Long relishes mastering ‘game of chess’ at Harlequins
Former St Helens player tells Charlie Morgan he switched codes after feeling ‘stale’ as a coach
It is a mark of Eddie Jones’ respect and admiration for rugby league that he has invited compatriot and Canberra Raiders head coach Ricky Stuart to join his quarter-final preparations. There have been visible clues throughout Jones’ tenure, from the fast-tracking of Ben Te’o to the attacking patterns orchestrated by George Ford and Owen Farrell.
Behind the scenes, Jones came close to appointing Sean Long from the 13-man code 18 months ago.
“I had a meeting with Eddie after the [2018] Six Nations,” Long says. “He was looking for an attack coach and a change of ideas and I put my name forward. I thought: ‘Even though I’ve not coached union, I may as well go for it.’ And I got down to the last three. I was buzzing, made up!”
The episode reflects the charisma and expertise of the candidate as well as the inclinations of England’s head coach. Long remained in demand. Dai Young spoke to him about Wasps. Danny Cipriani, a long-time acquaintance from when the pair were at Sale Sharks and Salford
Red Devils, respectively, often discussed technical details with him. Leicester Tigers were interested. Then Paul Gustard nipped in and got his man.
Long left St Helens, where he spent the majority of his glittering playing career, in June. The side were top of the Super League, but his decision was not a wrench because he had begun to feel “stale” and had wanted to move to union for “two or three years”.
The 2018-19 season for Harlequins was ultimately derailed by a remarkable late slump as they lost six of seven Premiership matches. Gustard wanted to expand the backroom team in a bid to “maximise finer detail around running lines, preserving space and creating numerical advantages”.
Alongside former St Helens colleague Martin Gleeson, Long represented Orrell for the 2017-18 campaign in South Lancashire/ Cheshire League Two.
The eighth tier of English rugby union, which required him to pay match fees, was another educational experience. Since then, Gleeson has taken up a position with Wasps.
“When I was watching union, I could see teams running good plays but maybe not knowing why they were running them,” Long says. “Everyone runs the same plays, whether that’s Saracens, Bristol, Harlequins or Newcastle. The teams that run them best tend to win, and it’s like that in league as well. It’s like rugby league’s a game of draughts and rugby union is a game of chess. It’s simple in league. In union, there are so many variables.”
Cipriani is a big advocate of Long’s know-how, and now, among others, Marcus Smith will benefit from the same insight. “Danny used to send over clips,” Long says. “We’d talk about tiny things – where you stand, where you catch, which foot you play off. And that’s what I’m doing with Marcus.”
As for Long, he has a rich tradition to live up to: “I look at Andy Farrell, Shaun Edwards and Mike Ford. It would be great to emulate half the stuff that they have done.”