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
Havili, 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.
7 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.
7 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.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to comments