Sharks boss standing by his methods
STEVE Diamond has defended his methods after a heated exchange with a journalist who had accused him of being a bully overshadowed Saturday’s impressive victory over Gloucester.
The Sale Sharks’ director of rugby was keen to draw a line under the post-match incident after avoiding an RFU investigation, but rejected the idea there was anything wrong with his methods – having faced allegations he created an intimidating atmosphere and ignored medical advice when it came to dealing with injuries.
“No, I don’t think I am misunderstood,” he said. “I think it’s a case of a couple of people forming their opinion. I am a massive believer in looking after our assets and our players.
“When Danny Cipriani was here, I looked after him and got him through the problems that he had before.
“There were one or two players who had been in here before and one or two players who are still here who we have looked after. That’s not just me, that’s the whole club.”
Diamond said he worked closely with the Rugby Players’ Association to prioritise player welfare and pointed to the club’s strong injury record.
“All of our medical protocols are exemplary,” he said. “We have the lowest injury rate in the competition for the seventh year, at the halfway stage – I think we’re 35 per cent behind everybody else. So any medical issues, our medical staff deal with them appropriately and always have done.”
As he spoke at Sale’s training centre, Diamond was flanked by star players Chris Ashton, Faf De Klerk and Josh Beaumont, with the latter pair having signed fresh contracts to commit their future to the club in recent days.
“Forget Faf, who has been here 18 months, or ‘Ashy,’ who has been here six months,” Diamond said.
“’Beau’ has been here as man and boy. He could have gone to any club. He chose to stay. You don’t choose to stay if you don’t enjoy it and you are bullied. That’s it.”
Meanwhile, Tom Curry is the latest player to sign a contract extension with Sale. The England flanker will now remain at the club until at least 2023.