Diamond: Faf will be crucial to Sale
WORLD CUP WINNER DUE BACK NEXT WEEK
STEVE Diamond has hailed the impact of Faf de Klerk after the South African’s success at the Rugby World Cup in Japan – as he and Tom Curry return to training next week.
The Sale ace was instrumental as the Springboks rallied to victory in Yokohama against England earlier this month.
And director of rugby Diamond has reiterated the scrum-half’s importance to the Sharks.
“Jono Ross put me onto Faf,” he revealed. “There’s lots of agents around the world and you can do your analysis and weigh up the pros and cons of a player but there’s nothing better than word of mouth. It was one phone call.
“He’s a catalyst of what we do. We’ve got United and City on our doorstep – they haven’t got a player who makes that much of a difference to their sport like we’ve got in Faf.
“He realised quickly when he came that, with the weather, you’re going to be able to kick the ball at night.
“We had to get the box kick on him in the poor weather, [but] that’s really the only thing we did. Everything else, taking quick-taps, running and taking the defenders on, he just got on with.”
Since de Klerk arrived at the AJ Bell Stadium in 2017, he’s paved the way for several compatriots to follow his lead with seven other South Africans currently in the squad, and Diamond admitted that his scrum-half is partially responsible.
“To a very large extent, yes. If you notice, we’re not bringing in many 30 or 31-year-olds these days – the du Preez brothers (Dan, Jean-Luc and Robert) are all 24 or 26 and Lood de Jager, he’s 26.
“What Faf has done, and Jono too, is that they’ve given Manchester a great buzz. They’ve said that this is the place to be.”
With the success of the Springboks, Diamond admits he’s eager for his South African contingent to continue their form, but insists it should not be to the detriment of Sale’s youthful programme.
“I want the impact, I’m impatient. I’ve done this job with no money for a long time, and money’s an integral part of getting success, but you’ve got to get the culture right,” he said ahead of Saturday’s Heineken Cup opener at Glasgow. “What we’ve always had here is a brilliant conveyor belt of kids – the Curry lads (Ben and Tom) are a great example – by bringing these players in, what it does do to a certain extent is stifle my conveyor belt.
“At the minute, I’m putting lads out into the Championship so they can get some rugby time. Up until this year, I wouldn’t have been frightened of putting them in the first team. It’s got to be a balance.”