Street’s co-head coach Karen Findlay, Superintendent Taskforce in the MET Police, will be continuing with the programme in the role of Forwards Coach. As such Harlequins Women will head into the next three-year iteration of the Tyrrells Premier 15s league with a new, full-time Head Coach, in line with the promising new steps being taken within Women’s club rugby.

A former England Women’s Head Coach, Street led his national side to five Six Nations Grand Slams and the 2014 Rugby World Cup title, claiming a famous tournament victory against Canada in the latter alongside current Club captain Rachael Burford, and was nominated for the BBC SPOTY coach of the year in 2014.

Under the stewardship of Street and Findlay, Harlequins have reached the last two Tyrrells Premier 15s titles and won the double during the 2016/17 season with Cup and League victories before the inception of the Tyrrells league in 2017.

Street and Findlay also led the team to break brave new ground within women’s rugby. The Club’s annual Game Changer event, a celebration of women’s rugby and sport, has twice broken the record attendance for the women’s league, and both coaches oversaw the history-making victory against Leinster Women as part of Harlequins’ annual Big Game event at Twickenham Stadium in December in front of more than 7,500 fans following the men’s game against Leicester Tigers. The fixture was the first Harlequins Women’s game to be played at the home of English rugby and created a new chapter in the Club’s history.

“It’s been a privilege, a brilliant time really,” Street said of the last three years with the Women’s side. “I think that Quins’ dream to be at the forefront of women’s rugby and women’s sport was the thing that brought me to the Club. It is fantastic how driven the CEOs, the whole board and everyone at the Club was to be part of the new Tyrrells Premiership and the way women’s rugby was going at the time.

“I’m really proud of where the Club has gotten to in terms of the international mix of players we have, the off-field structure, the amount of England players and being able to work with Rachael Burford again has just been amazing. I have been working with Burf for 20 years now!

Street continued: “I’m staying within the Club, I won’t be departing completely and will probably still be in my same favourite chair at work. I am sure I will still be doing a little bit of work, some interactions with the women’s side and the new Head Coach.

“I’m really proud to be moving on when the Club’s in a really strong place. I am looking forward to watching them from the stands with a bit less pressure on my shoulders next year!”

Street joins the Club’s Academy setup, having established the first ever National Academy project with the RFU, held various high-level coaching roles within age-grade rugby and a stint lecturing Sports Science at the University of Loughborough in the 90s.

The recruitment process of Harlequins Women’s next Head Coach is already underway, and The Club looks forward to announcing the latest addition to the women’s coaching team in the coming months ahead of the start of the new Tyrrells Premiership 15s season.

Above photo from 23rd April 2019. (l-r) Alex Austerberry Head Coach Saracens Women, Saracens Women Captain Charlotte Clapp, Harlequins Ladies Captain Rachael Burford and Garry Street Co Head Coach Harlequins Ladies pose for a photo at the Tyrrells Premier 15s Final Launch

Courtesy of Harlequins

Jim Evans, who appeared 174 times for Harlequins across ten years at the Club, has been promoted to Academy Head Coach following on from Howard Graham who held the position for eight years.

Graham has been instrumental in bringing through current senior squad members throughout his time with the Club, helping Harlequins’ Academy gain the reputation it has today of being one of the best in the country.

Women’s Rugby World Cup winning Coach Gary Street has joined the team as Academy Coach Development Officer; driving the standards across the Academy with a specific focus on the Developing Player Programme. Street will balance his role in the Academy alongside responsibilities as Harlequins Ladies’ joint Head Coach.

Warren Abrahams, who recently coached England 7s to a Silver medal at the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games, remains as Academy Assistant Coach, taking on more responsibility with Harlequins’ best schoolboy players and coaching both the Club’s 7s and 10s teams.

Like Abrahams, Tom Williams will continue his time at the Club as Academy Transition Coach and will continue to oversee the development of Harlequins’ full time Academy players.

Tony Diprose remains in the role of Academy and Global Development Director to oversee the programme, which includes the Club’s expansion into the USA and other developing rugby regions.

Confirming the 2017/18 Academy coaching structure, Diprose said: “I would like to thank Howard Graham for the work he has done over the last eight seasons; helping to develop the Academy to its current strong position. He’s had a positive influence on a number of players who are now making a real impression on our first 15 and I wish him well in his future.

“I am, however, hugely excited about the reorganisation and additions to the Academy coaching group. We are an ambitious team and will be striving for even higher standards to maintain our reputation as one of the best development programmes in the country.

“Tom Williams has already made a very positive impact in working alongside myself in driving the full-time Academy players as they look to make that next step to being regular first 15 players. He has used and shared his own experiences as a professional rugby player as well as continuing to develop his coaching skills with Harlequins, Esher and England U20s.

“Jim Evans deserves the opportunity to step up to the Academy Head Coach role and will oversee the Academy schoolboy programme as well as having specific responsibility for the forwards coming through the pathway. Warren Abrahams will add a fresh impetus to the work we do with our best schoolboy backs and will lead on the coaching side as we look to expand our involvement in 7s and 10s. He has already shown his abilities while working with Simon Amor in the England 7s programme and has led Harlequins teams in the recent Melrose 7s, World Club 10s in Mauritius, and Singha 7s events.

“We will also continue to expand our horizons with regular visits to the USA to follow up the work already done by Gary Street and myself. This will see us look at talent identification as well as helping to develop the players and coaches of the future in that part of the world.”

Report courtesy of Harlequins RFC