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'I'd two or three offers abroad but I've unfinished Prem business'
Steve Diamond believes the eleven months he spent away from rugby after quitting as Sale boss have him primed to be a long-term success at Worcester. Having exited the Sharks in December 2020, the 54-year-old joined the Warriors last November as their lead rugby consultant.
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That was just over 26 weeks ago and he has quickly packed a lot in sense. He was given control of the on-field rugby operation just eight weeks after his arrival as head coach Jonathan Thomas exited the club and he become director of rugby for the 2022/23 season onwards once Alan Solomons bows out following this Saturday’s season-ending match at home to Bath.
The Warriors head into that game at the bottom of a league that doesn’t have relegation this season. However, a win should be enough to lift them out of 13th spot (Newcastle’s result is also a factor) and having recently been crowned Premiership Rugby Cup champions, Diamond is pleased with the way things are going at Worcester since his return to the sport after a break for family reasons.
“Most people tend to take a gap year when they finish university or in university when they don’t need one whereas if you have done 20 years coaching like I had, to step out of it and not watch a rugby match for six months is pleasurable,” said Diamond to RugbyPass when asked would he recommend to other club bosses the idea of taking time out to refresh and re-energise.
“If I’m honest, I had two or three offers to go abroad which doesn’t suit me at the minute. Those offers might be appealing in five or ten years’ time but I have unfinished business in the Premiership and Worcester will be the vehicle for me to hopefully show my credentials, whether it is recruiting or managing, and the coaches that come with me will have an opportunity to prove that they made the right choice in staying here or coming and joining me.
Diamond is a character with a robust, no-nonsense nature so what was it like walking into Sixways on November 29 to work there for the first time and to begin putting his ideas across? “People have clarity of what they are coming to work to do,” he said about his input across half of the 2021/22 season. “Under previous regimes, not just JT and Alan, there has always been this tendency of the emperor comes in and new clothes come out and stuff and I don’t work like that.
“I work with what I have got and my mindset is very clear, do as I ask you to do in a collaborative way. We all agree the training week, we all agree the way we are going to play as in all the coaches and players, and then we get on with it. You would have to ask the players but I enjoy coming to work and even when we have lost games the beat around the place is positive and most of them will say that.”
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Worcester are seen as a club forever stuck in the lower reaches of the Premiership, so how did Diamond sell his vision to targetted new signings that the Warriors would soon be going places and that their 2022/23 ambition is to qualify for the first time to play in the Heineken Champions Cup?
“Well, the challenge was me putting over a vision of where we can go with it quickly and not everybody I targeted agreed. Most people have got something to prove who are coming themselves but I have never had a problem recruiting if I am honest, you just say it as it is and they either believe in you or they don’t.
“They only have to come to Worcester which none of them needed to because they believe what I was telling them would happen and it will happen. The facilities at Worcester are second to none training wise as well as playing. And it’s just a case of actions speaking louder than words really so we will see where we go with it.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Bold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
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