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'I'm upset lots of players have to hide their sexuality for years before they retire... I want everyone to be themselves'

By Liam Heagney
Denny Solomona wants gay players to be able to express their sexuality when playing, not after they have retired (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

Denny Solomona arrived fresh off the London train from Manchester the other evening with an olive branch. It was a year ago when he copped a ban he believed thoroughly unjust. He was found guilty of using homophobic language towards Worcester fly-half Jamie Shillcock despite nothing being picked up on the referee’s microphone. 

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It was one man’s word against another. However, rather than contest the reputation-damaging findings, the fear of a lengthier ban if his appeal against the four-week suspension was lost – it would have ruled him out of England’s summer tour to South Africa – meant he buttoned his lip and sucked up the punishment.  

A year on from that grubby saga, Solomona, who still protests his innocence, isn’t afraid to stick this head above the parapet for a very positive reason concerning homophobia. The Israel Folau saga has dragged rugby through the mud in recent weeks, his ‘gays will go to hell’ rhetoric not to Rugby Australia’s liking.

Now what Solomona would like to see happen is for homosexuals to have the confidence to come out while they are still playing the game, not wait until they are retired as happened with Gareth Thomas, the former Wales and Lions skipper. 

Coming out while someone is still part of the dressing room would, believes Solomona, be a massively transformative development for the sport. “I’m upset that lot of players have to hide their sexuality for an amount of years before they retire and then say they have come out, that they are gay,” said the Sale winger to RugbyPass.

Northampton’s Cobus Reinach and Sale’s Denny Solomona were joint winners of the top try scorer award at the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Awards 2019 in London (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images for Premiership Rugby)

“I hate that. I want everyone to be themselves. I love everyone for the way that they are regardless of what they do and what they are. I love them and I respect them. You know that is the biggest thing that we need to cover, equal rights. We need to accept everyone for who they are and what they do, regardless of what they are and what they believe in. I think everyone needs to be respected.

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“When you see a human being express themselves it’s the most beautiful thing. It’s amazing. When the best fly-half or the best scrum-half expresses their talent, it’s the best thing that they have ever done. I feel like that is the exact same with sexuality and mentality and I feel like that is what needs to be expressed out into the world, that everyone needs to express their beliefs and what they want to do.”

Social media was the vice that led to Folau’s very public downfall. Solomona is wary of its mediums and how what is messaged can be negatively interpreted. Instead, give him face to face interaction any day rather than the often faceless judges and juries who cast aspersions online. 

“Face to face interaction is a lot better because you can gauge where people are at emotionally and physically,” reasoned the 25-year-old. “Social media is a big platform where nowadays it’s a very big thing, as you can tell from a lot of international stars being a lot more outspoken than they would have been.

“But there is a lot of misinterpretation within text messages, Instagram, Twitter, within any social media. When you are face to face you can interpret the impression and the expression that is given to you. That is what what is important, that we can kind of engage that physical integration within each other and speak about our feelings in what we do. It’s a lot more better than telling each other what we do in Instagram and social media.”

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Fronting up and being candid was the reason Solomona was on his visit to London. He knew he would be getting an award for finishing the Premiership season as joint top try scorer on 12 along with Northampton’s Cobus Reinach, but just as important was his nomination for the Gallagher Insurance Community Player of the Year award that honoured players for commitment to both their sport and the wider rugby community.

Solomana ultimately didn’t win on the night – the award went to Bristol’s Nick Fenton-Wells. But he was delighted his dedication towards raising awareness of men’s mental health along with supporting Sale Sharks’ work in the community was recognised by his inclusion on the shortlist. 

“It’s amazing. It would be great to have that accolade of having players’ player of the year (won by Danny Cipriani), but adding more purpose into my life is having a life outside of rugby. If I can impact one or two lives outside, I think I have done my purpose in life as an influencer.

“If it helps one to five players in the world, I feel like I’m fulfilling my purpose in life. If I feel like I have encouraged one to five young kids to chase their dreams to become a professional athlete, if I have encouraged one to five adults to speak about their feelings or their mental health and if I have saved one or three lives, I’m happy I have done my job not only as a professional player but actually as a human being in general,” he explained.

“We have a mental health campaign at Sale where we go around different organisations and talk mental health. We talk about depression, anxiety, PTSD, all sorts. We have a guy called Craig Monaghan, an ex-veteran, so he talks about PTSD anxiety levels. I talk about rugby. 

“Everyone thinks as a rugby player we have this sparkling life that we live, that you train twice a week, turn up Saturday and play. My talk is more the depression side where no-one sees the amount of local injections. I wouldn’t say that (this happens) as a club but local injections that players do take, or local injections that they do take leading up into the week to try and get through any little niggle they have to play the week after. 

“That is the sort of thing we speak about. That regardless of what sort of lifestyle you do live everyone suffers from their mental health, everyone suffers from the same thing and what we do is try and expose that. Try and attack the stigma of everyone is a bit scared of saying I’m a bit depressed or I’m a bit suicidal. I’m happy to say I’m a bit depressed, I’m happy to say I was suicidal and I hope other people can be happy and express the way they feel. If they are feeling the exact same way, reach out to people.”

There was no reaching out towards Solomona as of last Wednesday by England, who face the Barbarians at Twickenham on June 2. It’s now last June since he was capped internationally. “I actually have no idea. I’m taking it day by day. If Eddie Jones calls me up, Eddie Jones calls me up. If he doesn’t I’ll have a pre-season to look forward to.”

What a pre-season that is likely to be at Carrington given Steve Diamond’s multiple high-profile signings. Sale even got an off-season boost this weekend, Champions Cup qualification secured due to the final day results in the French Top 14. “In regards to the depths of the squad, it’s going to be a top-four (Premiership) team definitely,” reckoned Solomona. 

“We have got I would say the best back row in years to come. It’s the best back row Sale have had in years in regards to (Sebastien) Chabal and that as well. If you think about it, with Curry twins (Ben and Tom), both JL (du Preez) twins, Jono Ross, Josh Strauss, we have got international back rows in every three positions. 

“Whether you have a Currry, Curry and du Preez brother or we have Curry, JL or Jono Ross in the back row, it’s going to be a brutal back row and when one back row replaces another, the other team will be like, ‘Bloody hell, what have I got myself into?’

“We play entertaining rugby, we express ourselves in our skills and our assets. We have got an international back row, international front row with a back line that is very athletic and has try scoring machines in myself, (Chris) Ashton and Marland Yarde and Byron McGuigan. 

“Even youngsters like Arron Reid, we have that strike power and with that strike power there are even better tries to come next season,” he said. Despite this, he deflected praise away from his quite extraordinary show of dexterity in dotting down in the corner last weekend versus Gloucester. 

“It just comes down to, ‘I need to ground this ball, we’re losing and we have only got a certain amount of minutes left’. It just comes down to whether I want it more than the defender. I have done it numerous times against rugby league teams. I’m happy to see that my assets have been exploited in the rugby union scene as they have been in rugby league.

“But if it wasn’t for Ben Curry, Curtis Langdon, Faf de Klerk and AJ MacGinty, I wouldn’t have been in the position to score that try. When I get the ball, I am confident of finishing any try (chance) given to me. That is my job first and foremost as a winger, to finish opportunities. Ben, Curtis, Faf and AJ gave me that opportunity.”

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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