ALL CHANGE AT STOOP

THE departure from Harlequins of director of rugby John Kingston has had profound consequences at the club and also within the England set-up. Kingston had been involved with Quins for 17 years, and had signed a new contract just months before the club confirmed in April that he would leave The Stoop at the end of the season — two years after replacing Conor O’Shea. A stockpile of defeats sealed Kingston’s fate, despite the context of a lengthy injury list. Shaun Edwards was soon linked with the vacancy but Paul Gustard beat him to it, leaving England coach Eddie Jones searching for a new defence coach. The fall-out has rippled through the club’s management. The Kingston regime was broken up. Former Lions forwards coach Graham Rowntree left his post, before club stalwart Nick Easter also departed. He is now working with Natal in South Africa’s domestic competition. Adam Jones, Nick Evans and Mark Mapletoft have all retained their first-team coaching roles and, in addition to hiring Gustard, the club has also brought in Alex Codling to become forwards coach following a successful spell as head coach at Ealing.