8 June 2005
NEC Harlequins are delighted to announce that Andy Friend will be joining the club as Head Coach, having signed a three-year contract. 

Friend was Coach of the Australia Under 21 team that lost out to South Africa in the final of the IRB Under 21 World Championships in Argentina last month. Prior to this and Friend was Assistant Coach with Super 12 side the Waratahs for two and a half years, having had to retire as a player due to injury.    

“I’m very excited about joining such a prestigious club as Quins and working alongside the personnel that they have within the coaching team,” said Friend. “I’m also looking forward to the challenge of getting Quins back to where they belong in the Premiership.

“I’ve been tracking Andy for a long time and have been excited by the reports and references I’ve received about him,” said Dean Richards, NEC Harlequins Director of Rugby. “He’s very much a visionary coach and I know that John (Kingston) and myself, along with the rest of the team, are very much looking forward to working with him.

Friend will start working with Quins later this week.