Jones aims to develop Harlequins' mean streak

ADAM Jones has urged Harlequins to adopt the sort of hard edge possessed by the Wales teams he played for under Warren Gatland if they are to achieve success.

- ALEX BYWATER

Harlequins parted company with former head of rugby Paul Gustard at the end of January in a move which shocked the Premiership.

But in their first game since Gustard’s departure, the men from The Stoop showed just how good they can be by thrashing last season’s finalists Wasps 49-17 in Coventry.

That game saw Quins play their traditional, enterprising brand of rugby, but Jones wants them to marry that with some grit.

“Attack is in the Quins’ DNA but that style of rugby doesn’t work all the time,” Jones told TRP.

“It certainly worked against Wasps, but we had a good balance to our game which allowed us to play the unstructured rugby we’re good at.

“You don’t want to harp back too much to the days of old. I come from a country where at the start of my career everyone just kept talking about the 1970s. It was only until we won a couple of Grand Slams that people shut up a bit. You respect the past, but you’ve got to move with the game.