The vacant look on George Furbank’s face after Gloucester scored their fifth try of eight on Saturday said absolutely everything about Harlequins’ horror start to the season. Perhaps he was debating whether he could tear up his new contract and run back to Franklin’s Gardens.
After winning two of the last three PREM Rugby titles with Northampton, Furbank’s summer move to London was supposed to herald a fresh start for his new team, who have gradually slid down the league since winning the league themselves in 2021.
It hasn’t happened. A home defeat by Bath and a 48-0 humiliation at Kingsholm have seen Harlequins’ poor form from last term – where they finished second bottom – continue.
That’s not what Furbank has been used to. You had to feel for him as Harlequins capitulated to what was their worst league defeat in 26 years and their third biggest of all time.
With nothing to show in terms of points from their opening two matches, Harlequins already look in real trouble, even if it is still early days. It is tough to see how they can turn the corner with a trip to a resurgent Sale to come in round three.
‘I didn’t expect last year to be as bad as it was, but I did expect it to get worse before it was going to improve,’ former Harlequins and England scrum-half Danny Care told Daily Mail Sport, before this season began. ‘They’ve got to be harder to beat. It can literally only get better.’
George Furbank (centre) was Harlequins’ marquee signing this summer. He may already be wondering whether he made the right decision
Gloucester showed Harlequins exactly where they’ve gone wrong – they only finished a point above them last season but thumped them 48-0 on Saturday
Harlequins won six of 18 league games last season and the decision to hand head coach Jason Gilmore a contract extension raised plenty of questions.
There are issues everywhere you look at Harlequins. The club’s recruitment – led by Ed Spokes – has been questionable at best. Furbank is a fine player and he should still be England’s first-choice full-back when fit. But on a salary of more than £300,000-a-year, it is impossible to get away from the fact Harlequins’ priority should have been investing in fresh grunt in the forward pack.
Gloucester, who finished just a point and a place above Quins last season, have evidently done a better job of recruitment – to the tune of a 48-0 thumping between the two teams last weekend.
With Quins slowly slipping down the PREM table ever since their 2021 title, finishing third, sixth, sixth, seventh and ninth since then, big questions are rightly being asked of Laurie Dalrymple, who has been chief executive since 2019.
One former Harlequins player, who asked not to be named, described Dalrymple as a ‘massive problem.’ He added: ‘There needs to be accountability for an underperforming rugby department. Harlequins have turned from a rugby club into a brand.’
The club’s problems were laid out in plain terms at Gloucester last weekend. Over the summer the Cherry and Whites added significant heft, bringing in Wales co-captains Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan and South Africa World Cup winner Jean Kleyn for a harder edge.
It has clearly worked, Gloucester badly exposing Harlequins’ shortcomings in that area. It was insult to injury for the capital club that two of Gloucester’s best players were former Harlequins Will Joseph and Will Trenholm.
Quins do hope to have their star No10 Marcus Smith and his fellow England international Fin Baxter back on the field in the coming weeks. Both have been on the sidelines so far with finger and foot injuries respectively and their team’s struggles must be analysed within the context of their absence. However, it is clear the problems at Harlequins run far deeper than just playing personnel.
Harlequins won six of 18 league games last season and the decision to hand head coach Jason Gilmore a contract extension raised plenty of questions
With Quins slowly slipping down the PREM table ever since their 2021 title, big questions are rightly being asked of chief executive Laurie Dalrymple
Daily Mail Sport understands there is concern among the club’s leading sponsors at the on-field struggles and that several leading ex-players now have nothing to do with their former employer, despite the expertise they could offer in a time of need.
‘No one has a relationship. It’s really bizarre,’ one said. ‘There’s a lot of Harlequins connections and rugby intellect there. I’m not saying that would fix everything on the field, but it would make the club a better-connected place. I really believe the club is in a mess.’
The facts facing Gilmore and his fellow Australian Robbie Deans, who is performance director, is that Harlequins have to improve and quickly. Another campaign of disappointment will surely not be tolerated by owners Duncan Saville and Charles Jillings. Saville joined the Harlequins board earlier this year to keep a closer eye on proceedings, and he can’t be happy at what he’s seen.
Sources have indicated there are too many ‘yes men’ at Harlequins. Decorated former Test guru Deans’ employment as performance director involves him spending ‘extended periods in the UK at critical points throughout the season’, though he also spends time abroad.
One gets the feeling that if he wasn’t already, Deans must be heading for the team’s Guildford training base as a matter of urgency given the way the first two games have gone. Things already look critical.
At Gloucester, Harlequins conceded a mammoth 21 penalties. It was one of a number of shameful statistics, after moments of promise against Bath. Last weekend, Gilmore’s men made just three entries into their opposition’s 22 and produced only four clean line breaks.
Perhaps most embarrassingly of all, given they are a team historically known for free-flowing attacking, and the number of tries being scored in PREM Rugby is as high as it’s ever been, Harlequins couldn’t even get on the board.
Care, who made a record 395 Harlequins appearances and now works for PREM broadcaster TNT Sports, said: ‘There have to be signs of improvement. There has to be a clearer playing style.
At Gloucester, Harlequins conceded a mammoth 21 penalties. It was one of a number of shameful statistics, after moments of promise against Bath
‘There have to be signs of improvement. There has to be a clearer playing style,’ says Quins’ record appearance-maker Danny Care
‘They’ve got to get their best players on the pitch as much as they can because the turnover of injuries, with whatever was going on, isn’t good enough. I’d like them to give Marcus a platform to be able to show what he can do. Because if he gets that, then he can be the most dangerous player in the league.’
As a 10-team competition, the PREM is now played in short bursts around other competitions and international windows, meaning it can be difficult to re-establish momentum quickly, especially when you’re rock bottom.
Another problem for them is that Newcastle, traditionally the league’s whipping boys, look much improved after another summer of investment from owners Red Bull.
‘I don’t know how they fix it or what they can hang their hat on,’ a source said. ‘Scoring zero points in a league where every team is finding it easy to score is not a good sign for a team whose USP is supposed to be their attacking game. There are better teams in the PREM than them at that now.’
Their base, in a well-heeled area just a stone’s throw from Twickenham, has meant Harlequins have always been able to charge high prices for tickets. While many are affordable, the top seats can cost more than £80.
For how much longer will loyal supporters be willing to spend such sums to watch a team that is badly underperforming?
The club’s decision to allow Ellie Kildunne to leave their women’s team was also unpopular with fans. England ace Kildunne is the most high-profile figure in the female game, but the World Cup winner has now joined Bristol Bears.
It has meant Harlequins have not only lost a hugely talented player, but one of rugby’s most marketable from either sex.
The club’s decision to allow Ellie Kildunne to leave their women’s team was also unpopular with fans – not only have Quins lost a hugely talented player, but one of rugby’s most marketable
As for Marcus Smith, Care fears he may look elsewhere soon if results don’t improve
Smith, who has played more rugby for England at full-back than at No 10 in the past two years, is contracted at Harlequins until 2028. But his former half-back partner Care is concerned his club’s underperformance – alongside him being a bit-part player internationally – could cause him to look elsewhere.
Smith has previously been a target for big-spending French clubs and held talks with Paris-based Racing 92. ‘He’s still got a couple of years, so I think that’s great for the club,’ Care said of Smith.
‘But they’re probably going to have to get better in the next couple of years to give him what he needs because I know how high his aspirations are. He wants to be winning games and winning trophies.’
Right now at Quins, that looks a long way off.
