By MARK CASHMAN

Joe Barakat’s plan for the next period of time was for him to ”put his feet up” and reconnect with the family after returning home from 11 years on the international coaching merry-go-round earlier this year.

The realities of earning a quid, a dollar or a yen is that the work is either offshore or interstate and that’s what the new West Harbour head coach has done for more than a decade.

Gigs in Japan at the NTT Shinings Arcs and Toshiba Brave Lupus, as well as a stint at European powerhouse Ulster on top of time at the Waratahs and more recently the Western Force and the Melbourne Rebels have meant that home time has been minimal.

“As exciting as all that stuff was it was time to come home,” Barakat told Rugby News.