'Joke! Joke, joke, joke' - Diamond post-match gag might land him in hot water with EPCR
In barely six minutes holding court in the Sale Sharks media lounge, Steve Diamond delivered a caustic savaging of teams who rest their top players when European hopes wane, insisted Leone Nakarawa would not join the club because it is “too cold” for the Fijian lock, and “joked” he hoped never to see referee Mathieu Raynal and his team of “b******s” in Manchester again after they oversaw a ferociously competitive Champions Cup loss to Exeter Chiefs.
The final comment, which the director of rugby stressed was in jest, he justified with his belief that people have grown bored of bland post-match exchanges. A Diamond press conference could never be considered dull, but whether EPCR, the tournament organisers, will take the same view as the director of rugby is another matter entirely.
The former hooker is by turns bombastic, intimidating and divisive. His disciplinary rap sheet is long and ugly. In recent seasons, he has been sanctioned for abusing match officials, publicly accusing a referee of “making decisions up”, and pushing an opposition staff member, and has also made derisory remarks about concussion protocols.
Last year, Diamond was involved in a particularly unsightly altercation with a journalist who had written a withering piece painting the coach as domineering and out of touch, offering the reporter outside a press room where part of the bizarre row was caught on film.
His ire was provoked primarily by Raynal’s decisions not to award Sale two penalty tries as they battled for a route back into a Pool 2 game they eventually lost 22-20. First, when a very promising Sharks maul was brought crashing to ground deep in the Chiefs 22, then when his pack won several scrum penalties on the visitors’ line, but were adjudged to have infringed themselves at the set-piece that followed.
“Our driving maul is good,” Diamond said. “I’ve got to be very careful how I say it, but how we can turn the corner from a driving line-out nine metres out and a guy comes in and tackles it and it’s not a yellow card, penalty try, I don’t know.”
Finally we see the Hogg we all know and love and he goes and fails a HIA.#championscup https://t.co/JM94vyqDfd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 8, 2019
There was a supreme irony in this remark, for having begun in such diplomatic fashion, any pretence of sensitivity was obliterated by what Diamond said next, when a reporter asked what he had said to Raynal in the minutes after the final whistle.
“I just said, ‘Good game’,” Diamond replied, deadpan. “I said, ‘You’ve had a fantastic game, your touch judges had a brilliant game’. Hopefully that’ll go through to their assessors – and we’ll never see the b******s again in Manchester.”
As the chortling ensued, he threw his hands up.
“Joke! Joke, joke, joke. I just get this feeling these days people want more character in the room, not just yes and no questions, so we’re only having a bit of fun.”
The defeat leaves Sale third in the pool, two points behind Glasgow Warriors and eight adrift of unbeaten Exeter. On next weekend’s return fixture at Sandy Park, Diamond got the machine gun out again.
“If we play like that, it’ll be a close game,” he said. “I might just send my kids down, I don’t know yet. That’s what other teams are doing, aren’t they? I might just send my Under-19s down and let Exeter go through. We’ll have a think.”
Clearly, this frequent waving of the white flag is a gross affront to Diamond’s bristling nature and his desire to pit himself and his players against Europe’s best.
“I don’t do it,” he continued. “Yeah, it does, obviously [devalue the competition]. You work hard the season before to get in the competition; you’ve got to respect it.”
It is generally wise to take Diamond’s word on recruitment with a pinch of salt, given his reputation for flatly denying rumours which turn out to be true. He had been eager to sign Nakarawa, sacked by Racing 92 this week, with Josh Beaumont and Lood de Jager injured long-term.
Instead, since former Glasgow lock Nakarawa is apparently too sensitive to face another British winter, back-row brothers Jean-Luc and Dan du Preez will be asked to fill the void while the search for injury cover continues. The former sibling is serving a suspension having been sent-off against Worcester Warriors last week; the latter recovering from injury.
“We’ll put it to bed, the Fijian lad won’t come to England because the weather’s too cold – it’s not money,” Diamond said. “We’re looking, but to be fair, there’s not many about at this time of year.
“So we’ve got young Matt Posltethwaite, Bryn Evans, Phillsy [James Phillips]. One Du Preez got sent off, one got injured, they’ll be back in the next few weeks, so they’ll be spending the next three months of their lives at lock, I think.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
21 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
37 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
37 Go to comments