Lovely interview with Adam Coleman in the English press

And he speaks very warmly of Perth and his time at the Force!

“Despite having regularly produced exceptional English talents, often to see them poached by Bath down the M4, there has always been a cosmopolitan feel about London Irish. Now the squad have adopted a name which sums that up nicely - the Misfit Brothers.

“It’s just one of our team mottos. We have come from all around the world - Australians, Irish, Tongans, Scots, Fijians. A very diverse team. We have embraced that and do not shy away from it. That is why we work so well,” Adam Coleman, the Wallabies lock, tells Telegraph Sport.

London Irish might be new territory but at least Coleman is surrounded by familiar accents. There are two Australian coaches to start with, Les Kiss, Irish’s head coach, and Brad Davis looking after the defence. Surely Irish must boast the largest contingent of Australian players in the Premiership, with seven others, including Wallabies prop Sekope Kepu, joining Coleman in Sunbury.

That sense of familiarity, plus a good pitch from Declan Kidney, the Exiles’ director of rugby, and a desire to get out of Super Rugby’s gruelling calendar all contributed to Coleman joining the Exiles.

“I’m really settled in now. We have a nice little house in Teddington and coming to London Irish, there were a lot of Australians here already,” Coleman explains.

“When I spoke to Declan Kidney, he is a very experienced coach and he was very firm on his ideas of how we wanted to play and the culture here at London Irish. That really sold it to me. But it was also the time I could spend with my family. I have a little one and another one on the way in a couple of weeks, so a busy household!

“In Super Rugby I spent six, seven months away from home travelling which made it hard for myself, my partner. Combining that with the people I know here already has made it a really easy transition for me. I am pretty stoked with my decision to come here.”

Now he is outside of Australia, Coleman can also look back on a difficult year for the Wallabies. 2019 ended with defeat to England in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final in Oita but was marred by the Israel Folau saga and in-fighting between the former head coach Michael Cheika and Rugby Australia. Super Rugby, as Coleman explains, also has serious issues to address.

“There was a lot going on, politics, the coaching staff. I won’t say it didn’t affect the squad, but not having all of those distractions would have put us in a better place,” he admits. “From the outside looking in, this is an exciting time for Australian rugby. Having a new coach and a clean out is exactly what they needed.

“I am really excited to see the type of rugby the Wallabies will produce under Dave Rennie. The talent has always been there in Australia. It is just about how they harness it with the new generation.

“I don’t necessarily think the current Super Rugby model works. One, from a fans point of view, with the conference structure. And two, from a player’s perspective with the amount of travel you have to do. Going from say Sydney to South Africa to Argentina and then coming home - you have essentially gone around the world in two weeks, in what is really a short competition compared to the Premiership.

“I’m not sure how they will do it, but if they can cut the travel out, they will get a higher performance out of the players. There would be more longevity looking after the players and their families.”

Coleman’s breakthrough came in Perth the Western Force, the franchise who were cut back in 2017. The Force went down fighting but the decision by SANZAAR, made when reducing Super Rugby from 18 teams down to 15, was distressing for players, coaches and supporters alike. Perth became Coleman's home. The weather there certainly beats the succession of storms he is currently experiencing in London.

“That was pretty hard for me, personally. I spent so much time with the Western Force and the club was very close to me. I fell in love with Perth, the culture and the lifestyle that Western Australia produces. It was tough moving from there to Melbourne, into a new team, new environment. And it was a shame for Super Rugby.

“Losing a team, it doesn’t necessarily create more depth. It has definitely limited rugby in Australia to the east coast, which is a shame. There is a lot of talent in Western Australia that can go missing, untouched. The Force were cut and a really big part of my life was cut too. Hopefully one day mate I’ll finish up back in Perth and in that lifestyle, in the sun.”


Sunday's forecast is less pleasant but The Exiles are currently in flying form, having won their last three matches ahead of facing Wasps. At the season’s halfway point, they have matched the best-ever start to a Premiership season made by a promoted club, winning 45 percent of their matches.

Irish have certainly splashed the cash bringing Kepu and All Blacks wing Waisake Naholo to the club, not forgetting Ireland flanker Sean O’Brien either, whose debut is inching closer. But Coleman might be the best recruit of the lot, with the 6ft 8in, 19 stone lock already turning in match-winning performances and setting the tone upfront. Irish’s pack appear smart, physical. It is easy to spot Coleman’s influence.

“I try and lead by example. If I feel we are not holding up to standards, I will definitely voice that within the team. Whether I was a leader or not, I would hold the boys to a higher standard, because I know we can be better.

"That is the exciting part about London Irish. There is so much growth within the young guys coming through in the squad. We have only seen a little bit of it in a short period of time.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-un...n-months-away/