Last update on. From the section Rugby UnionTabai Matson as a player was capped by Fiji and New Zealand.Harlequins, Premiership champions, have named Tabai Matson, a former All Blacks centre to be their coach next season.After his contract as Head Coach of New Zealand Under-20s ends, the 48-year old will be joining the club in late February.As senior coach, he will be leading the club's specialist coaches.After Paul Gustard's departure in January, Quins won the title under Billy Millard as general manager.Matson was the head coach at Bath under Todd Blackadder in 2016-17 before returning home to New Zealand for family reasons.He was previously an assistant coach at Super Rugby New Zealand sides, the Chiefs and Crusaders. He also won two caps for New Zealand back in 1999.Matson stated that he is not going to reinvent the wheel and will be leading the current coaching group consisting of Nick Evans, scrum coach Adam Jones and Jerry Flannery, as well as lineout and defense coach Jerry Flannery, Charlie Mulchrone and skills and kicking coach Charlie Mulchrone. External-link"This team is special with great people and a rich history. I am incredibly excited to continue pushing this side to new heights and add to the talent of this coaching team."Having spoken with Laurie (Harlequins chief executive), Billy and the coaches, I know that we are united in our belief that this is just the beginning of Harlequins. To achieve our goals, we must stay true to our identities - the Quins DNA."Tabai was an outstanding candidate"Tabai Matson, former director of rugby Todd Blackadder's head coach, helped Bath achieve a fifth-place Premiership finish 2017.Quins beat Exeter to win the Premiership final last Saturday. Despite not having a coach, the team thrived and won 11 league games of the 16 that followed Gustard's departure to secure a top-four spot.The Chiefs were defeated at Twickenham by the Chiefs after they made the largest comeback in Premiership history.However, Millard will return to his role of overseeing all aspects of rugby operations, including the Premier 15s-winning women’s team and academy. He also stated that they would hire a coach to manage the men's team."We recognized in the middle last season that we needed additional resources in our coaching department and made every effort to find the right person to do that. Millard stated that Tabai was an outstanding candidate."Tabai has been a player and coach in high-performing rugby environments and will be a valuable addition to our amazing coaching team here at The Stoop.He demonstrated that he understood what it takes for a culture to thrive and how identity is key to that success.A team of exciting people to take controlHarlequins will be coached by Matson to Marcus Smith and Louis Lynagh, two exciting young players.Matson inherits a title winning squad that is seasoned with youth and experience.The youngsters of Harlequins impressed, defeating Exeter to win the title.22-year-old fly-half Marcus Smith led the Premiership's points totals last season. He was an influential player with the ball in hand as well as from the Twickenham tee. Smith is expected to win his first England cap against the United States on Saturday.The 20-year old son of ex-Australia captain Michael Lynagh stole the show at Twickenham. He scored two late tries to win the victory over the Chiefs. While in full-back Tyrone Green, they have a talented heir.Alex Dombrandt, number eight, has proven to be a dominant ball carrier and has been called up for England. Joe Marchant, Matson, is a rising England back capable of dynamic and powerful breaks.
