As the Harlequins family comes closer together for our 150th anniversary, one huge advantage for us has been Brian coming on board as coach. His close relationship with the pros ensures that we benefit from expertise normally unavailable to clubs at our level.

We’ve already enjoyed a lineout session run by Academy Coach and former Quins second row Jim Evans. Further pro coaching sessions are also planned throughout the season. In addition, Brian is also taking the 1s on tours of the facilities at Surrey Sports Park.

On arriving at SSP, the first impression is of scale. As part of the University of Surrey, this is a true multi-use facility which would it would be almost impossible for a club to replicate.

In our afternoon there, we saw a huge array of sports represented at the site: the gym, swimming, squash, football, rock climbing, basketball, hockey and of course rugby. And all with seemingly world class facilities – Olympic-sized pool, 4G pitch, etc.

Quins clearly benefits from this, whether through shared use of the equipment or by developing skills in other sports which are transferable to rugby. Apparently many of the pros play squash in their downtime to work on hand/eye coordination and footwork whilst the pool is great for low impact training.

Away from training, there are also numerous areas for players to relax. Whether the onsite Starbucks, the private team room or the most popular venue, Tommy’s kit room.

Tour complete, it was time for the highlight of the day as we watched the pros running through a training session – on this occasion a skills set run by Colin Osborne and Nick Easter/Graham Rowntree-led defensive drills.

It was quickly apparent how much training is the same no matter what your level. The language and expressions used, the frustration from coaches if players give anything less than their all and the satisfaction of seeing the desired behaviour start to become automatic.

It was also great to see so many of the calls and methods we use in the 1s being implemented by professional players. The Quins Way definitely visible.

On the day we were at SSP, the training session was also watched by around 40-50 kids as part of the club’s community work. Needless to say, the better known players were mobbed at the end of the session. Tim Visser, Chris Robshaw, Jamie Roberts, Danny Care and Jack Clifford (among others) seemed to sign endless autographs and take innumerable selfies. Yet they all did so happily.

DC in particular was the last off the pitch yet still spent time talking a young fan through the intricacies of the perfect box kick.

Overall our day at SSP highlighted how much rugby has changed as the money involved has increased but also the shared experiences of players at all levels and how connected the top players still are with their fan base.