Northampton CEO's letter criticises Sale for breaking Saints' bubble
Mark Darbon has vented his frustration after the final Northampton game of the restarted Gallagher Premiership last Sunday was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak at Sale.
The Sharks played at Franklin’s Gardens last week before it emerged that 16 of their players and three staff member had tested positive for the virus, an illness that forced a number of Northampton players into self-isolation and forced them to concede a 20-0 walkover to Gloucester.
Club CEO Darbon has now addressed the issue in an open letter to Northampton supporters, laying the blame for the cancellation at the door of Sale after their infections breached the Saints bubble.
“The decision to forfeit our final game against Gloucester on Sunday was incredibly frustrating and not the way we wanted the season to end,” wrote Darbon in a 1,300-word letter published on the Saints club website.
“But with only two front row players available for selection, owing to a long injury list and the need for a number of members of the squad to self-isolate as a result of the risk of Covid-19 infection following our fixture against Sale, we were left no viable alternative.
? "I thank you again for your incredible support and the patience you have demonstrated through the pandemic."
An update from chief executive, Mark Darbon, on the season past and what lies ahead for our Club.
— Northampton Saints ? (@SaintsRugby) October 6, 2020
“I’m proud of the work our medical and operational teams have done to ensure a safe and secure environment here at Franklin’s Gardens, plus the responsibility our players and staff have demonstrated to maintain the integrity of our ‘bubble’. So, to lose our final fixture as a result of an outbreak at another club is extremely disappointing.
“It’s been particularly hard to take because we were determined to end the season on a high. The recent run of poor results on the pitch has been incredibly frustrating for us all. After plenty of optimism during the lockdown period, when the playing group put in so much hard work to try to hit the ground running again after the hiatus, the remainder of the season has not played out the way we hoped.
“However, there are plenty of reasons to remain optimistic and our director of rugby, Chris Boyd, is typically calm and bullish about what the future holds. As we look ahead, it’s worth noting that this season our matchday squads had the youngest average age of all of the clubs which finished above us.
“As such, experience may not be on our side – and perhaps that has shown at times over the last few weeks – but I have every confidence in our coaches, our staff and the players themselves to turn things around.”
Switching to the concerning financial outlook for rugby in England, a situation exacerbated by the UK Government’s decision to stop fans attending matches until the new year at the earliest, Darbon called on Northampton fans to canvas politicians to ensure the sport gets funding assistance to survive the crisis.
“Despite the challenges we face, I remain confident that we will get through them. We feel confident that we have the right strategy in place, with a very strong group of staff to deliver it.
“We were in a strong position before this crisis – with limited debt, a supportive group of shareholders, and 18 months of really promising commercial growth; we have wonderful support from our loyal commercial partners, our box holders and seasonal members and, of course, our fervent supporter base; and we have taken sensible, albeit extremely difficult, decisions over the past few months to streamline the organisation and lower our cost base.
“In short, we believe we can navigate the difficult period in front of us and come out stronger on the other side. Of course, it will not be easy. So to help us in the short term we are also working to secure an emergency financial support package from the government, and we are actively seeking to identify any innovative approaches that may accelerate the return to crowds.”
The Kiwis have been teaching Eddie a thing or two https://t.co/gL9TXKs58e
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 6, 2020
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?
4 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.
4 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!
4 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