London Irish have been linked with the Chiefs assistant coach, Tom Coventry, after abruptly parting company with Brian Smith, their director of rugby. Smith had been planning to head back to Australia with his family at the end of the season but has left the club with immediate effect.
The Exiles will be temporarily guided by the forwards coach, Glenn Delaney, assisted by Richard Whiffin and Mark Tainton, after deciding to call a halt to Smith’s tenure now the club is effectively safe from Premiership relegation. A club source said Smith had been keen to carry on, rather contradicting an official statement which suggested he had been released from his contract “on compassionate grounds”.
Smith, a former England attack coach, had two stints in charge at Irish and steered the club to a Heineken Cup semi-final in 2008. The Exiles are under new ownership, however, and are eager to force their way back into the Premiership’s top sides. He is not the only New Zealander weighing up a move to Europe, with the Rugby Paper reporting Coventry has been offered a three-year deal starting at the conclusion of the Super Rugby season.
The All Black prop Ben Franks is understood to be close to agreeing a deal with the club after this year’s World Cup. The New Zealand lock Jeremy Thrush is a confirmed Premiership arrival after agreeing terms to join Gloucester from the Hurricanes in November.
Thrush has won 11 caps and was man of the match against Scotland in November. Gloucester’s director of rugby, David Humphreys, has indicated that further recruits will follow. “We will continue to add depth to our squad over the next few weeks,” said Humphreys, making clear the Cherry and Whites are seeking to assemble “one of the dominant forward packs in England”.
On a busy day of signing activity, Northampton have announced that the England prop Kieran Brookes will be joining from Newcastle this summer. Brookes, 24, spent two years at Leicester before rejoining Newcastle last season and has subsequently gained six England caps.
“We are obviously disappointed to see Kieran head to Northampton,” said Dean Richards, the Falcons’ director of rugby. “We would have liked him to stay here at the club that has helped him develop into the full England international that he is today … but during the course of negotiations it became clear that he and his agent were looking to move.”
Saracens have received a welcome injury update before their crucial European Champions Cup pool game against Munster, with Brad Barritt, Owen Farrell and Charlie Hodgson available for Saturday’s game in Hendon.
Barritt has not played since being battered on England duty at Twickenham against Australia in November. The centre has recovered from a torn calf and the Saracens director of rugby, Mark McCall, has described his return as “a massive boost” to the club: “In your biggest games you want your best players and Test match animals. Brad’s last game against Australia was, for me, one of the bravest and most physical performances I’ve seen by anyone, never mind a centre.”
Farrell was a late withdrawal from Saracens’ starting lineup for Friday’s narrow defeat at Gloucester but is fit again to resume at fly-half in what will be his final opportunity to impress the England coach, Stuart Lancaster, before the Six Nations squad is confirmed next week.
McCall believes Farrell is rediscovering his best form and will bounce back from the disappointments he endured with England during the autumn Tests. “He’d only had one game of rugby going into the All Blacks match and that turned out to be not enough,” said McCall. “During that period he came in for an unfair amount of critical attention … that’s the nature of the beast when you play fly-half for England, I suppose. He’s been really good for us.”
According to McCall, Farrell is also determined to improve his game further heading towards the World Cup. “Owen’s greatest strength is his self-awareness. He understands how he needs to get better in terms of how he guides and leads a team. It’s magic to have a 23-year-old who is that self-aware.”
