LONDON - Harlequins rugby coach and former All Black Zinzan Brooke is cleaning the slate by signing 24 new players for next season.
Tagged the glamour club of London, Brooke's team slumped from the top five last year to the bottom quarter of the table this season, his second in charge.
One of the casualties has been back coach Bernie McCahill, a former All Black, who has been let go by the club.
With just one game remaining, Brooke is in the middle of signing up two dozen new players for next year.
But he has encountered headaches with a professional system racked with overpayments that might be difficult to comprehend in New Zealand.
"One of the difficulties here has been the money that has been spent before we arrived," Brooke said. "Myself and a few others were getting paid good wages. Now the restrictions have been put on salary caps, it makes it difficult to recruit players.
"The difference from this year to last year is that we lost Dan Luger, Keith Woods and Thierry Lacroix.
"What's more, we've had a lot of key guys injured this season, including former All Black midfield back John Schuster, who was worth 15 points a game for Harlequins last year.
"`Most of the injuries were in the backs and we couldn't get our backline going. We have used 44 players this year compared consistently with 28 last year.
"People don't appreciate these things and they might slag us off as coaches."
Brooke said he wanted Harlequins to win the premiership next year and would look to instil New Zealand-styled pride and passion.
"There are teams here that use team spirit to win championships. Bath had a terrible season last year but they have turned it all around.
"Last year things went right for us, this year the reverse has happened."
The novelty of having four All Blacks involved in the club - John Gallagher, Bernie McCahill, Hika Reid and Brooke - has possibly worn off. "It was really exciting for guys to be involved with All Blacks. But we got a few injuries and the confidence of individuals slumped. Some of our guys are not mentally tough enough.
"They tend to rely on the key players to take them through the tough times. I have been on the phone everywhere chasing replacement players in the last few weeks."
He is keeping only 12 players from his present squad and the rest are on their way out.
Brooke believes the English club environment has been an ideal apprenticeship for his fledgling coaching career for whenever he returns to New Zealand.
His contract at the moment is for one year.
A top five or six finish would see him at Twickenham for another season. Any worse and he will be under pressure.
- NZPA
Rugby: Brooke clean-out at Harlequins
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