It does have a whiff of a Wales old pals act all this.

First we retain Highton who was rumoured for the exit door before Noble left, then we bring in Iestyn's mate from Wigan that helped him in the world cup and now we hear about Ian Watson.

Blimey they'll be asking us all to sing land of my fathers before long.

Never thought of this before but wonder if Harris still has contacts in Wales RU? The Doc has spoken pretty often about bringing in RU players and reversing the trend the other way so wonder if any contacts might be utilised.

I am just wondering what MR means by "someone like Watson"....let me tell you you will not meet a more genuine bloke anywhere in RL.

Lets wait until there is something offical ?
some of the comment on here seem pre-emptive.

Lets face it it's a Barker story ( tweated him Iain Watson ).
I presume he does mean the Ex Eccles Team Mate of Mozza & Ex Salford Half Back & not a former Director of SCR.

Personally don't have a issue with watson coming in to replace Hay , and if true both him & Russell MacFarlane brought as performance director have links with Harris through Wales RL.

He will be a hugely experienced addition to the backroom. who will have insight on any talent out there from the KPC.

Name me a club that hasn't before Union went pro all those years ago? If Iestyn wants people around him he knows I don't have a problem with it as long as they are very good at what they do. My 'land of my fathers' comment was nothing more than an attempt to add a little light humor to the subject. Hence the wink.

my comment wasn't meant to be serious.
like any head coach, it's Harris name above the door,so he's duty bound to bring in backroom staff- who know their stuff , and will get on with each other , but more importantly- him , so that will include Wales - Wigan - Fev & Crusaders maybe even Leeds- Bradford , I daresay previous working relationships aka nepotism will come in quite handy ...

Thought Ian was born in Salford, thats what his pen picture said when at fax.Infact i remember him playing for Fax against his brother who was at Eccles in a cup tie.

His family are massive Swinton fans

An interesting concept for people like myself,who are of the opinion that former half backs appear to make very good coaches,and we now have 3 dealing with the first team.

It seems that both Harris and Watson made their international playing debuts together and are the same age.

I did find rlthis reportrl of interest when both were aged 19.

Impressive the way Ian Watson remained at the Swinton club recently,especially as they seemed to be facing extinction at one point.

A big well done to their supporters for getting pro-active - and having many members in their Supporters Trust.

rlhttps://www.swintonlionsrlc.co.uk/News/Article/34955rl
More info here from swinton site.

Watson has been replaced by John Duffy - another link for those of us not of a tender age.

True but Salford more than almost any other club do have a connection. That said this doesn't mean they'll be any Welsh RU players coming in on the back of Harris "contacts". More pie in the sky thinking.

As for Watson, everyone who you speak to says he's the soundest bloke you'll meet which is good but I'm still totally underwhelmed by our current coaching set up. Hope we don't get 5-10 games in to next season, sack the coach and start the whole process of rebuilding again.

I played with Ian at Eccles when he was about 12, playing in the under 15's! Hard as nails, and he was certainly a Salford fan then. Another excellent signing by the club. I'm liking the way we are going about it at the moment. Next year should be very exciting.

I was hugely impressed by the liaison with supporters as demonstrated by Ian Watson rlHERErl

and pleased to see the words of MCB - [i "There's a buzz around Salford, which is exciting.

"I know (Salford coach) Sean Long. I enjoyed training with him at London and learned a lot. I think I can learn a lot here and improve my rugby." [/i
rlSourcerl