Harlequins, who have a home Round of 16 draw against Glasgow Warriors in the Investec Champions Cup on April 5, will have to do without the services of defence coach Jerry Flannery following Tuesday’s announcement that he is to take up a coaching role with South Africa later this month.
The former Ireland hooker, who joined the Gallagher Premiership club in 2020 and helped them win that title in 2021, will leave following the friendly against his former club, Munster Rugby, at Twickenham Stoop on February 23.
He said: “I have loved my time at Harlequins working alongside a talented young group of coaches and players. The opportunity to move into international rugby and to work alongside Rassie Erasmus again after our time at Munster was very appealing, and I would like to thank Harlequins for supporting my desire to take up this opportunity to develop my career.”
Harlequins director of rugby Billy Millard paid tribute to the 45-year-old Irishman, saying: “We will be sorry to see Jerry go, as he is a big character and can be very proud of his achievements at Harlequins. We wish him well as he moves into international rugby and continues to develop his career.
“For the rest of this season, we have a very strong group of coaches and are very fortunate to have assistant defence coach Jordan Turner-Hall with us, and the resources and structure to achieve our goals."