being replaced it created a
situation where we were
hoping someone would just step up. In terms of future
recruitment Laurie explained that
all things being well, we would like to recruit 1 or 2 more in,
with reinforcements in the
pack as the focus, but we need to make sure we get the right
people In. Laurie stressed
if we felt we were inclined not to get the right person in, the
club would rather wait for
that right type of player to become available to then invest in,
in due course.
In relation to inside centre, Laurie explained with Andre
leaving a year early it caught us
a little bit off guard, as the usual conversations we would have
with contracts and the
planning around that occurred a lot sooner than expected, so it
certainly caught us off
guard when Andre asked for an understandable early release.
Players of Andre’s calibre
are not easy to replace. We looked at around 6-8 players of
similar attributes with the
idea of giving us that front foot ball, but none of those
potential opportunities came to
fruition due to various reasons. Laurie said it was a hard
perspective to accept that the
club did, or has done nothing to replace him due to their
efforts to find the suitable
candidate. He then went on to say the second part to it was to
then look at what you
have coming through your academy set up. (For who could make the
step up).
In relation to the departure of Lennox, he was simply offered an
unbelievable
opportunity in France. At the time he was still in the senior
academy system and when
the discussion about offering him a senior first team contract
occurred, it was clear his
offer from overseas was significantly enhanced from the point of
view from where we
could put forward competitive terms. In this instance, we had to
wish him well in his
future endeavours.
Laurie believes that Ben and Bryn are the future of the club as
our inside centres going
forward, which meant there were some difficult decisions to be
made. What he meant by
this, was do you bring someone in who sits above them stifling
their development, or do
you invest in those individuals to develop. Bryn has been
playing well, with Ben having a
challenging season with availability. It was clear they are seen
as having a high
potential, in Laurie’s view. I took from this we probably would
be unlikely to see any
reinforcements at inside centre, certainly as a starter, and
that both Ben and Bryn are
for now at least seen as our main options moving forward, unless
someone would
present themselves as high value, and seen as additive to
developing our existing
players in our system.
He stressed though that if we have the vast majority of our
squad fit and able, we aren’t
at all far from really where we should be, supported by possibly
1 or 2 new faces.
The Danny Wilson exit
I asked If the DW exit was destabilising for the club due to the
timing of events. Laurie
went on to say DW had done all the pre season planning and
creating the game model
with how we should not only train, but play, which was imbedded
with the group, so it
wasn’t ideal to change things radically with the season so close
to starting. Laurie
believed though, that having consistency was key and far less
destabilising keeping the
(coaching) group we have now (IE Jason) as opposed to perhaps a
complete overhaul on
the eve of a new season beginning.
On the exit itself he said that whilst Quins part expected it
might be coming, they had no
guarantee it was ever going to happen, so in essence you could
spend time preparing for
something which may never occur. The summer secondment itself
was not seen to really
be an issue due to the club being in a downtime period anyway as
all the pre season
planning was already done.
It was highlighted that by not supporting individuals
development you run the risk of
having a disgruntled coach as they may feel they aren’t getting
the personal
development they want by the club saying no, but the positive of
allowing it may lead to
something that benefits the club upon their return. In some
ways, as has been stated in
the press previously, it was described as a lose/lose situation
though as there is always
that risk something may develop after allowing the secondment.
Wilson was back with
the club for 2 months with no contact from the WRU, but LD
stated when the club got
suspicions WRU were looking to make a move, it was Quins who
sped the process up. (I
guess to reduce as much as possible the
uncertainty/destabilisation of things).
Head coach appointment
I asked what the approach this time round was with the selection
process as other Quins
fans may feel a bit of déjà vu (Appointing Kingston from a coach
to a head coach role)
which didn’t work out, as well as in general a fairly high HC
turnover rate. Laurie
explained with the current coaching set up in place; Jason had
been put in a strong
position to go and secure the role permanently, but
acknowledged, he would need to
have some support around him. Quins see a huge amount of
potential in him and Laurie
made it clear the club and board felt he was worth giving
support and investment for the
future, with his understanding of the game and the club, being
big factors as part of the
decision-making process.
It’s the belief that if he (Jason) had time to implement his
vision and had a fit and
available squad, when his plans were presented to the board it
reassured the powers
that be the team and wider programme would be in safe hands.
Finally, continued
stability in a lead role, is highly desired, if possible.
Addressing the “Quins global search” term banded around (to then
appoint someone
already in the building), Laurie explained the club had never
said we would be doing a
global search and was mindful not to suggest we were going to
scour the earth, as he
put Jason in an interim position, knowing and wishing him to
have a fair crack at the job.
This did not mean we would not, and have not considered external
candidates for the
role, (something Jason was comfortable with and aware of) but he
felt it was important
we had someone who was going to understand how we wanted to play
as a group,
understood the group itself, as well as the work on’s we have in
the programme. An
extensive review and search process was carried out, but they
felt Jason, with the right
programme investment, was the right fit.
I drew attention to comments Jason was popular in the dressing
room, but Laurie was
quick to say it’s not a popularity contest, and that it was
about putting the right person
in post who is going to get the best out of the group and is
going to drive the right
standards.
The expectation.
Laurie made it clear he felt we should be a top 4 club, but was
mindful of seeing if the
changes we would need to implement would see us there in a 1 or
2 seasons time, but
again stressed that overall he felt we weren’t far away from
where we need to be.
Consistency
I mentioned the frustration where Quins can win well one game,
but then the following
game is the polar opposite. Laurie agreed and understood the
frustration, saying its one
of the biggest questions they’ve had over the course of the
season and is certainly one of
the things the club is looking to rectify. It was mentioned that
by having a more
consistent available squad identity that we can regularly select
from, this would provide
more clarity how well we can actually perform, which at the
moment is near impossible
with so many front line players on the sidelines. He did make it
clear though he didn’t
want it to appear the club solely blamed selection availability
for things, but felt it was a
big part of the clubs current struggle.
Social media
Having been a fan of the club for 25 years, Laurie reiterated he
totally understood the
frustrations fans have and does keep an eye on what is posted on
the forum and other
social media platforms. He mentioned that reading it often isn’t
positive for his, or the
staff or players mental health, as what is often posted steps
across a line and has been
wild, with some things on social media difficult to read, making
a particular reference to
posts saying the club is rotten. Laurie was very clear to point
out this wasn’t the case.
The future plans
I mentioned about looking at other teams in the league with the
success they are
having, where it was accepted there could almost be a bit of
envy as you would see
teams playing at a level you would like to be competing at.
Laurie felt we weren’t too far
misaligned with the Saints model/identity in the sense that we
should be a club that is
heavily investing in our pathway and academy. There was an
acceptance it probably was
an area we’ve under-invested in for a while but now believes
this has been addressed
going forward. Laurie was very confident we would start to see
the fruits of these
investments in the next season or two.
Laurie pointed out he felt we had some quality players coming
through in the 18-20 age
group now and expected the first team to be largely built around
players we’ve brought
in through our own system, with external candidates joining the
club on a more strategic
basis on positional areas that we know we need investment in
which should lead to a
better team structure in the future. It was highlighted
Northampton are now reaping the
benefits of that approach they made 5 or so seasons ago, where
in the same period
accepted, we probably became less focused from that model, but
its now a focus to get
back to that approach.
Retainment of players
Laurie acknowledged that parts of the fanbase having a bug bear
with the departure of
some of our home grown talent. However, he was keen to highlight
we still have
excellent retainment of our home grown talent, referencing the
team who went to La
Rochelle was over 60% home grown and identified a target of
operating around the 70%
marker as an ideal number. Laurie remained highly optimistic at
the young players we
have coming through and thinks with getting them minutes (ie on
loan etc) in 1 or 2
seasons time can have a super strong, homegrown, academy built
squad.
Laurie made a point that we retain far more than we lose, but
there is always the
potential 1 or 2 will always go for a variety of reasons. An
example of this was
mentioning that Jamie Benson had a few key factors that were
really important to him,
as he wanted consistent first team rugby as well as the desire
for international rugby.
The difficulty with staying at Quins wouldn’t have given him
either of those things on a
consistent or more guaranteed basis in his view, and when
weighed up with a potential
good offer from another team its clear why Jamie would want to
explore a new
challenge, and the club did not want to stand in the way of his
development. He leaves
with all our love and best wishes, knowing this is always his
home, should he wish to
come back.
Laurie could not comment on specific players, (in reference to
being here next season),
but felt confident with the players we have in the flyhalf role
at the club, by way of an
example. Laurie referenced Bellamy to having a “super high
ceiling” along with having
Slevin in the side, as well as Furbank too, so it comes down to
the question of as a club
where you want to invest your money into, as you cannot keep
everyone being
completely realistic, but overall I got the impression the club
have confidence in the
players we have available to deputise and perform in the 10 role
for next season.
When asked on Jibulu, Laurie said the club made several attempts
to keep him. There
were many meetings with him, but with everything it will always
come down to a tipping
point. Nathan undoubtedly had his own personal reasons why he
wanted to go, that is
not the clubs business to make public, but he decided to leave
and ultimately said its
frustrating of course to lose talent such as Nathan, but the
facts of life are that you can’t
keep everyone you want to keep. We have 3 hookers representing
England age groups
this season. The future is optimistic
The owners
With the more publicised involvement of owners (IE at Bath) I
asked how involved the
owners are in the decision making process within the club.
Laurie reaffirmed they are
hugely involved and there are frequent conversations and
meetings. Laurie highlighted a
comment he saw online about whether the fans want new owners,
which he said blew
his mind as he believed we had two of the best owners in the
league, citing their
investment and loyalty to the club as big factors. Both watch
the games, with one
attending every home game.
I highlighted a viewpoint I was sent in where maybe the owners
could just be seen to
view the club as more like a property asset, due to maybe a
perceived lack of
involvement as its simply not publicised. Laurie was quick to
say if he was sat there as
the owner he would be insulted by that, as they’ve owned Quins
since around 97, and
had seen it through an enormous amount of highs and lows, and
had supported the club
unconditionally, since their ownership, so if they had no care
or compassion, or desire to
continue to see it succeed, they could of handed it over years
ago.
Laurie stated he was hugely proud of what’s been achieved at the
club over the last 6
years, citing its improved financial position, despite
significant headwinds such as Covid
interruptions for two of those years, lost teams from the Prem,
Cancelled Big Games etc.
He added, in his view we’ve had two difficult seasons,
referencing this season and last,
with the 3 seasons prior to that being good, including a Prem
play off and higher Prem
finishes, with a semi-final knock outs in the Champions Cup.
Robbie Deans
I asked what Robbie Deans role within the club would be, citing
a bit of confusion maybe
online, including how long he was here for and in what capacity.
Laurie said some of the
interpretation surrounding the appointment does not make it
helpful to understand it
clearly.
Laurie clarified the structure of the club, stating that Jason
is the head coach and here to
drive the rugby performance of the team on a daily basis. The
rugby element is his core
responsibility. What Robbie has been asked to do, is to come in
and provide some
strategic thinking for what the broader longer term performance
plan of the club is.
Laurie highlighted that Jason is a young head coach, so Robbie
is there as a mentor and
to provide guidance and support to him, the wider coaching room,
staff and board. That
is a logical and sensible thing to do, from his (Jason’s) point
of view, and ours. At the
time of meeting Laurie said Robbie had been over for about a
week and had already
been involved with the club (playing group/board) and was
committed to us for at least
two years.
It came across from speaking to Laurie that Robbie very much
will be present to make
sure we are moving in the right direction and have the right
building blocks in place for
the long term success of the club, as Laurie was clear in saying
he was not there to
coach the team or be involved with the “on grass” element of the
team.
Recruitment
I asked who will be driving the decision making behind
recruitment, where Laurie said it
depends on the individuals in target. Jason will be driving the
decisions on what the size
and composition of the squad, what our game model dictates and
how our playing
identity drives the recruitment strategy of the club. Other
coaches, and performance
leads, as well as the GM and Head of recruitment all feed into
that process, prior to
executive sign off.
I enquired about the situation surrounding tighthead props, as I
was under the
impression both Harry and Titi’s contracts were nearing their
end. Laurie said he couldn’t
comment on what I stated about those two individual players, but
he said it is an area
the club were obviously open to investing in further, if
appropriate. He then broke it
down into two parts, raising two questions; saying do we need to
get more out of our
squad that we have? I think we can. And then can we supplement
that group with
quality that we can look to bring in externally? Yes, if
required. Laurie highlighted both of
those players were already champions cup winners and said we
need to get more value
out of what we’ve already got in the building. (referencing
getting them fit and playing a
consistent level of minutes again)
#Post#: 152939--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Darylmple
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: April 17, 2026, 10:30 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Final comments
Laurie was clear in explaining he knew, understood and
empathised around the
frustrations of the fans and acknowledged it’s been a tough year
understanding why
people were annoyed. He made it very clear he felt the club can
be and should be better
than what we have been displaying. Laurie said everyone at the
club deeply cares and
didn’t think for one second anyone goes into the working week,
or out on the field with
the “can’t be bothered” mindset, which has been stated online.
This he thinks is
understandably upsetting to players and staff when they read
that.
Laurie then drew attention to seeing comments about how having
no relegation means
no one cares but rebuffed this saying that’s simply not how
professional athletes are
wired.
It was mentioned that the club is continuing a wide review
across the performance
programme, recognising it was an appropriate time for the club
to reviewing everything
in detail. In addition, further senior off field commercial
positions have recently been
appointed with staff changing, and new individuals commencing
their roles with the club
in recent days and weeks.
I said to Laurie it almost seemed like we need that off season
now to hit the reset
button, which whilst he could understand that sentiment, he was
also quick to say he did
not want it to appear at all that the next 6 games were not
important to the club and
saw the value in starting to build cohesion and giving minutes
to players to help their
development. Laurie also reiterated, that he is clear in that
the club should be competing
in the champions cup, taking the club to the highest playing
level possible.
I asked how helpful former players comments were about the
position of the club, which
Laurie replied saying that whilst everyone is entitled to their
opinion, they were not
massively helpful. He accepted sometimes there might be elements
he can understand
the point they might be making, however thinks a lot that is
written is not serving the
club’s benefit. I highlighted how these comments can often stoke
the fires of negativity
which the club would never directly be able to respond to. He
agreed..
Having previously met Laurie’s predecessor under similar
circumstances, I have to say
the feeling I had leaving the Stoop are complete opposites. I
felt David Ellis wasn’t as
accepting in believing there were issues at the club, where as
Laurie fully understood the
fans frustrations, which helps as he has an investment in the
club being a fan himself. He
was transparent in things we maybe have not had the right
approach to, not wishing to
shoulder all the blame on purely things out of our control such
as injuries. It was clear
there was a big belief in Laurie that Jason is the right man for
the head coach role to
drive the club forward. We should also be seeing a defensive
coach join the club, and
with the off season and hopefully some rehabilitation for the
squad next season really
would be a better time to reserve judgement on the changes made.
A direct quote I think sums up the current belief at the club:
LD: “They are a good squad in my opinion, if we can keep them
fit, healthy and
available, we will most definitely win more than we will lose,
I’m absolutely convinced
about that”.
#Post#: 152940--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: Brown Bottle
Date: April 17, 2026, 11:00 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for that, MQ.
--- Quote ---
> Laurie made it clear he felt we should be a top 4 club, but
was mindful of seeing if the
> changes we would need to implement would see us there in a 1
or 2 seasons time, but
> again stressed that overall he felt we weren’t far away from
where we need to be.
--- End Quote ---
So, maybe 1 or 2 but it might take 3 years. Sounds like a plan.
[emoji846]
#Post#: 152941--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: Stoopendous
Date: April 17, 2026, 11:21 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Much appreciated. Thanks for this. LD talks a lot of sense
innit?
#Post#: 152942--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: Rugbycat
Date: April 17, 2026, 11:32 am
---------------------------------------------------------
I may have asked if it was time for new owners, and I had three
reasons, the first is that I have been a Harlequins supporter
for a long time, my father first brought me when I was five, and
I have in turn brought my two children so pure frustration with
the worst season I have ever seen.
The second is what MQ alluded to in his really interesting post,
that you don’t really see or hear much from them, compared to
some of the other clubs owners.
The third is that we are at a crossroads for rugby with Red
bull, Exeter and now Northampton, with new investment, so I am
happy to hear they are fully committed, in my question around
would we be better off with new owners, I stated that without
them there would be no Harlequins, we would have disappeared
nearly 30 years ago.
This season has been a disaster, and am now looking forward to
the next, which has to be better.
#Post#: 152943--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: Bucksquin
Date: April 17, 2026, 11:58 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Really appreciate the long and informative interview notes,
thank you. One question that I am not sure was answered (maybe
it wouldn't have been, whether MQ asked it or not, given that it
would concern individual players to some extent, so he could
dodge it that way) is "How would you respond to the criticism
that our recent recruitment has been patchy at best, in
particular the apparent zeal for signing old players who many
would say are well past their best? And also injury-prone
(perhaps because of their age). Is it because they were cheap?
It certainly looks like a poor strategy."
#Post#: 152944--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: DazzaS
Date: April 17, 2026, 12:21 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thanks for the conversation and the notes.
On the point about past players mKing comments not being helpful
is a bit unfair. Robshaw was asked by Premier Spot sow I'll give
his opinion. Ugo the same at TNT and BBC. Also the same with
Marler and Danny Care.
The only one who said skmehtifn withought being asked is Mike
Brown on linked in. But he is passionate about the clubm in fact
all of the above are (except maybe Marler).
They are hardly not going to pass comment if asked and they are
just saying their perspective from a former player view). Vast
majority of which we are also seeing as supporters.
#Post#: 152945--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: MaidstoneQuin
Date: April 17, 2026, 12:49 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
--- Quote from: Bucksquin link ---
>
> Really appreciate the long and informative interview notes,
thank you. One question that I am not sure was answered (maybe
it wouldn't have been, whether MQ asked it or not, given that it
would concern individual players to some extent, so he could
dodge it that way) is "How would you respond to the criticism
that our recent recruitment has been patchy at best, in
particular the apparent zeal for signing old players who many
would say are well past their best? And also injury-prone
(perhaps because of their age). Is it because they were cheap?
It certainly looks like a poor strategy."
>
--- End Quote ---
It was kinda broadly covered without directly asking why were we
signing players with poor injury records etc.
I think really the answer would be the clubs not always got it
right, which is why now there’s an emphasis on the investment
into the pathway more, and then going out to external
recruitment only when the right candidate comes up. Essentially
said if that right candidate isn’t available, then we will wait,
which leans to a more thought out approach, which leads into the
comment about a smaller squad
#Post#: 152946--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: mrpj1985
Date: April 17, 2026, 12:51 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Highly informative read, thanks MQ.
#Post#: 152948--------------------------------------------------
Re: My sit down with Harlequins CEO Laurie Dalrymple
DIR By: euroquin
Date: April 17, 2026, 1:15 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Wow, thanks MQ for arranging and spending the time to type all
that up. And kudos to LD for fronting up again.
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