Dimes’ exit is a real end of an era at Sale
EARLIER this month Steve Diamond’s departure from Sale Sharks was announced due to personal reasons, bringing the curtain down on a significant era in the history of the club.
During the decade Dimes was at the helm, the team has developed to become a recognised force in the Premiership, attracting world-class talent to our squad and securing our first piece of silverware in 14 years with the Premiership Rugby Cup win earlier this year.
Now, we’re entering a new era as a club and we have plenty to look forward to, as the lads know they have the quality to push for the play-offs and earn more success having come so close last season.
Crucially, our squad has stayed together so we can build on our success, with a host of new contracts agreed.
From Faf De Klerk to the Curry twins, we’ve got the type of players that all rugby fans can get excited about.
The recruitment process to find a replacement for Dimes has already started, but the most important thing for us will be finding the right person for the job.
In the meantime, Paul Deacon – a Sale man through and through having been with us as our forwards coach for the past five years – has stepped into the role of managing the first team.
He’s someone I know well, so I know he’ll be very proud to take on this role, and with the squad we have in place I think we’ve got every chance of another successful campaign.
Sunday’s clash with Wasps at the AJ Bell Stadium will be our last in 2020, and what a year it’s been for Sharks.
Early on in the year, we were in great form and pushing at the top end of the table, but this momentum was, of course, wiped out by the impact of Covid and lockdown.
During that time, everyone worked hard behind the scenes to ensure the club could manage the situation we found ourselves in with no rugby being played to make sure we remained a highly-competitive outfit.
During lockdown we also launched our elite women’s side, who have now started their Allianz Premier 15s season after coach Darren Lamon recruited some of the best talent in the game this summer.
I have to also praise our Sharks Community Trust team, which worked tirelessly at the height of the pandemic to support the vulnerable in our own community.
The club now has a new, leading training facility in Carrington, formerly used by Manchester City and Bury FC, helping us take our operations on and off the field to the next level.
Finally, when we restarted the season, we were able to keep up our good form, winning the cup and going so close to a top-four finish, although it wasn’t to be in the end.
We also couldn’t have got through it without the continued support of our commercial partners, and all of our staff, from the coaches keeping the lads fit to our media team, who have done some superb work to keep our fans and partners engaged throughout lockdown and our games without fans in attendance.
It’s been a challenging year at all levels of the game, but I think we’ll be able to look back on 2020 and see how far Sale have developed as a top Premiership side.
I’m expecting another year of progression in 2021 and with our owners Simon Orange and Ged Mason continuing to push this club forward, I can’t wait to see where we are this time next year.