More players will follow Chris Ashton out Sale door - Diamond
Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond has stressed that the club “are not going to be derailed” following the departure of Chris Ashton.
The Sharks announced that Ashton was leaving with immediate effect on Monday, having reached a mutual agreement with the wing over the termination of his contract.
On Tuesday Diamond said there had been “a disagreement on how we want to play the game” with Ashton, adding: “He wants to do it one way, I want to do it another and that’s it, so end of story.”
Diamond, whose side are currently second in the Gallagher Premiership, said it had been a fairly amicable parting with Ashton, before adding: “We are not going to be derailed off where we have gone in three years.
“We have come from being a club that’s never been relegated but managed to finish sixth four times out of six or seven, spending 50 per cent of what everybody else has spent, and now we have got the resource and finance and commercial backing. We have got a model that works and people have to buy into it.
“And it always happens. No doubt by the end of the season somebody else will say ‘it’s not my cup of tea and I’m off’. But it’s just mid-season, and it’s a big name.”
Ashton joined Sale in July 2018 after one season at Toulon. The 32-year-old, who won the most recent of his 44 England caps in February 2019, has scored four tries in seven Premiership appearances this season.
Asked if it had been a difficult decision for him, Diamond said: “No. It was the right decision for Chris and for us.
“It’s rare that (a situation like this) happens mid-season, but there’s always an end point for anyone’s career with a club. You just have to deal with it.
“If people’s views don’t align then you might as well have a discussion about it. We didn’t need to wait until the end of the season to do it.”
Asked how he regarded Ashton’s time with Sale, Diamond said: “He scored tries, on the field fantastic.
“The job for me is keeping a balanced environment which isn’t always happy, because it’s not when you win, lose or draw, but 95 per cent of the time everybody is on the same wavelength.
“If somebody says ‘I don’t want to do it this way’ then you can try to work with them, which we have done, and if it doesn’t come that way then the best way for everybody…
“There’s a lot of enjoyment and fun. I know it’s professional but you get the best out of people if they are happy.
“If you are not happy in what you are doing then why not… At 4pm it’s not a prison. You don’t have to come back. That’s not being direct, that’s being honest.
“As we find, sometimes the more honest you are the more people have difficulty dealing with that. That’s as it is.”
Diamond emphasised Ashton’s departure was not for financial reasons and was not aware of links to Harlequins.
He added: “I didn’t know anything about that. Good luck to him, he’s a good player. If he can get a club at Harlequins, then fine.”
Diamond also said he feels Sale have a squad good enough to cope with one or two changes in personnel.
When contacted by the PA news agency, the sports management company representing Ashton declined to comment on the matter.
Press Association
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
3 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
3 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to commentsIt couldn’t have been Ryan Crotty. He wasn’t selected in either World Cup side - they chose Money Bill instead. And Money Bill only cared about himself, and that manager he had, not the team.
25 Go to commentsYawn 🥱 nobody would give a hoot about this new trophy. End of the day we just have to beat Ireland and NZ this year then they can finally shut up 🤐
13 Go to commentsTalking bout Ryan Crotty? Heard Crotty say in a interview once that SBW doesen't care about the team . He went on to say that whenever they lost a big game, SBW would be happy as if nothing happened, according to him someone who cares would look down.. Personally I think Crotty is in the wrong, not for feeling gutted but for expecting others 2 be like him… I have been a bad loser forever as it matters so much to me but good on you SBW for being able to see the bigger picture….
25 Go to commentsThis sounds like a WWE idea so Americans can also get excited about rugby, RUGBY NEEDS A INTERNATIONAL CALENDER .. The rugby Championship and Six Nations can be held at same time, top 3 of six nations and top 3 of Rugby championship (6 nations should include Georgia AND another qualifying country while Fiji, Japan and Samoa/Tonga qualifier should make out 6 Southern teams).. Scrap June internationals and year end tours. Have a Elite top six Cup and the Bottom 6 in a secondary comp….
13 Go to commentsThe rugby championship would be even stronger with Fiji in it… I know it doesen’t fit the long term plans of NZ or Aus but you are robbing a whole nation of being able to see their best players play for Fiji…. Every second player in NZ and AUS teams has Fijian surnames… shame on you!!! World rugby won’t step in either as France and England has now also joined in…. I guess where money is involved it will always be the poor countries missing out….
84 Go to commentsNo surprise there. How hard can it be to pick a ball off the ground and chuck it to a mate? 😂
2 Go to commentsSometimes people just like a moan mate!
3 Go to commentsexcellent idea ! rugby needs this 💪
13 Go to comments9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
13 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
13 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
13 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
13 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
45 Go to comments