Turner-Hall joins Quins mate Gray at London Scottish
HARLEQUINS academy coach Jordan Turner-Hall will join Joe Gray in the London Scottish coaching team.
Quins hooker Gray is set to take up the head coach job at Scottish when he retires from playing at the end of the season.
Gray has decided to call it a day after nearly 150 Premiership appearances and spells at Northampton and Saracens as well as Quins.
The once-capped England player has played integral roles in three Premiership titles, one Heineken Champions Cup, one Challenge Cup, one Greene King IPA Championship, two LV Cups and one British and Irish Cup during his time with Harlequins and Saracens, becoming the first player to win every single English domestic and European trophy.
But now his focus will be on transforming the fortunes of a London Scottish side that finished rock bottom of the Championship in 2021/22.
Gray will also share his wealth of experience with emerging Harlequins players as they represent London Scottish in the two clubs’ newly established relationship.
Gray said: “I’m tremendously excited to begin my new coaching career at the end of the season.
“I’ve spent eleven years with Harlequins as a player and grateful for the opportunity to remain with such a great club in my new role. I’m eager to help the next generation develop and hopefully reach their full potential in the same way coaches throughout my career did for me.”
Gray will be assisted by former team-mate, Turner-Hall, who will come on board as defence coach whilst continuing in his role as academy coach at Quins.
Prior to returning to Quins in the summer of 2020, former England centre Turner-Hall has coached at Brighton College and Rosslyn Park.
Gray and Turner-Hall’s imminent arrival follows the news that Scotland legend Bryan Redpath has returned to professional rugby as the club’s director of rugby.
Redpath, who led Yorkshire Carnegie to the Championship play-off final in 2017, has come in as a replacement for Matt Williams who made the decision to leave the sport in order to concentrate on business matters.
However, The Rugby Paper understands that Redpath’s involvement may only be short-term and focused more on the commercial side of the club than day-to-day coaching.